Disability group urges Centre to classify communication aids as essential products

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.

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.

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 draft rules, issued under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, propose a framework for standards and accessibility of assistive products and technology. The notification follows a Supreme Court directive calling for clear, non-negotiable accessibility requirements under Section 40 of the Act. The draft invites objections and suggestions before finalisation.

AAC devices include picture-based communication boards, speech-generating devices and applications that convert text or symbols into speech. In its representation, DwDAoC argued that the need for specialist assessment, customisation, fitting or rehabilitation should not determine whether a product is essential. It called for the classification to reflect the role assistive products play in enabling autonomy, participation and the exercise of rights.

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.

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.