GS Paper I 2026 · Q9
10 marks · 150 words Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism X-Ray · Core #22How 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.
