India is home to lakhs of persons with disabilities. What are the benefits available to them under the law?
- 1.Free schooling till the age of 18 years in government-run schools.
- 2.Preferential allotment of land for setting up business.
- 3.Ramps in public buildings.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3
All three statements are correct, so the answer is (d). The Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 was the law in force in 2011, and it provides each benefit: free education up to 18 years (Section 26), preferential land allotment including for business (Section 43), and ramps in public buildings (Section 46).
- ✓ 1. Section 26 requires the appropriate governments and local authorities to ensure that every child with a disability has access to free education in an appropriate environment until the age of eighteen. The same section also asks them to promote integration of such students in normal schools and the setting up of special schools in the Government and private sector.
- ✓ 2. Section 43 requires the appropriate governments and local authorities to frame, by notification, schemes for preferential allotment of land at concessional rates. The listed purposes include a house, setting up business, special recreation centres, special schools, research centres and factories run by entrepreneurs with disabilities.
- ✓ 3. Section 46 deals with non-discrimination in the built environment. It requires the appropriate governments and local authorities to provide ramps in public buildings, within the limits of their economic capacity and development. It also covers Braille symbols and auditory signals in lifts, and ramps in hospitals and health centres.
Remember · The PwD Act, 1995 gave free education till 18 (S.26), concessional preferential land for a house or business (S.43) and ramps in public buildings (S.46).
Sources
- The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 – Section 26 (Education) ↗ “Ensure that every child with a disability has access to free education in an appropriate environment till he attains the age of eighteen years … shall by notification frame schemes in favor of persons with disabilities, for the preferential allotment of land at concession] rates for- (a) House; (b) Setting up business; … shall, within the limits of their economic capacity and development, provide for- (a) Ramps in public buildings; (b) Braille symbols and auditory signals in elevators or lifts;”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2011, General Studies Paper I. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·

