India is home to lakhs of persons with disabilities. What are the benefits available to them under the law? 1) Free schooling till the age of 18 years in government-run schools. 2) Preferential allotment of land for setting up business. 3) Ramps in public buildings. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The correct answer is D, all three statements are correct. The question tests the benefits under the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, which was replaced by the RPwD Act, 2016. The 2016 Act retains these benefits and widens the disability categories from seven to twenty-one.

• Statement 1 is correct. The 1995 Act (Section 26) required free education for children with disabilities up to 18 years in neighbourhood government schools. This goes beyond the RTE Act, 2009, which covers only ages 6 to 14.
• Statement 2 is correct. The Act provides for concessional and priority allotment of land to persons with disabilities for housing, business, shops and similar purposes, within the government's economic capacity.
• Statement 3 is correct. The Act requires barrier-free access, including ramps, in public buildings and transport. This is the basis of the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat).

Mains angle: these provisions shift the focus from charity to rights-based inclusion, which is central to GS-II (welfare schemes and vulnerable sections).

Trap: Candidates often reject statement 2 because they do not recall land allotment as a statutory benefit, or they restrict statement 1 to age 14 by mixing it up with RTE.