Budget Violates Disability Rights, Entrenches Inequality
National Platform For The Rights of the Disabled
February 1, 2026
Press Statement
The National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) has issued the following statement:
Budget Violates Disability Rights, Entrenches Inequality
The Union Budget 2026–27 continues the exclusionary trajectory of the Modi government in its third term, reflecting a clear pro-corporate and pro-rich bias that deepens inequality and marginalisation. For persons with disabilities, this budget represents not neglect but an active denial of rights.
Under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the Indian State is legally obligated to ensure equality, non-discrimination, and full participation of persons with disabilities. The Act guarantees rights to inclusive education, healthcare, employment, social security, accessible housing, transport, and public services. Yet the provisions of this budget show no seriousness in translating these statutory rights into reality. Though a slight increase is there in the total allocations to the Department of Empowerment for Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), the increase will go mainly to the two new schemes that have been announced. Allocations continue to hover around a paltry 0.0286 per cent of the total Budget allocations which is around 0.008 per cent of the GDP.
The so-called Divyangjan Kaushal Yojana is merely another iteration of ineffective skill-training schemes that have failed to generate employment for disabled persons. Funds largely flow to training agencies, with little evidence of meaningful skill development or job placement.
Similarly, the Divyangjan Sahara Yojana offers nothing new; it is a repackaging of budgetary support to ALIMCO for manufacturing aids and assistive devices, which this government itself had withdrawn earlier. What is of concern however is the reduction in support to the Scheme for Implementation of Persons with Disabilities Act.
Drastic reductions in allocations to key central schemes, education, health, rural development, and agriculture—have severe consequences for disabled persons and their families. These cuts translate into inaccessible schools, unaffordable healthcare, hunger, unsafe housing, and livelihood insecurity. Reductions in food and agriculture support hit rural disabled persons particularly hard, where disability and poverty intersect most sharply. Notably, there has been no enhancement in the Indira Gandhi Disability Pension Scheme, which remains frozen at ₹300 per month since 2012.
Capital expenditure cuts have stalled investments in accessible infrastructure, transport, and assistive technologies—areas mandated under the RPwD Act. Accessibility cannot be a casualty of austerity.
State governments, responsible for implementing most disability-related schemes, are being fiscally strangled through reduced central transfers and weak GST collections, undermining pensions, rehabilitation, and support services.
For disabled people, “Fiscal Discipline” invoked by the Finance Minister translates to shrinking welfare, weakening public services, and rising costs of survival. While tax concessions for corporations and the wealthy are doled out, expenditures that make our rights enforceable are systematically cut. The government refuses to pursue progressive taxation and relies on expenditure compression which also disproportionately harm the disabled, who are more dependent on public systems and social security measures.
A budget that violates disability rights and entrenches inequality is unacceptable. We demand reversal of expenditure cuts, enhanced allocations for RPwD Act implementation, universal inflation-indexed disability pensions, investment in accessibility and assistive technologies, restoration of MNREGA and progressive taxation to fund rights.
(Muralidharan)
General Secretary