GS Paper I 2026 · Q9
10 marks · 150 words Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism X-Ray · Core #22अपंगता को आप किस प्रकार समझते हैं? इस विषय में भारत में समावेशी नीतिगत ढाँचे की आवश्यकता सिद्ध कीजिए।
Read this question in English
How do you understand disability? Substantiate the need for inclusive policy framework in India in this regard.
🧭 How to think about this question · directive: “how / substantiate”
Decode the demand
- Two directives: 'how do you understand' asks for your conception of disability (models, not a dictionary line); 'substantiate' asks you to prove with evidence why India needs an inclusive policy framework.
- The issue in one line: disability is produced as much by society's barriers as by the body; policy must therefore remove barriers, not only treat individuals.
- Three things to answer: the models of disability and the one you adopt; the scale, law, constitutional and ground-level reasons for an inclusive framework; what that framework should contain.
- The trap: writing only a list of schemes. The examiner wants the understanding first, then evidence that connects it to policy.
Think in a structure
- Open with a sociologist's line that disablement lies in society, then turn to how this shapes policy.
- Models as a table (medical, charity, rights-based) so three concepts fit in thirty words; then points on barriers, capability and poverty.
- Substantiation in dimensions: scale, Constitution, treaty, court, ground gaps; each point with a verified number or case.
- End positively: a flowchart from identification to participation, concrete measures with named schemes, and SDG 10.2 as the anchor.
Facts checked at source (5)· open
- The RPwD Act, 2016 raised the recognised types of disability from 7 to 21 (PIB, on the Bill's passage, December 2016).Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2016 passed by Parliament — PIB, 16 December 2016 ↗“The types of disabilities have been increased from existing 7 to 21 and the Central Government will have the power to add more types of disabilities”
- The same Act raised reservation in government establishments from 3% to 4% for persons with benchmark disability.Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2016 passed by Parliament — PIB, 16 December 2016 ↗“Reservation in vacancies in government establishments has been increased from 3% to 4% for certain persons or class of persons with benchmark disability”
- The Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan (Accessible India Campaign) was launched on 3 December 2015.India's Commitment to Disability Rights — PIB backgrounder, December 2025 ↗“Launched on 3 December 2015 , the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan or Accessible India Campaign”
- The UDID project builds a national database of persons with disabilities and issues each a Unique Disability Identity Card.India's Commitment to Disability Rights — PIB backgrounder, December 2025 ↗“project is being implemented to create a national database of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and issue a Unique Disability Identity Card (UDID) to each individual”
- SDG target 10.2 seeks the inclusion of all irrespective of disability.Goal 10 targets — UN DESA, sdgs.un.org ↗“By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2026, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Guidance: Minimalist IAS, checked 8 Nov 2026 (how we verify). ·
Model answer· 380words · Minimalist IAS
Disability is not the impairment alone. NCERT quotes Brisenden (1986): "The disablement lies in the construction of society, not in the physical condition of the individual." How India understands this decides whether its policy cures individuals or removes barriers.
How I understand disability
| Model | Sees disability as | Response |
|---|---|---|
| Medical | A defect of the body | Cure, rehabilitation |
| Charity | A misfortune | Pity, welfare |
| Rights-based | Barriers in society | Access, equal rights |
- Barriers, not bodies: the RPwD Act, 2016 defines disability as impairment interacting with barriers that hinder equal participation.
- Capability (Sen): what matters is what a person can be and do; a ramp turns the same impairment into freedom.
- Poverty link: NCERT ties disability to poverty: malnutrition, weak immunisation and accidents cause impairment, and impairment deepens poverty.
- Layered exclusion: women, rural and Dalit persons with disabilities face compounded discrimination, so one policy cannot fit all.
Why India needs an inclusive policy framework
- Scale: Census 2011 counted about 2.68 crore persons with disabilities; 21 recognised categories imply a far larger number.
- Constitutional duty: Articles 14 and 21 guarantee equality and dignity; Article 41 directs public assistance in disablement.
- Treaty obligation: India ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007; the RPwD Act, 2016 gives it domestic force.
- RPwD Act raised recognised disabilities from 7 to 21 and government reservation from 3% to 4%.
- Judicial push: Vikash Kumar (2021) read reasonable accommodation as a right, not charity; the state must design for it.
- Gaps on the ground: inaccessible buildings, buses and websites, low school completion, weak employment and stigma keep law ahead of practice.
What the framework should contain
- Identify (UDID)
- Access (Sugamya Bharat)
- Educate
- Employ
- Participate in decisions
- Universal design: scale the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan, launched 3 December 2015, to every building, bus and website with deadlines.
- Portable entitlements: link UDID cards to every scheme so one national database ends repeated certification.
- Inclusive education: trained teachers, assistive technology and accessible material under Samagra Shiksha and NEP 2020.
- Dignified work: fill the 4% reservation, skill through PM-DAKSH and set accessibility norms for private employers.
- Participation and data: disaggregated data and disabled persons on every policy committee.
Inclusion means designing for everyone from the start: the promise of SDG target 10.2, inclusion of all "irrespective of age, sex, disability" by 2030.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 8 Nov 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
