Come December the government will roll out for persons with disabilities universal identity cards having a unique number with which their details can be accessed by the click of a button.
The initiative will help in a big way in ensuring the authenticity of disability certificates and eliminate hassle of having to carry the certificates for different purposes, as various details, including the type of disabilities would be made available online.
"We are aiming at issuing the first universal disability ID card on December 3. We have almost zeroed in on the software provider, who would also be tasked with the responsibility of uploading disability certificates," Joint Secretary of Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Awanish Kumar Awasthi, told PTI.
The department functioning under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has decided to issue web-based cards instead of smart cards, proposed initially.
"Since most of the details of persons with disabilities would be available online, we have decided to go ahead with plastic cards, comprising a unique number," an official said, adding that details of a differently-abled person can be accessed using their respective number.
One of the big advantage's of these ID cards is that migrant persons with disabilities need not have to travel to their home states for certain authorisations, as details would be available online, officials said.
The ID cards would further resolve problems of alleged duplicate and fraudulent disability certificates that are being issued, causing issues in the delivery of benefits.
Details including personal, bank, disability certificate, employment, education and income status of every person with disabilities would be incorporated for issuing the ID card, they said.
Of the 26.8 million differently-abled population in India, only 10.53 million persons with disabilities have disability certificates.
"While existing disability certificates would be uploaded for issuing the ID cards, medical camps would be conducted for new applicants to provide ID cards," Awasthi said.
