Proposing mandatory digital accessibility standards for ICT products and services DoSJE issues draft amendment to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has issued the Draft Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Amendment) Rules, 2026 (“Draft Amendment”) proposing to substitute Rule 15(1)(c) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017 (“Principal Rules”) with a comprehensive framework prescribing mandatory accessibility standards for Information and Communication Technology (“ICT”) products, services, documentation and digital content. The Draft Amendment has been issued pursuant to the directions of the Supreme Court in Rajive Raturi v. Union of India to prescribe enforceable and non-negotiable accessibility requirements under Section 40 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (“Act”).

Objections and suggestions, if any, may be addressed to Shri Ram Charan Meena Under Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Room No 11 A, 5th Floor, Pandit Deen Dayal Antyodaya Bhawan, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi, 110003 or by email at rcmeena.79@gov.in, by 19^th August 2026, i.e., within 30 days from its gazette publication.

Key Highlights:

1. Significantly expands the compliance framework by making the accessibility requirements applicable to establishments that manufacture, design, develop, exercise decisive technical control over, or make available ICT products and services for public or consumer use in India, including entities located outside India offering such products or services in India.
2. Covers websites, mobile applications, software, electronic documents, digital content, ICT-enabled public services, ICT hardware, consumer products and related accessories.
3. Compliance is proposed to be aligned with IS 17802 (Part 1): 2021 and IS 17802 (Part 2): 2022 issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards, along with any stricter sector-specific accessibility requirements.
4. Introduces a mandatory Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) regime, requiring covered establishments to prepare, maintain, periodically update and publicly disclose accessibility conformance reports for covered ICT products and services. The ACR must be prepared or verified by qualified accessibility professionals, be made available in both human-readable and machine-readable formats, and be updated whenever major changes affecting accessibility are introduced or, in any event, at least once every 2 years.
5. Establishments having a turnover of ₹500 crore or more would be required to comply with the prescribed baseline accessibility standards within one year from notification of the final rules, while other establishments would be required to comply within eighteen months. Further, all covered establishments would be required to achieve full compliance with the applicable accessibility standards within two years from the date of notification.
6. Introduces detailed enforcement framework comprising designation of Grievance Redressal Officers by establishments, appointment of Nodal Officers by Ministries and sectoral regulators, constitution of a National Accessibility ICT Committee, mandatory remediation of non-compliances, and regulatory consequences including fines, enhanced penalties, and suspension or cancellation of licences, registrations or approvals for continued non-compliance.

Source: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment