Employment reservations and concessions for specially abled

Reservations for persons with disabilities

Government of India have reserved 3% of vacancies against identified posts in Group ‘C’ and Group ‘D’ for people with disabilities in Central Government Ministries, Public Sector Undertaking and Banks. The categories of handicapped persons benefited by this scheme are the Blind, the Deaf and the Orthopeadically handicapped with 1% reservation for each category.

Reservation for persons with disabilities in Group 'A' or Group 'B' posts shall be computed on the basis of total number of vacancies occurring in direct recruitment quota in all the Group 'A' posts or Group 'B' posts respectively, in the cadre. Separate rosters for Group 'A' posts and Group '6' posts in the establishment shall be maintained.

Various State and U.T. Governments also provide reservation in jobs for the handicapped persons. There is no obligation on private sector to provide employment to the handicapped persons. However, many private sector employers now offer jobs to persons with disabilities realising that their employment is an economically viable proposition.

To clear the backlog of vacancies of persons with disabilities, Special Recruitment Drives are undertaken by various departments from time to time.

Identification of posts in all Groups in the Establishments of the Government of India and Public Sector Undertakings for persons with disabilities has been done. To access the details, click here.

Facilities/amenities to the persons with disabilities

Department of Personnel and Training has released several OMs and orders from time to time regarding facilities / amenities for persons with disabilities.

1. Identification of jobs - Each Ministry/Department of the Government of India, their attached and subordinate offices, Central Public Sector Enterprises, Cantonment Boards etc should identify the types of jobs which could be easily performed by them specially for Group B, C and D posts where the number of jobs are more. Such persons should preferably be posted to perform such identified jobs and they be allowed to continue performing such jobs, as far as possible. If the concerned PWD officer could perform all the jobs as people without disability or could perform several types of jobs efficiently, no effort should be made to instruct them to certain types of jobs only.
2. Post recruitment and Pre - promotion training - Induction training programme for the persons with disabilities should be imparted together with the other employees. Job specific post-recruitment as well as pre-promotion training programmes are required to be organised for the persons with disabilities.
3. Providing aids/assistive devices - should assist the persons with disabilities by providing them high tech/latest technology led assistive devices (including low vision aids, hearing aids with battery), special furniture, wheel chairs (motorised if required by the employee), software scanners, computer and other hardware, etc. in accordance with their requirement, which would improve their efficiency.
4. Accessibility and barrier free environment at work place - In addition to the guidelines for modification in all public buildings including Government offices to provide easy accessibility and barrier free environment for PWDs as per the provisions of the PWD Act, all Government offices should take special steps to provide barrier free and accessible work stations to PWD employees, access from main building entrance to their work stations and access to common utility areas such as Toilets, canteens etc.
5. Preference in Govt. accommodation -  The Directorate of Estates may give preference to the persons with disabilities for providing them accessible accommodation near their place of posting and they may be preferred for allotment of ground floor accommodation.
6. Special Casual Leave - A provision of Special Casual Leave for 4 days in a calendar year has been made for the employees of Central Government with disabilities for specific requirements relating to disabilities of the official. Further, there is also a provision of 10 days Special Casual Leave in a calendar year subject to exigencies of work for the differently abled Central Government employees with disabilities for participating in Conference/Seminars/Trainings/Workshop related to disability and development to be specified by Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
7. Preference in transfer/posting -  As far as possible, the persons with disabilities may be exempted from the rotational transfer policy/transfer and be allowed to continue in the same job, where they would have achieved the desired performance. Further, preference in place of posting at the time of transfer/promotion may be given to the persons with disability subject to the administrative constraints.

For the complete list of OMs and notifications, click here.

Concessions offered

1. Disabled person who are otherwise qualified to hold clerical posts and who are certified as being unable to type by the Medical Board or a Civil Surgeon where there is no such board, have been exempted from typing qualification.
2. Disabled persons have been granted relaxation in upper age limit up to 10 years for appointment to the clerical and subordinate cadre posts.
3. Disabled persons are exempted from payment of application and examination fee prescribed for the recruitment of clerical posts and other cadres in Public Sector Banks and Financial Institutions.
4. Disabled persons are not to be subjected to the usual medical examination by the appointing authorities but their physical fitness should be decided on the basis of the report of the Medical Boards attached to the Special Employment Exchanges for the Physically Handicapped for their recruitment to group ‘C’ and ‘D’ posts. The appointing authorities and the Medical Boards have to view the cases of persons with disabilities with utmost sympathy while considering them for appointment. Further Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ employees found medically unfit for the post he is holding and from which he is proposed to be discharged or has been discharged may, wherever practicable, be considered for another identical equivalent post for which he may be found suitable against direct recruitment quota without insisting on the condition of appointment through the employment exchange.
5. Guidelines for conducting written examination for Persons with Disabilities has been issued. To get the details, click here.
6. For assisting the disabled persons in undertaking self-employment ventures and other productive activities, loans are given by the nationalized banks by charging an interest of 5% per annum under Differential Rate of Interest scheme. To get the details, click here.
7. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has reserved seven and half percent of all types of dealership/agencies of the Public Sector Oil Companies, for disabled persons. Similarly, the Ministry has also reserved seven and half percent dealership/agencies for Defence personal who permanently and severely disabled either in war or in military action during peacetime.
8. A Government employee, who is also a care giver of disabled child has been exempted from the routine exercise of transfer/rotational transfer subject to the administrative constraints.

Related resources

1. Job portal for specially abled

Source: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment,GOI