NABARD Development Assistant PWD Instructions: Under section 34 of “The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016”, persons with benchmark disabilities are eligible for Reservation. The reserved categories of disabilities mentioned under this Act are namely:

Blindness and low vision;

Deaf and hard of hearing;

Locomotor disability including cerebral palsy. leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy;

Autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability, and mental illness;

Multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (d) including deaf-blindness in the posts identified for each disability.

NABARD Development Assistant PWD Instructions are as follows:
(i). Persons with Benchmark Disabilities using a Scribe
The visually impaired candidates and candidates whose writing speed is adversely affected permanently for any reason can use their own scribe at their cost during the online examination, subject to limits as in (ii) and (iii) below. In all such cases where a scribe is used, the following rules will apply:

a. The candidate will have to arrange his/her own scribe at his/her own cost.
b. The scribe arranged by the candidate should not be a candidate for the same examination. If violation of the above is detected at any stage of the process, the candidature of both the candidate and the scribe will be canceled. Candidates eligible for and who wish to use the services of a scribe in the examination should invariably carefully indicate the same in the online application form. Any subsequent request will not be favorably entertained.
c. A person acting as a scribe for one candidate cannot be a scribe for another candidate.
d. The scribe may be from any academic stream. However, for posts in disciplines other than "General", the scribe should be from an academic stream different from that prescribed for the post.
e. The scribe should not answer on his/her own. Any such behavior observed will result in cancellation of candidature
f. Both the candidate as well as scribe will have to give a suitable undertaking confirming that the scribe fulfills all the stipulated eligibility criteria for a scribe as mentioned above. Further, in case it later transpires that he/she did not fulfill any laid down eligibility criteria or suppressed material facts, the candidature of the applicant will stand canceled, irrespective of the result of the online examination and interview / final result.
g. Those candidates who use a scribe shall be eligible for compensatory time of 20 minutes for every hour of the examination or as otherwise advised.
h. Only candidates registered for compensatory time will be allowed such concession. Since the compensatory time given to candidates shall be system-based, it shall not be possible for the test conducting agency to allow such time if he/she is not registered for the same. Candidates not registered for compensatory time shall not be allowed such concessions.

(ii). Candidates with locomotor disability and cerebral palsy
A compensatory time of twenty minutes per hour or otherwise advised shall be permitted for the candidates with locomotor disability and cerebral palsy where dominant extremity (writing) is affected to the extent of slowing the performance of function (minimum of 40% impairment).
(iii). Visually Impaired candidates
A. Visual Impairment (VI): Only those Visually Impaired (VI) persons who suffer from any one of the following conditions, after best correction, are eligible to apply.
(i) Low Vision:

(i) Visual acuity not exceeding 6/18 or less than 20/60 upto 3/60 or upto 10/200 (Snellen) in the better eye with best possible corrections; OR
(ii) Limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of less than 40 degree up to 10 degree.

B. Hearing Impaired (HI):
Hard of Hearing: means person having 60 DB to 70 DB hearing loss in speech frequencies in both ears.
C. Locomotor Disabilities (LD): A person's inability to execute distinctive activities associated with movement of self and objects resulting from affliction of musculoskeletal or nervous system or both, including Cerebral Palsy, Leprosy Cured, Dwarfism, Muscular Dystrophy and Acid Attack Victims. Orthopedically challenged persons are covered under Locomotors disability with following bench mark:

a. OA - One arm affected (Right or Left)
b. OL - One leg affected (Right or Left)

Persons with OA category should have normal bilateral hand functions.
(i). "Leprosy cured person" means a person who has been cured of leprosy but is suffering from:

(a) Loss of sensation in hands or feet as well as loss of sensation and paresis in the eye and eye-lid but with no manifest deformity;
(b) Manifest deformity and paresis but having sufficient mobility in their hands and feet to enable them to engage in normal economic activity;
(c) Extreme physical deformity as well as advanced age which prevents him/ her from undertaking any gainful occupation, and the expression "leprosy cured" shall be construed accordingly;

(ii) “Cerebral palsy" means a Group of non-progressive neurological conditions affecting body movements and muscle coordination, caused by damage to one or more specific areas of the brain, usually occurring before, during or shortly after birth;
(iii) "Dwarfism" means a medical or genetic condition resulting in an adult height of 4 feet 10 inches (147 centimetres) or less;
(iv) "Muscular dystrophy" means a group of hereditary genetic muscle disease that weakens the muscles that move the human body and persons with multiple dystrophy have incorrect and missing information in their genes, which prevents them from making the proteins they need for healthy muscles. It is characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins, and the death of muscle cells and tissue;
(v) "Acid attack victims" means a person disfigured due to violent assaults by throwing of acid or similar corrosive substance.
D. Only those persons, who suffer from any one of the following types of disabilities, are eligible to apply under this category:
(i) “Specific Learning Disability” (SLD) means a heterogeneous group of conditions wherein there is a deficit in processing language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself as a difficulty to comprehend, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations and includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, and developmental aphasia.
(ii) "Autism spectrum disorder" (ASD) means a neuro-developmental condition typically appearing in the first three years of life that significantly affects a person's ability to communicate, understand relationships and relate to others, and is frequently associated with unusual or stereotypical rituals or behaviors.
E. “Multiple Disabilities” means a combination of two or more disabilities as indicated below: