After a protracted postponement, the Union government on June 25 finally announced the next Census, averting the ignominious labelling of the missed Census 2021 as the “leap decade of Census”. Census 2027, which will be India’s first digital Census, offers a chance for the government to reiterate its commitment to its professed policy to “leave no one behind” in “Viksit Bharat” of 2047.
While the electoral exercise for the 2024 Lok Sabha election involved 968 million voters, Census 2027 will count all 1.45 billion individuals (6.7 million villages), comparable in size and scale to China’s 2020 Census. By 2027, 17 years will have passed since the last detailed discovery of disability datasets. Anxieties abound among people with disabilities that post the Census, public discourse over reservations for Other Backward Classes and women will overshadow their concerns.
When India can count humongous numbers — 1.85 billion beneficiaries of direct benefits transfer; 1.38 billion Aadhaar enrolments; 810 million Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana beneficiaries; 491 million UPI users; 302.4 million households; 650 million smartphone users; over 1,218 million telephone subscribers; 300 million cattle; 550 million Jan Dhan accounts; and 550 million Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries — there should not be a problem in enumerating people with disabilities. Census 2011 underestimated the number of such people at 26.8 million (2.21% of the total population) as against projections of the National Family Health Survey-5 (4.52%) and the World Health Organization (15%). This is attributable more to inappropriate methodologies and grassroots administrative laxity than deliberate government design. Administrative inefficiency is evident from the fact that despite counting 2.68 crore people with disabilities, only 1 crore unique disability cards could be issued since 2015.
Criticism that India is not committed to the cause of people with disabilities is belied by its legal and policy actions. It has endorsed the WHO’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (2001); UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2007); and Sustainable Development Goals (2015). The country has enacted the Rehabilitation Council of India Act (1992); National Trust Act (1999); Rights of People with Disabilities Act (2016); and Mental Health Care Act (2017). The National Policy for Persons with Disabilities (2006, currently under revision); Guidelines and Standards for Universal Accessibility (Central Public Works Department, 2021); and the unique disability ID project are other instances. India has participated in discussions and workshops related to the Washington Group on Disability Statistics (it devised the Washington Group-Short Set, or WG-SS, model for survey) and the Harmonized Accessibility Guidelines, 2021 and launched the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan, 2015).
In economy and employment, exclusion of people with disabilities cost India ₹4.5 lakh crore, or 4% of the GDP, annually, according to a media report in January. It is a conservative estimate against the ₹13.23 lakh crore based on the ₹330.68 lakh crore nominal GDP in the financial year 2024-25. The World Bank estimates 3-7% GDP losses in similar economies. Only 23.8% of people with disabilities in the 15-59 age group are employed, compared with 50% of the non-disabled (National Sample Survey 76th Round, 2018), with just 0.4% in private sector jobs versus 3-4% government reservations (International Labour Organisation, 2021). Compared with the government’s promotion of equal opportunity through the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, private firms display a lack of disability policies, limiting employment opportunities.
In education, 46% of the 2.68 crore people with disabilities (2011 Census) are illiterate. Only 22.5 lakh disabled children are enrolled in schools (less than 1% of total, UDISE+ 2021-22), with 61.2% attendance (ages 6-17) versus 90% enrolment for non-disabled (NSS, 2018). UNESCO (2019) notes 75% of disabled children (5-19) do not attend school, and only 8.5% complete secondary education. In crisis situation, their position aggravates as the COVID-19 period saw 75% dropout rates. Limited assistive devices (10%, UNICEF) and untrained teachers further hinder the individualised education plans and home-based schooling of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.
Update methodology
Census 2011’s medicalised binary questions, across eight categories, missed invisible intellectual and psycho-social disabilities. Inadequately trained enumerators, lacking use of Braille or sign language, ignored detailing dysfunctionalities. The WG-SS model, used by over 80 countries, probes difficulties (like “do you have difficulty seeing, even with glasses?”) across functionalities such as seeing, hearing, walking, cognition, self-care, and communication. It humanises data collection through compassionate and sensitive individual interaction. And offers nuanced data for proper policy interventions as Canada, Australia, Brazil and New Zealand show.
Global experience
In Canada, the quinquennial census (2021) and Canada Survey on Disabilities (2022) using WG-SS captured 22% prevalence (2017), leading to enacting the Accessible Canada Act. In Australia, the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) showing 18.3% prevalence (2018) fed into the $22 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) benefiting 5,00,000 people with disabilities.
In the U.K., the WG-SS surveys showing 19% prevalence (2021) aided in implementation of the Equality Act, 2010. In the U.S., American Community Survey’s functional questions improved anti-discrimination laws. In New Zealand, the WG-SS and household surveys enhanced disabled services. In Brazil, the 2022 Census’s functional approach drove education reforms. In China, 6.34% prevalence (82.96 million) aligns with the ICF. India’s Salem (2025) and Kerala (2014-15) surveys used door-to-door and 22 categories, showing potential to improve welfare measures.
Action plan
India has to the adopt the following strategies to align the Census with the aspirations of people with disabilities:
Update methodologies: adopt WG-SS questions as India already is a participant country, align with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act’s 21 disabled categories, use mixed-mode surveys (house-to-house, e-census such as China’s WeChat), and adopt post-census survey mechanism as in Canada for validation.
Professionalise enumerator training: mandate WG-SS, recruit people with disabilities as enumerators (UK model), and co-opt Anganwadi, ASHA, and SHG workers.
Make data accessible: incorporate use of Braille, Indian Sign Language, and screen-reader formats; disaggregate data as per CRPD; use AI and Aadhaar-linked portals; and create village-level registers as in Ayushman Bharat and PMAY.
Engage stakeholders: Partner with NGOs, CSOs and CBOs to engage marginalised groups through panchayats and form task forces.
Innovations: pilot mini-census (Salem example), use real-time dashboards, implement “privacy shield” for anonymous reporting, deploy a disability internship corps, and award top districts and blocks.
Besides just recording statistics, a statistical Leviathan like the Indian Census has limitless potential to help the disabled and prevent their lives from becoming brutal, nasty, and short. It is hoped that Census 2027 will power and push policies for improving school education, employment, healthcare, quality of life and day-to-day living. It will help India provide better care for the disabled.
Sushil Kumar is a former Secretary to the Government of India and is practising as an advocate in the High Court and the Supreme Court; views expressed are personal
Published – August 26, 2025 12:21 am IST