Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) : RRB NTPC Recruitment 2024

The suitability of posts for PwBD is specified under the column “Suitability for Persons with Benchmark Disability” in the Post Parameters Table (Annexure A). The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, which came into effect on 19th April 2017, defines the benchmark disabilities as follows:

1. Blindness and low vision
2. Deaf and hard of hearing
3. Locomotor disability (including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims, and muscular dystrophy)
4. Autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability, and mental illness
5. Multiple disabilities (a combination of the above disabilities including deaf-blindness)

Definition of Specified Disabilities:

1. Physical disability:
   • Locomotor disability: Includes conditions like leprosy cured persons, cerebral palsy, dwarfism, muscular dystrophy, and acid attack victims.
   • Visual impairment: Includes blindness and low vision, characterized by specific conditions related to visual acuity and field of vision.
   • Hearing impairment: Includes conditions like deafness and hard of hearing, with specific hearing loss levels.
   • Speech and language disability: Includes disabilities like laryngectomy or aphasia.
2. Intellectual disability: Refers to limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, covering specific learning disabilities (e.g., dyslexia, autism spectrum disorder).
3. Mental behavior: Includes mental illness characterized by significant impairment in judgment, perception, or orientation.
4. Disability caused by chronic neurological conditions: Includes multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.
5. Blood disorders: Includes hemophilia, thalassemia, and sickle cell disease.
6. Multiple disabilities: Refers to the presence of more than one specified disability, including conditions like deaf-blindness.

Reservation and Certification

PwBD candidates eligible for reservation must have a disability degree of not less than 40%. They need to submit a Certificate of Disability issued by a competent authority as per the revised formats in the Gazette Notification of the RPwD Act, 2016 (Annexures V(A), V(B), V(C)).

Assistance of Scribe

PwBD candidates with a disability greater than 40% (e.g., visually impaired, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability) are eligible for a scribe. Candidates with less than 40% disability, as per Section 2(s) of the RPwD Act, 2016, but facing writing difficulties can also avail scribe assistance. Specific guidelines for engaging scribes include:

• Meeting the scribe two days before the exam
• The scribe’s qualification must not exceed the minimum criteria for the exam
• Separate e-call letters for scribes
• Compensatory time of 20 minutes per hour of the exam
• Candidates may bring their own scribes if RRB does not provide one

Medical Examination

Selected PwBD candidates will undergo a medical examination by Railway Medical Authorities to verify conformity to the prescribed medical standards.

Relaxation in Marks

In cases where full panels for PwBD candidates cannot be filled, a relaxation of up to 2 marks in the minimum qualifying marks for each category (UR, SC, ST, OBC-NCL) is allowed for PwBD candidates