Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale today said that the upcoming Census 2027 will offer a historic opportunity to recognise all 21 categories of disabilities through trained enumeration and vastly improved data collection. Speaking at the launch of India’s first-ever handbook on disability for parliamentarians titled Beyond the visible: A handbook on disability inclusion for parliamentarians in New Delhi, the Minister said that accurate and disaggregated data will enable the government to design far more targeted and effective interventions for persons with disabilities across the country. Mr Athawale added that the launch of the handbook will further mainstream the discourse on disability rights and inclusive policymaking in Parliament and public life. The Minister also highlighted several flagship initiatives of the central government, including the Accessible India Campaign, the Unique Disability ID portal, and skill development programmes under PM-DAKSH.