A disability rights group has written to the Central government seeking the classification of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices and prostheses as essential assistive products under the draft Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Amendment) Rules, 2026.
In a representation to the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the group noted that these products, put in the specialised assistive products category, could create uncertainty over access to insurance coverage, public financing, replacement and maintenance. The group said the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, recognise augmentative and alternative modes of communication. It also cited the World Health Organisation’s Priority Assistive Products List, which it said includes communication aids and artificial limbs, and ICMR’s National List of Essential Assistive Products (NLEAP), 2023, which has prostheses among its prioritised products.
Doctors with Disabilities: Agents of Change (DwDAoC), an organisation of health professionals with disabilities, said in its communication that the Centre should classify communication aids and prostheses as essential products.
DwDAoC urged the government to align the draft rules with these frameworks and consult AAC users, prosthesis users and other persons with disabilities before finalising the rules. It has urged the government to ensure equitable access to assistive products, regardless of the complexity of the services required to provide them.
