Reservation of Seats for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD)
As per the provisions of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, not less than five percent (5%) seats are reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities. “Person with benchmark dis- ability” means a person with not less than forty percent (40%) of a specified disability where specified disability has not been defined in measurable terms and includes a person with dis- ability where specified disability has been defined in measurable terms, as certified by the certifying authority. It may be noted that the erstwhile Persons with Disability Act, 1995, under which reservation for Persons with Disabilities in admissions was provided earlier has now been repealed.
PwBD Candidates shall be given a relaxation in the program-specific eligibility in the qualifying examination and in the admission entrance test to the extent of 5%, till seats are filled. For example, if the minimum eligibility for admission to a program is 40% for the UR Category ap- plicants, the minimum eligibility for the PwBD category will be 38% (i.e. 40% minus 5% of 38%).
The following specified categories of disabilities as mentioned in the Schedule to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 [See clause (zc) of section 2 of Act of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016] are eligible to get the benefit of the said reservation.
I. Physical disability
- Locomotor disability
- Locomotor disability (a person’s inability to execute distinctive activities associated with movement of self and objects resulting from affliction of musculoskeletal or ner- vous system or both), including—
- "leprosy cured person" means a person who has been cured of leprosy but is suffer- ing from—
- loss of sensation in hands or feet as well as loss of sensation and paresis in the eye and eye-lid but with no manifestation of deformity;
- manifest deformity and paresis but having sufficient mobility in their hands and feet to enable them to engage in normal economic activity;
- extreme physical deformity as well as advanced age which prevents him/her from undertaking any gainful occupation, and the expression "leprosy cured" shall construed accordingly;
- "cerebral palsy" means a Group of non-progressive neurological condition affecting body movements and muscle coordination, caused by damage to one or more specific areas of the brain, usually occurring before, during or shortly after birth;
- "dwarfism" means a medical or genetic condition resulting in an adult height of 4 feet 10 inches (147 centimetres) or less;
- "muscular dystrophy" means a group of hereditary genetic muscle disease that weak- ens the muscles that move the human body and persons with multiple dystrophy have incorrect and missing information in their genes, which prevents them from making the proteins they need for healthy muscles. It is characterised by progres- sive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins, and the death of muscle cells and tissue;
- "acid attack victims" means a person disfigured due to violent assaults by throwing of acid or similar corrosive substance.
- Visual impairment
- "blindness" means a condition where a person has any of the following conditions, after best correction -
- total absence of sight; or
- visual acuity less than 3/60 or less than 10/200 (Snellen) in the better eye with best possible correction; or
- limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of less than 10 degree.
- "low-vision" means a condition where a person has any of the following conditions, namely:
- visual acuity not exceeding 6/18 or less than 20/60 upto 3/60 or upto 10/200
(Snellen) in the better eye with best possible corrections; or
- limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of less than 40 degree up to 10 degree.
- Hearing impairment
- "deaf" means persons having 70 DB hearing loss in speech frequencies in both ears;
- "hard of hearing" means person having 60 DB to 70 DB hearing loss in speech frequencies in both ears;
- "speech and language disability" means a permanent disability arising out of condi- tions such as laryngectomy or aphasia affecting one or more components of speech and language due to organic or neurological causes.
- Intellectual disability, a condition characterised by significant limitation both in intellectual functioning (reasoning, learning, problem solving) and in adaptive behaviour which covers a range of every day, social and practical skills, including—
- "specific learning disabilities" means a heterogeneous group of conditions wherein there is a deficit in processing language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself as a difficulty to comprehend, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calcu- lations and includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia and developmental aphasia;
- "autism spectrum disorder" means a neuro-developmental condition typically appear- ing in the first three years of life that significantly affects a person’s ability
to communi- cate, understand relationships and relate to others, and is frequently associated with unusual or stereotypical rituals or behaviours.
III. Mental behaviour
- "Mental illness" means a substantial disorder of thinking, mood, perception, orienta- tion or memory that grossly impairs judgment, behaviour, capacity to recognise reality or ability to meet the ordinary demands of life, but does not include retardation which is a condition of arrested or incomplete development of mind of a person, specially characterised by subnormality of intelligence.
IV. Disability caused due to
- Chronic neurological conditions, such as—
- "multiple sclerosis" means an inflammatory, nervous system disease in which the myelin sheaths around the axons of nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord are dam- aged, leading to demyelination and affecting the ability of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to communicate with each other;
- "Parkinson’s disease" means a progressive disease of the nervous system marked by tremor, muscular rigidity, and slow, imprecise movement, chiefly affecting middle-aged and elderly people associated with degeneration of the basal ganglia of the brain and a deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine.
- Blood disorder—
- "haemophilia" means an inheri1table disease, usually affecting only male but trans- mitted by women to their male children, characterised by loss or impairment of the normal clotting ability of blood so that a minor wound may result in fatal bleeding;
- "Thalassemia" means a group of inherited disorders characterised by reduced or ab- sent amounts of haemoglobin.
- "Sickle cell disease" means a haemolytic disorder characterised by chronic anemia, painful events, and various complications due to associated tissue and organ damage; "haemolytic" refers to the destruction of the cell membrane of red blood cells resulting in the release of haemoglobin.
V. Multiple Disabilities (more than one of the above specified disabilities)
- Multiple disabilities including deaf blindness which means a condition in which a per- son may have combination of hearing and visual impairments causing severe commu- nication, developmental, and educational problems.
- Any other category as may be notified by the Central Government.
Concessional/Waiver of fees in respect of Persons with Disabilities (PwBD)
- Candidates with physical disabilities pursuing various programs of study in the Faculties,
De- partments, Centres, and Institutions / Colleges of the University shall be exempted from payment of fees, including examination fee and other University fees, except Admis- sion fee, subscription towards Delhi University students’ Union and Identity Card fee(As per amendment to Ordinance X(4) of the University).
b. PwBD Candidates who meet the cut-off for the unreserved category and will take ad- mission in the unreserved category (UR) will pay the fee relevant for PwBD Candidate.
- As per the Executive Council Resolution No. 50 dated 03.11.2012, students with physical disabilities residing in different Hostels / Halls of the University are exempted from payment of all hostel fees and charges except refundable caution fee and the mess fees. Persons with Physical Disabilities who are students shall pay 50% of the Mess fee and the remaining 50% of their Mess Fee will be met by the University of Delhi. Similar norms are to be adopted by the Colleges in respect of PwBD Students residing in various hostels of the Colleges.
- PwBD students who are getting fellowships / financial assistance shall be exempted from payment of fees / charges / mess fees subject to the following conditions. All admitted SC/ST, OBC, EWS, PwBD students in colleges who are eligible for fellowships should submit their scholarship forms to the requisite office by February for timely process- ing.
Up to |3000/- per month |
Fees waiver + 50% Mess Subsidy |
|3001 to 8000 per month |
Fees waiver but no Mess Subsidy |
|8001 and above per month |
No fees waiver and no Hostel Subsidy |