Q1. What is disability
Ans :Reservation to Persons with
Disabilities is provided in line with the provisions of the Persons with
Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation)
Act, 1995, in posts and services under the Government of India.
Three
percent of the vacancies in case of direct recruitment to Group A,B,C and D
posts shall be reserved for persons with disabilities of which one
per cent each shall be reserved for persons suffering from (i) blindness or low
vision (ii) hearing impairment and (iii) locomotor disability or cerebral palsy
in the posts identified for each disability;
Three
per cent of vacancies in case of promotion to Group D and Group C posts in
which the element of direct recruitment, if any, does not exceed 75% shall be
reserved for persons with disabilities of which one per cent each shall be
reserved for persons suffering from (i) blindness or low vision (ii) hearing
impairment and (iii) locomotor disability of cerebral palsy in the posts
identified for each disability.
Q.2. What is the provision
for exemption from reservation to Ministries/Departments?
Ans : if any Department / Ministry
considers it necessary to exempt any establishment partly or fully from the
provision of reservation for persons with disabilities, it may make a reference
to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment giving full Justification for
the proposal. The grant of exemption shall be considered by an
Inter-Department Committee set up by the Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment.
Q.3. What are the definitions of
Disabilities?
Ans: Definitions of categories of
disabilities for the purpose of this Office Memorandum are given below;
(i) (a)
Blindness: “Blindness” refers to a condition where a person suffers
from any of the following conditions namely
(i) Total
absence of sight; or
(ii) Visual
acuity not exceeding 6/60 or 20/200 (sneelen) in the better eye with correcting
lenses; or
(iii) Limitation
of the field of vision subtending an angle of 20 degree or worse;
(b) Low vision: “Person with
low vision” means a person with impairment of visual functioning even after
treatment or standard refractive correction but who uses or is potentially
capable of using vision for the planning or execution of a task with
appropriate assistive device.
(ii) Hearing
Impairment: “Hearing Impairment” means loss of sixty decibels or more in the
better ear in the conversational range of frequencies.
(iii) a)
Locomotor disability” “Locomotor disability” means disability of the bones,
joints or muscles leading to substantial restriction of the movement of the
limbs or any form of cerebral palsy.
b) Cerebral Palsy: “Cerebral
Palsy” means a group of non-progressive conditions of a person characterized by
abnormal motor control posture resulting from brain insult or injuries
occurring in the pre-natal, per-natal or infant period of development.
c) All the cases of
orthopaedically handicapped persons would be covered under the
category of “locomotor disability or cerebral palsy”.
Q.4. What should be the degree of
disability for claiming reservation in posts/services under the Central
Government?
Ans: Only such persons would be eligible
for reservation in services/posts who suffer from not less than 40 per cent of
relevant disability. A person who wants to avail of benefit or
reservation would have to submit a Disability Certificate issued by a competent
authority.
Q.5. Who is the competent authority to
issue Disability Certificate?
Ans : The competent authority to issue
Disability Certificate shall be a Medical Board duly constituted by the Central
or a State Government. The Central / State Government may constitute
Medical Board(s) consisting of at lease three members out of which at least one
shall be a specialist in the particular field for assessing
locomotor / cerebral / visual / hearing disability, as the case may be.
The
Medical Board shall, after the examination, give a permanent disability
certificate in cases of such permanent disabilities where there are no chances
of variation in the degree of disability. The Medical Board shall
chances of variation in the degree of disability. The Medical Board
shall indicate the period of validity of the certificate, in cases where three
were chances of variation in the degree of disability. No refusal of disability
certificate shall be made unless an opportunity is given to the applicant
of being heard. On representation by the applicant, the
Medical Board may review its decision having regard to all the facts and
circumstances of the case and pass such orders in the matter as it thinks fit.
At
the time of initial appointment and promotion against a vacancy reserved for
persons with disability, the appointing authority shall ensure that the
candidate is eligible to get the benefit of reservation.
An
Employee who acquires disability after entering into service will be entitled
to get the benefit of reservation as a person with disability form the date he
produces a valid certificate of disability.
Q.6. Which
Ministry/Department identifies he jobs / posts suitable for Persons with
Disabilities?
Ans : The Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment have identified the jobs / posts suitable to be held by persons
with disabilities and the physical requirement for all such jobs/posts vide
their notification no. 16-25/99.NI.I dated 31.05.2011. The jobs/posts
given in Annexure II of the said notification as amended from time to time
shall be used to give effect to 3 per cent reservation to the persons with
disabilities. It may, however, be noted that:
(a) The nomenclature used for
any job / post shall mean and include nomenclature used for the other
comparable jobs / posts having identical functions.
(b) The list of jobs/posts
notified by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment is not
exhaustive. The concerned Ministries / Departments shall have the
discretion to identify jobs / posts in addition to the jobs/posts already
identified by the Ministry of Social Justice &
Empowerment. However, no Ministry / Department / Establishment shall
exclude any identified job/post from the purview of reservation at its own
discretion.
(c) If a job/post identified
for persons with disabilities a shifted form one group or grade to another
group or grade due to change in the pay-scale or otherwise, the job/post shall
remain identified.
If a post is identified suitable only
for one category of disability, reservation in the post shall be given to
persons with that disability only. Reservation of 30% shall not be reduced
in such cases and total reservation in the post will be given to persons
suffering from the disability for which it has been
identified. Likewise in case the post is identified suitable for two
categories of disabilities, reservation shall be distributed between persons with
those categories of disabilities equally, as the far as possible. It
shall, however, be ensured that reservation in different posts in the
establishment is distributed in such a way that the person of three
categories of disabilities, as far as possible get equal representation.
Q.7 How can a Person with Disability be
appointed against an unreserved vacancy?
Ans: In the posts which are identified
suitable for persons with disabilities, a person with disability cannot be
denied the right to compete for appointment against an unreserved
vacancy. Thus a person with disability can be
appointed against an unreserved vacancy, provided the post is
identified suitable for persons with disability of the relevant category.
Q.8. Who is an own merit
candidate?
Ans : Persons with disabilities selected
on their own merit without relaxed standards alongwith other candidates, will
not be adjusted against the reserved share of vacancies. The
reserved vacancies will filled up separately from amongst the eligible
candidates with disabilities which will thus comprise physically handicapped
candidates who are lower in merit than the last candidate in merit list but
otherwise found suitable for appointment, if necessary, by relaxed
standards. It will apply in case of direct recruitment as well as
promotion, wherever reservation for persons with disabilities is admissible.
Q.9. How is the reservation for Persons
with Disabilities computed ?
Ans : Reservation for persons with
disabilities in case of Group C and Group D posts shall be computed on the
basis of total number of vacancies occurring in all Group C or Group
D posts, as the case may be, in the establishment, although the recruitment of
the persons with disabilities would only be in the posts identified suitable
for them. The number of vacancies to be reserved for the persons
with disabilities in case of direct recruitment to Group ‘C’ posts in an
establishment shall be computed by taking into account the total number of
vacancies arising in Group ‘C’ posts for being filled by direct recruitment
year both in the identified and non-identified posts under the
establishment. The same procedure shall apply for Group ‘D’ posts.
Similarly, all vacancies in promotion quota shall be taken into account while
computing reservation in promotion in Group ‘C’ and Group ‘D’
posts. Since reservation is limited identified posts only and number
of vacancies reserved in computed on the basis of total vacancies (in
identified posts as well as unidentified posts), it is possible that number of
persons appointed by reservation in an identified post may exceed 3 per cent.
Reservation
for persons with disabilities in Group ‘A’ posts shall be computed on the basis
of vacancies occurring in direct recruitment quota in all the identified Group
‘A’ posts in the establishment. The same method of computation
applied for Group ‘B’ posts.
Q.10 . How are the reservation
roster registers for Persons with Disabilities maintained?
Ans: (a) All establishments shall
maintain separate 100 point reservation roster registers in the format given
in Annexure II for determining / effecting reservation for
the disabled – one each for Group ‘A’ posts filled by direct recruitment, Group
‘B’ posts filled by direct recruitment, Group ‘C’ posts filled by direct recruitment,
Group ‘C’ posts filled by promotion, Group ‘D’ posts filled by direct
recruitment and Group ‘D’ posts filled by promotion.
b) Each register shall have cycles of
100 points and each cycle of 100 points, shall be divided into three blocks,
comprising the following points :
1st Block – point No.1 to point
No.33
2nd Block – point No.34 to point
No.66
3rd Block – point No.67 to point
No.100
(c) Points 1,34 and 67 of the roster
shall be earmarked reserved for persons with disabilities – one point for each
of the three categories of disabilities. The head of the
establishment shall decide the categories of disabilities for which the points
1,34 and 67 will be reserved keeping in view all relevant facts.
(d) All the vacancies in
Group C posts falling in direct recruitment quota arising in the establishment
shall be entered in the relevant roster register. If the post
falling at point no.1 is not identified for the disabled or the head of the
establishment considers it desirable not to fill it up by a disabled person or
it is not possible to fill up that post by the disabled for any other reason,
one of the vacancies falling at any of the points from 2 and 33 shall be
treated as reserved for the disabled and filled as such. Likewise a vacancy
falling at any of the points from 34 to 66 or from 67 to 100 shall be filled by
the disabled. The purpose of keeping points 1,34 and 67 as reserved
is to fill up the first available suitable vacancy from 1 to 33, first
available suitable vacancy from 34 to 66 and first available suitable vacancy
from 67 to 100 by persons with disabilities.
(e) There is a possibility
that none of the vacancies from 1 to 33 is suitable for any category of the
disabled. In that case two vacancies from 34 to 66 shall be filled
as reserved for persons with disabilities. If the vacancies from 34
to 66 are also not suitable for any category, three vacancies shall
be filled as reserved from the third block containing points from 67 to
100. This means that if no vacancy can be reserved in a particular
block, it shall be carried into the next block.
(f) After all the 100
points of the roster are covered, a fresh cycle of 100
points shall start.
(g) If the number of
vacancies in a year a such as to cover only one block or two, discretion as to
which category of the disabled should be accommodated first shall vest in the
head of the establishment, who shall decide on the basis of the nature of the
post, the level of representation of the specific disabled category of the
disabled should be accommodated first shall vest in the head of the
establishment, who shall decide on the basis of the nature of the post, the
level of representation of the specific disabled category in the concerned
grade/post etc.
(h) A separate roster shall
be maintained for group C posts filled by promotion and procedure as explained above
shall be followed for giving. Reservation to persons with
disabilities. Likewise two separate rosters shall be maintained for
Group D posts, one of the posts filled by direct recruitment and another for
pots filled by promotion.
(i) Reservation
in group A and group B posts in determined on the basis of vacancies in
the identified posts only. Separate rosters for Group A posts and
Group B posts in the establishment shall be maintained. In the rosters
maintained for Group A and Group B posts, all vacancies of direct recruitment
arising in identified posts shall be entered and reservation shall be effected
the same way as explained above.
Q.11. What is meant by inter se exchange
and carry forward of reservation in case of direct recruitment quota
as well as in promotion quota?
Ans.
(a) Reservation for
each of the three categories of persons with disabilities shall be made
separately. But if the nature of vacancies in an establishment is
such that a person of a specific category of disability cannot
be employed, the vacancies may be interchanged among the three
categories with the approval of the Ministry of Social Justice &
Empowerment and reservation may be determined and vacancies filled accordingly.
(b) If any vacancy
reserved for any category of disability cannot be filled due to
non-availability of a suitable person with that disability or, for any other
sufficient reason, such vacancy shall not be filled and shall be carried
forward as a ‘backlong reserved vacancy’ to the subsequent recruitment year.
(c) In the subsequent
recruitment year the ‘backlog reserved vacancy’ shall be treated as
reserved for the category of disability for which it was kept reserved in
the initial year of recruitment. However, if a suitable person with
that disability is not available, it may be filled by interchange among the
three categories of disabilities. In case no suitable
person with disability is available for filling up the post in the subsequent
year also, the employer may fill up the vacancy by appointment of a person
other than a person with disability. If the vacancy is filled by a person with
disability of the category for which it was reserved or by a person of other
category of disability by inter se exchange in the subsequent recruitment year,
it will be treated to have been filled by reservation. But if the
vacancy is filled by a person other than a person with disability in the
subsequent recruitment year, reservation shall be carried forward
for a further period upto two recruitment years where after the reservation
shall lapse. In these two subsequent years, if situation so arises,
the procedure for filling up the reserved vacancy shall be the same
as followed in the first subsequent recruitment year.
In order to ensure that cases of lapse
of reservation are kept to the minimum, any recruitment of the disabled
candidates shall first be counted against the additional quota brought forward
from previous years, if any, in their chronological order. If candidates are
not available for all the vacancies, the older carried forward
reservation would be filled first and the relatively later carried
forward reservation would be further carried forward.
While filling up the reserved vacancies
by promotion by selection, the disabled candidates who are within
the normal zone of consideration shall be considered for promotion
. Where adequate number of disabled candidates of the
appropriate category of handicap are not available within the normal
zone, the zone of consideration may be extended to five times the number of
vacancies and the persons with disabilities falling within the extended zone
may be considered. In the event of non availability of
candidates even in the extended zone, the reservation can be
exchanged so that post can be filled by a person with other category of
disability, if possible. If it is not possible to fill up the post
by reservation, the post may be filled by the person other than a person with
disability and the reservation shall be carried forward for upto
three subsequent recruitment years, where after it shall lapse.
In posts filled by promotion by
non-selection, the eligible candidates with disabilities shall be considered
for promotion against the reserved vacancies and in case no eligible candidate
of he appropriate category of disability is available, the vacancy can be
exchanged with other categories of disabilities identified for
it. If it is not possible to fill up the post by reservation even by
exchange, the reservation shall be carried forward for upto three subsequent
recruitment years whereafter it shall lapse.
Q.12 What is vertical reservation and
horizontal reservation ?
Ans. Reservation for backward classes of
citizens (SCs, STs and OBCs) is called vertical reservation and the
reservation for categories such as persons with disabilities and ex-servicemen
is called horizontal reservation. Horizontal reservation cuts across vertical
reservation (in what is called inter-locking reservation) and persons selected
against the quota for persons with disabilities have to be placed in the
appropriate category viz. SC/ST/OBC/General candidates
depending upon the category to which they belong in the roster meant for
reservation of SCs/STs/OBCs. To illustrate if in a given year
there are two vacancies reserved for the persons with disabilities
and out of two persons with disabilities appointed, one
belongs to a Scheduled Caste and the other to general
category then the disabled SC candidate shall be adjusted against the SC point
in the reservation roster and the general candidate against unreserved point in
the relevant reservation roster. In case none of the vacancies falls on
point reserved for the SCs, the disabled candidate belonging to SC shall be
adjusted in future against the next available vacancy reserved for SCs.
Since
the persons with disabilities have to be placed in the appropriate category
viz. SC/ST/OBC/ General in the roster meant for reservation of
SCs/STs/OBCs, the application form for the post should require the candidates
applying under the quota reserved for persons with disabilities to indicate
whether they belong to SC/ST/OBC or General category
Q.13 what are the
relaxations/concessions available to persons with Disabilities?
Ans : RELAXATION IN AGE LIMIT :
(j) Upper age
limit for persons with disabilities shall be relaxable (a) by ten years (15
years for SCs/STs and 13 years for OBCs) in case of direct recruitment to Group
‘C’ and Group ‘D’ posts; (b) by 5 years (10 years for SCs/STs and 8
years for OBCSs) in case of direct recruitment to Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ where
recruitment is made otherwise than through open competitive examination; and
(c) by 10 years (15 years for OBCs) in case of direct recruitment to Group A
and Group B posts through open competitive examination.
(ii) Relaxation
in age limit shall be applicable irrespective of the fact whether the
post is reserved or not, provided the
post is identified suitable for persons with
disabilities.
RELAXABLE OF STANDARD OF
SUITABILITY: If sufficient number of persons with disabilities are not
available on the basis of the general standard may be selected on
relaxed standard to fill up the remaining vacancies reserved for them provided
they are not found unfit for such post or posts. Thus, to the extent the
number of vacancies reserved for persons with disabilities cannot be filled on
the basis of general standards, candidates belonging to this category may be
taken by relaxing the standards to make up the deficiency in the reserved
quota subject to the fitness of these candidates for appointment to the
post/posts in question.
EXEMPTION FORM PAYMENT OF EXAMINATION
FEE AND APPLICATION FEE: Persons with disabilities shall be
exempt from payment of applications fee and examination fee, prescribed in
respect of competitive examinations held by the Staff Selection Commission, he
Union Public Service Commission etc. for recruitment to various
posts. This exemption shall be available only to such persons who
would otherwise be eligible for appointment to the post on the basis of
standards of medical fitness prescribed for that post (including any concession
specifically extended to the disabled persons) and who enclose with the
application form, necessary certificate from a competent authority in support
of their claim of disability.
MEDICAL EXAMINATION : As per Rule
10 of the Fundamental Rules, every new entrant to Government service
on initial appointment is required to produce a medical certificate of fitness
issued by a competent authority. In case of medical certificate of
fitness issued by a competent authority. In case medical examination of a
person with disability for appointment to a post identified as suitable to be
held by a person suffering from a particular kind of disability, the concerned
Medical Officer or Board shall be informed before hand that the post
is identified suitable to be held by persons with disability of relevant
category and the candidates shall then be examined medically keeping this fact
in view.
Q.14 What are the points which the
Ministries / Departments should keep in mind while sending the requisition
notice to the Employment Exchange, the SSC, the UPSC etc. While advertising the
vacancies?
Ans: In order to ensure that person with
disabilities get a fair opportunity in consideration for appointment to an
identified post, the following points shall be kept in view while sending the
requisition notice to the Employment Exchange, the SSC, the UPSC etc. and while
advertising the vacancies :
(i) Number
of vacancies reserved for SCs/STs/OBCs/Ex-Servicemen/ persons suffering from
Blindness or Low Vision / Persons suffering from Hearing Impairment/Persons
suffering from Locomotor Disability or Cerebral palsy should be indicated
clearly
(ii) In
case of vacancies in posts identified suitable to be held by persons with
disability, it shall be indicated that the post is identified for persons with
disabilities suffering form blindness or low vision; hearing
impairment; and / or locomotor disability or cerebral palsy, as the case may
be, and that the persons with disabilities belonging to the category/
categories for which the post is identified shall be allowed to apply even if
no vacancies are reserved for them. Such candidates will
be considered for selection for appointment to the post by general standards of
merit.
(iii) In
case of vacancies in posts identified suitable for persons with disabilities,
irrespective of whether any vacancies are reserved or
(iv) Not,
the categories of disabilities viz blindess or low vision, hearing impairment
and locomotor suitable along with functional classification
and physical requirements for performing the duties attached to the post shall
be indicated clearly.
(v) It
shall also be indicated that persons suffering from not less than 40% of the
relevant disability shall alone be eligible for the benefit of reservation.
In order to ensure proper implementation
of the provisions of reservation of persons with disabilities, the
requisitioning authority while sending the requisition to the UPSC, SSC
etc. for filling up of posts shall furnish the following certificate
to the recruiting agency:-
“it
is certificated that the requirements of the Persons with Disabilities
(Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights & Full Participation)
Act, 1995 and the policy relating to reservation of persons with disabilities
has been taken care of while sending this requisition. The vacancies
reported in this requisition fall at points no …………… of cycle no ……………. Of 100
point reservation roster out of which ……………. Number of vacancies are reserved
for persons with disabilities”
Q.15. What is the procedure to monitor
the representation of persons with disabilities in posts and services under the
Central Government?
Ans. (i) Soon after the first of January
of every year, each appointing authority shall send to its administrative
Ministry/Department:
(a) PWD Report – I in the
prescribed proforma (Annexure III) showing the total number of employees, total
number of employees in he posts which have been identified suitable for persons
with disabilities and number of employees suffering from blindness or low
vision, hearing impairment, and locomotor disability or cerebral
palsy as on the 1st January of the year, and
(b) PWD Report –II in the
prescribed proforma (Annexure IV) showing the numbr of vacancies reserved for
persons suffering from blindness or low vision, hearing impairment, and
locomotor disability or cerebral palsy and number of such persons actually
appointed during the preceding calendar year.
ii) The administrative
Ministry/Department shall scrutinize the information received from all
appointing authorities under it and send consolidated PWD Report-I and PWD
Report-II in prescribed proforma in respect of the Ministry/Department including
information in respect of all attached and subordinate offices under its
control to the Department of Personnel and Training by the 31st March of
each year.
(iii) The following points may be kept
in view sending the reports to the Department of Personnel & Training:-
a) The
reports sent to the DOPT should not include information in respect of public
sector undertakings, statutory, semi-Government and autonomous
bodies. Statutory, semi-Government and autonomous bodies. Statutory,
semi-Government and autonomous bodies shall furnish consolidated information in
the prescribed proforma to the administrative Minisry/Department concerned who
may scrutinize, monitor and maintain it at their own level. The
Department of public Enterprises may collect similar information in respect of
all public sector undertakings.
b) The
attached/subordinate offices shall send information to their administrative
Ministry/Department only and shall not send it direct to this Department.
c) The
figures in respect of persons with disabilities shall include persons appointed
by reservation as well as appointed otherwise.
d) The PWD
Report I relates to persons and not to posts. Therefore, while
furnishing this report the posts vacant etc. Should not be taken
into account. In this report persons on deputation should be included in
the establishment of the borrowing included in the establishment of the
borrowing Ministry/Department/Office and not in the parent establishment
Persons permanent in one grade but officiating or holding temporary appointment
in the higher grade shall be included in the figures relating to the Class of
service to which the higher grade belongs.
Liaison Officers appointed to look after
reservation mattes for SCs/STs shall also work as Liaison Officers for
reservation matters relating to persons with disabilities and shall ensure
compliance of these instructions on reservation for Persons with Disabilities.