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Home › India › Disability support in India: UDID card, pensions, aids and rights

Disability support in India: UDID card, pensions, aids and rights

Help for people with disabilities and their families in India: the disability card, pensions, aids and appliances, scholarships, tax relief and where to complain. Every link goes to an official government website.

Your rights

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 recognises 21 kinds of disability, among them blindness and low vision, hearing impairment, locomotor disability, cerebral palsy, autism, intellectual disability, mental illness, multiple sclerosis, thalassaemia and acid attack. A person with at least 40% of a disability has a "benchmark disability", which brings:

  • at least 4% of posts in government jobs reserved for people with benchmark disabilities;
  • at least 5% of seats in government and government-aided colleges and universities;
  • free education from 6 to 18 years of age;
  • a right to accessible government buildings, transport and websites.

The UDID card

The Unique Disability ID (UDID) card is a single disability certificate and identity card that is valid across India and is used for every scheme below. Apply on the UDID portal; a medical board in your district assesses the disability, and the card comes by post.

Pensions and money

  • The Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension pays a monthly pension to people aged 18 to 79 with severe or multiple disabilities (80% or more) from families below the poverty line. The state adds its own amount, and most states run their own disability pensions for more people. Apply through your gram panchayat, municipal office or your state's services portal.
  • Income tax (under the old tax regime): a deduction of ₹75,000 a year for a taxpayer with a disability, ₹1,25,000 with a severe disability (section 80U), and the same for supporting a dependant with a disability (section 80DD). See the Income Tax Department.

Aids, appliances and health cover

  • The ADIP scheme gives wheelchairs, tricycles, hearing aids, artificial limbs, smart canes and, for young children, cochlear implants free or at a low price, depending on family income, through ALIMCO and camps in the districts. Details: Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.
  • Niramaya health insurance, from the National Trust, covers people with autism, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability and multiple disabilities.
  • Families eligible for Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY) get free hospital treatment up to ₹5 lakh a year: check or get the card at beneficiary.nha.gov.in.

Education and work

  • Scholarships for students with disabilities (pre-matric, post-matric, top-class and overseas study) are applied for on the National Scholarship Portal.
  • The Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre has an Indian Sign Language dictionary and courses.
  • Government job notices show the posts reserved for people with benchmark disabilities and the exam facilities (a scribe, extra time) they can ask for.

Complaints

If a government office, employer, school or service provider denies you your rights, complain to the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (for central government bodies) or to your state's Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities. Complaints about central ministries can also go to CPGRAMS.

See also: help for senior citizens, and your state's services and helplines page, listed under India's government.

Sources: Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016; Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment); National Social Assistance Programme (Ministry of Rural Development); Income Tax Department; National Health Authority. Links checked November 2026.