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The Union Budget 2026 offers limited direct relief for persons with disabilities, with most support routed-through employment-linked schemes rather than income or social-security measures.
In her Budget Speech, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government would “ensure dignified livelihood opportunities through industry-relevant and customised training specific to each divyang group.”
She announced two schemes, Divyangjan Kaushal Yojana and Divyang Sahara Yojana, with budgetary allocations of Rs 200 crore and Rs 100 crore respectively. The Budget though proposes a specific tax exemption for disability pension granted to members of the armed forces.
Budgetary allocations for most other welfare programmes for persons with disabilities remain broadly unchanged. The scheme for assistance to disabled persons for purchase or fitting of aids and appliances saw a marginal increase, to Rs 375 crore from Rs 330 crore in the revised estimates last year.
The Divyangjan Kaushal Yojana aims to provide industry-relevant, customised training to 20,000 persons with disabilities over five years. The Budget identifies sectors such as the information-technology (IT), animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC), hospitality and food and beverages as offering task-oriented and process-driven roles deemed suitable for people with disabilities.
Under Divyangjan Sahara Yojana, the government proposes to support the Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) to scale up the production of assistive devices, invest in research and development and integrate artificial intelligence. The scheme also seeks to strengthen PM Divyasha Kendras and establish assistive technology marts as modern retail-style centres where persons with disabilities and senior citizens can view, try and purchase assistive products.
According to the 2011 Census, India has 26.8m persons with disabilities, accounting for 2.21 per cent of the population—a scale that underscores the modest reach of the new measures.