What is UDID and How is it Important?
Unique Disability ID is one of the most important documents by the government for the disabled. Here are all the details for the same.
UDID stands for Unique Disability ID. The UDID Project was launched in 2016 by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India.
The UDID project is being implemented with a view of creating a National Database for PwDs and to issue a Unique Disability Identity Card to each person with disabilities. With this PwDs need not maintain or carry multiple documents as the card will capture all the necessary details about them and their disability. The card acts as a single document for the identification and verification of the disabled candidates. The UDID card is treated as proof for Persons with Disabilities all over India. A unique 18-digit number is given on the card, which has state identification digits, district code, disability code, year of birth and another sequence. It would be easy to identify the extent and intensity of a person’s disability. There are different colors for different percentages of the disability.
A person with less than 40% disability would have a card with a white stripe. A person with 40% to 80% disability would have a card with a yellow stripe. And, a person with above 80% card with a blue stripe. A disability certificate allows persons with disabilities to avail of a number of benefits depending upon their disability type and extent.
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Scholarship schemes that are available for students with disabilities
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Reduction in income tax
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Discount on railway fare
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Reservation in government jobs
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Loan facilities for starting a new business
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Free travel facility in state transportation
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Access to assistive devices and prosthetic aids at discounted rates
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Unemployment allowance (applicable for educated disabled persons)
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Group insurance (applicable for government employees with disabilities)
From April 1 2023, UDID became mandatory to avail benefits of government schemes for persons with disabilities. The government said those who do not have a UDID card will have to provide the UDID enrollment number which is generated from the UDID portal along with a disability certificate of disability. However, in case of availability of a valid UDID number, physical copy of disability certificate or uploading the disability certificate is not required. The department (DEPwD) said UDID is made mandatory with the aim to bring transparency and to reduce the burden of paperwork on the people with disabilities, the UDID will be mandated for various schemes. The UDID card will be treated as proof for Persons with Disabilities all over India.