NEW DELHI: On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities day, today  at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi, President Droupadi Murmu will present national awards for outstanding work toward the empowerment of people with disabilities.

A total of 1,210 applications were submitted for the year 2022 for the selection process, which included reviewing the candidates' records and supporting documentation. The Screening Committees set up by the Department reviewed and narrowed down these applications.

844 applications in all were submitted for the prize in 2021.

The awards will be granted to people, institutions, organisations, states, or districts for their remarkable accomplishments and work toward the empowerment of people with disabilities, according to a statement from the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (PwDs).

Every year, national honours are given by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment's Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) for excellent accomplishments and work in this area.
The National Awards Rules, 2013, which specified seven categories of disabilities in accordance with the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, governed the Award Scheme up until 2017.

However, the number of identified disabilities rose from 7 to 21 under the new Law with the passage of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which took effect on April 19, 2017.

Accordingly, the National Award Guidelines, which were announced in the Extraordinary Gazette of India on August 2, 2018, now include all 21 impairments.

All 21 disabilities have been included under the National Award Guidelines which have been released in the Extraordinary Gazette of India dated August 2, 2018. 

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