Which of the following statements with regard to the persons with disabilities in India is/are correct?
- 1.The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, an Act passed by the Parliament of India in 2018, mandates reservation in education and employment, places a legal duty on Governments to ensure accessibility and non-discrimination.
- 2.The Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan focuses on achieving universal accessibility for Persons with Disabilities across three key domains — built infrastructure, transport systems and information and communication technology.
- 3.The National Divyangjan Finance and Development Corporation (NDFDC) is a public sector organisation set up by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs as a not-for-profit company to promote entrepreneurship among Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).
Select the answer using the code given below:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 2 only
Only the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan statement is correct. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act was enacted in 2016, not 2018, and the disability finance corporation was set up by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, not the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
- ✗ 1. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act was enacted in 2016 and came into force in April 2017. The description of its contents is right, but the year 2018 is wrong.
- ✓ 2. The Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) provides accessibility features in three verticals: the built-up environment, the transportation sector and the ICT ecosystem.
- ✗ 3. The corporation (earlier called the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation) was set up by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in 1997 as a not-for-profit company under the Companies Act; the Ministry of Corporate Affairs did not set it up.
Remember · RPwD Act = 2016 (in force April 2017). Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan (Dec 2015): built environment, transport, ICT. NDFDC belongs to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (DEPwD).
Sources
- PIB: Accessible India Campaign booklet (April 2023): RPwD Act ↗ “the government enacted the Rights for Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016 which came into force from April 2017. … the Campaign envisages providing features of accessibility in the three verticals of Built-up environment, Transportation sector and Information & Communication Technology ecosystem, for creation of an universal barrier free environment.”
- NDFDC (formerly NHFDC), Guidelines for Credit Based Funding: About NHFDC ↗ “National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC) was set up by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India on 24th January 1997.”
Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·