New Delhi, Dec 6 : There are an estimated 2.68 crore persons with disabilities in India, which is 2.21 per cent of the total population, and the government is creating a National Database for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) for a more accurate count, the Parliament was informed on Friday.

The database would serve as a reliable platform to ascertain the estimate of PwD population in the country in due course, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel told Lok Sabha.

She said that disability in movement, in hearing and in seeing are the three largest categories with 54.36 lakh, 50.72 lakh and 50.33 lakh persons, respectively.

In reply to a question by Rani Srikumar of the DMK, MoS Patel said, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE), relies on Census 2011 for data on the population of persons with disabilities in the country.

According to the Census 2011, in India, out of 121 crore population, there are an estimated 2.68 crore persons with disabilities, which is 2.21 per cent of the total population, said the MoS.

As per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, there are 21 specified disabilities. The DEPwD has launched the Unique Disability ID (UDID) sub-scheme to create a National Database for Persons with Disabilities across the country, she said.

The government's data indicate that there are 19.98 lakh people with speech disability, 15.05 lakh have mental retardation and 7.22 lakh have mental illness. There are 21.16 lakh people with multiple disabilities and 49.27 lakh are listed in the 'Any Other' category of disability by the government, the Mos said.

Elaborating on the plan to create a database for PwD, MoS Patel said that as per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act 2016, there are 21 specified disabilities. 'The DEPwD has launched the Unique Disability ID (UDID) sub-scheme with a view of creating a National Database for Persons with Disabilities across the country. Under the UDID project, certificates of disability and Unique Disability Identity cards are issued to Persons with Disabilities through competent medical authorities notified by respective State Governments/Union Territories,' she said.

The project aims to encourage transparency, and efficiency in the system of delivering government benefits to persons with disabilities. As per the available record, almost 1.15 crore UDID cards have been issued since the launch of the project. The UDID database can be used as a reliable platform to ascertain the estimate of PwD population in the country in due course, the MoS said.

/IANS