As per Census 2011, there are 65, 71,589 children with disabilities in the age-group of 5-19 years. Out of these, 46, 82,885 children belong to rural areas and 18, 88,704 children belong to urban areas. The number of persons with disabilities has increased from 2.21 crore as per Census 2001 to 2.68 crore as per Census 2011. The increase cannot be termed as drastic compared to the increase in total population.
Sharing this information in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Krishan Pal Gurjar said that the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights & Full Participation) Act, 1995, contains various provisions for empowerment of persons with disabilities. The Act casts responsibilities on the States to take various measures in the area of early intervention, education, health care etc. for children with disabilities. The government has introduced the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014 in the Rajya Sabha on Feb 7, 2014 which proposes to cast responsibilities on the States to take measures to ensure that the persons with disabilities including children with disabilities enjoy their rights equally with others.