Chapter I PRELIMINARY

(1) This Act may be called the Persons With Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. (2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. (3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification, appoint.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- (a) "Appropriate Government" means,- (i) in relation to the Central Government or any establishment wholly or substantially financed by that Government, or a Cantonment Board constituted under the Cantonment Act, 1924, the Central Government; (ii) in relation to a State Government or any establishment wholly or substantially financed by that Government, or any local authority, other than a Cantonment Board, the State Government; (iii) in respect of the Central Co-ordination Committee and the Central Executive Committee, the Central Government; (iv) in respect of the State Co-ordination Committee and the State Executive Committee, the State Government; (b) "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 (snellen) in the better eye with correcting lenses; or (iii) limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of 20 degree or worse; (c) "Central Co-ordination Committee" means the Central Co-ordination Committee constituted under sub-section (1) of section 3; (d) "Central Executive Committee" means the Central Executive Committee constituted under sub-section (1) of section 9; (e) "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, peri-natal or infant period of development; (f) "Chief Commissioner" means the Chief Commissioner appointed under sub-section (1) of section 57; (g) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner appointed under sub-section (1) of section 60; (h) "competent authority" means the authority appointed under section 50; (i) "Disability" means- (i) blindness; (ii) low vision; (iii) leprosy-cured; (iv) hearing impairment; (v) loco motor disability; (vi) mental retardation; (vii) mental illness; (j) "employer" means,- (i) In relation to a Government, the authority notified by the Head of the Department in this behalf or where no such authority is notified, the Head of the Department; and (ii) in relation to an establishment, the Chief Executive Officer of that establishment; (k) "establishment" means a corporation established by or under a Central, Provincial or State Act, or an authority or a body owned or controlled or aided by the Government or a local authority or a Government company as defined in section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) and includes Departments of a Government; (l) "hearing impairment" means loss of sixty decibels or more in the better ear in the conversational range of frequencies; (m) "institution for persons with disabilities" means an institution for the reception, care, protection, education, training, rehabilitation or any other service of persons with disabilities; (n) "leprosy cured person" means any person who has been cured of leprosy but is suffering from- (i) loss of sensation in hands or feet as well as loss of sensation and paresis in the eye and eye-lid but with no manifest deformity; (ii) manifest deformity and paresis but having sufficient mobility in their hands and feet to enable them to engage in normal economic activity; (iii) Extreme physical deformity as well as advanced age which prevents him from undertaking any gainful occupation, and the expression "leprosy cured" shall be construed accordingly; (o) "loco motor 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; (p) "medical authority" means any hospital or institution specified for the purposes of this Act by notification by the appropriate Government; (q) "mental illness" means any mental disorder other than mental retardation; (r) "mental retardation" means a condition of arrested or incomplete development of mind of a person which is specially characterized by sub normality of intelligence; (s) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette; (t) "person with disability" means a person suffering from not less than forty per cent of any disability as certified by a medical authority; (u) "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; (v) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (w) "rehabilitation" refers to a process aimed at enabling persons with disabilities to reach and maintain their optimal physical, sensory, intellectual, psychiatric or social functional levels; (x) "Special Employment Exchange" means any office or place established and maintained by the Government for the collection and furnishing of information, either by keeping of registers or otherwise, respecting- (i) persons who seek to engage employees from amongst the persons suffering from disabilities; (ii) persons with disability who seek employment; (iii) vacancies to which person with disability seeking employment may be appointed; (y) "State Co-ordination Committee" means the State Co-ordination Committee constituted under sub-section (1) of section 13; (z) "State Executive Committee" means the State Executive Committee constituted under subsection (l) of section 19.

(1) The Central Government shall by notification constitute a body to be known as the Central Co-ordination Committee to exercise the powers conferred on, and to perform the functions assigned to it, under this Act. (2) The Central Co-ordination Committee shall consist of- (a) The Minister-in-charge of the Department of Welfare in the Central Government, Chairperson, ex officio; (b) The Minister of State-in-charge of the Department of Welfare in the Central Government, Vice Chairperson, ex officio; (c) Secretaries to the Government of India in-charge of the Departments of Welfare, Education, Woman and Child Development, Expenditure, Personnel Training and Public Grievances, Health, Rural Development, Industrial Development, Urban Affairs and Employment, Science and Technology, Legal Affairs, Public Enterprises, Members, ex officio; (d) Chief Commissioner, Member, ex officio; (e) Chairman Railway Board, Member, ex officio; (f) Director-General of Labour, Employment and Training, Member, ex officio; (g) Director, National Council for Educational Research and Training, Member, ex officio; (h) three Members of Parliament. of whom two shall be elected by the House of the People and one by the Council of States, Members; (i) three persons to be nominated by the Central Government to represent the interests, which in the opinion of that Government ought to be represented, Members; (j) Directors of the- (i) National Institute for the Visually Handicapped, Dehradun; (ii) National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped, Secundrabad; (iii) National Institute for the Orthopaedically Handicapped, Calcutta; (iv) Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped, Bombay, Members, ex officio; (k) four Members to be nominated by the Central Government by rotation to represent the States and the Union territories in such manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government: Provided that no appointment under this clause shall be made except on the recommendation of the State Government or, as the case may be, the Union territory; (l) five persons as far as practicable, being persons with disabilities, to represent nongovernmental organizations or associations which are concerned with disabilities, to he nominated by the Central Government, one from each area of disability, Members: Provided that while nominating persons under this clause, the Central Government shall nominate at least one woman and one person belonging to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes; (m) Joint Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Welfare dealing with the welfare of the handicapped, Member-Secretary, ex officio; (3) The office of the Member of the Central Co-ordination Committee shall not disqualify its holder for being chosen as or for being a Member of either House of Parliament.