Despite nearly 10% of India’s registered non-profits working in disability, the sector receives only an estimated 1% of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding, a recent study has shown.
Released by Bengaluru-based law firm and think tank Pacta and disability inclusion enabler Able Foundation, the report titled ‘The Landscape of Funding for Disability in India’, finds that India’s disability sector is caught in a “low-funding equilibrium”, where low government prioritisation, weak philanthropic investment, and limited non-profit capacity continue to constrain sector growth and impact.
Govt. allocation low
According to the report, the combined Union and State allocations for disability also remain critically low at approximately 0.04% of GDP. This accentuates the problem, given how funders hesitate in the absence of a stronger State commitment and low public investment in the sector.
Disability interventions were often found to cost two to three times more per beneficiary than comparable social sector programmes, which could be another reason for low interest.
