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. 2025 Jul;67(7):707-709.
doi: 10.4103/indianjpsychiatry_959_24. Epub 2025 Jul 15.

Challenges in disability certification in psychiatry in India

Affiliations

Challenges in disability certification in psychiatry in India

Apoorva K Bachhav et al. Indian J Psychiatry. 2025 Jul.

Abstract

This viewpoint draws attention to the disparities that exist between the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and the facilities that are available to specialists on the digital platform of certification for mental illnesses to address the severity of the impairment. It also recognizes that the lack of clear rules makes it difficult to reevaluate both single and multiple disabilities. The process of disability certification is further complicated by other factors, including inadequate training of medical professionals and clerical staff, server associated delays as well as the lack of uniformity of standard operating procedures among disability centers across the country.

Keywords: Disability certification; impairment severity; learning disabilities; rights of persons with disabilities act (RPwD).

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Gazette of India (Extra-Ordinary), December 28, 2016. Available from: https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s3e58aea67b01fa747687f038dfde066f6/uploads... . [Last accessed on 2025 Jan 03]
    1. Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Assessment Guidelines for Persons with Disabilities. Available from: https://divyangjan.depwd.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/assessment_guidelines... . [Last accessed on 2025 Jan 03]
    1. Subramanyam AA, Thanapal S, Kirpekar V, Deshpande S, John T. Disability certification in psychiatry. Indian J Psychiatry. 2022;64(Suppl 1):S185–95. - PMC - PubMed
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