India, March 17 -- Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ramdas Athawale described the upcoming Census 2027, the first after the enactment of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, as a historic national opportunity to recognise all 21 categories of disabilities through trained enumeration and vastly improved data collection.

Speaking at the launch of India's first-ever handbook on disability for parliamentarians titled 'Beyond the Visible: A Handbook on Disability Inclusion for Parliamentarians,' prepared by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), the Minister said accurate and disaggregated data will enable the government to design far more targeted and effe...