Seven point six percent. That’s how many working-age persons with disabilities in India actually received the government’s emergency COVID-19 top-up to the national disability pension, according to this baseline report on social protection for persons with disabilities and COVID-19 in India, drafted by Meenakshi Balasubramanian, then a fellow at the Center for Inclusive Policy (CIP), in consultation with dozens of Disabled People’s Organisations.
What Did the Government Actually Announce?
The Union Government’s response centered on a one-off top-up to the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme, paid in three instalments, plus general measures like ration distribution and loan moratoriums that weren’t designed with disability in mind. Some states went further, Kerala paid its pension top-up in advance and added universal food kits, while others, including Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, announced nothing specific to persons with disabilities at all.
Why Did the Relief Miss So Many People?
Because the pre-existing pension system already excluded most people with disabilities. Eligibility required at least 80% impairment and living below the poverty line, criteria that left the national scheme covering only 7.6% of working-age adults with disabilities even before the pandemic. State-level top-ups pushed combined coverage to about 42%, but the value of the benefit itself, roughly $4 a month nationally, remained far below what families needed, and children with disabilities were excluded entirely.
What Was the Broader Impact on Persons with Disabilities?
Beyond income loss, the report documented cascading harm: inaccessible COVID-19 information for Deaf, blind, and deafblind people; no clear protocol for maintaining assistive devices during lockdown; disrupted access to blood transfusions, dialysis, and other essential treatments; and no plan for people being discharged from institutions back to families without support.
What Did CIP and OPDs Recommend?
The recommendations split into immediate and structural fixes. In the short term: raise emergency support to at least Rs. 5,000 a month, remove income ceilings, issue temporary local disability certificates so people could access relief quickly, and ensure accessible communication at every level. Longer term, the report called for a universal disability cash transfer, stronger community-based rehabilitation, and a real transition plan for deinstitutionalisation.
What Happened After the Report Was Published?
Its findings became a reference point well beyond the initial release. organisations of persons with disabilities used the data to push for reforms in individual states, and CIP followed up in November 2021 with a second report assessing whether that advocacy had actually moved the needle.
About the Report
Published in May 2020, the report was developed with technical support from CIP under the UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, co-implemented by ILO and UNICEF, and endorsed by organisations including ASTHA, the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled, and the CBR Global Network.
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CIP’s 2020 baseline report examines why India’s first COVID-19 social protection measures reached too few persons with disabilities.
