The Tamil Nadu government has identified specific categories of disabilities as eligible for reservation in promotions to certain posts in the Secretariat departments, in line with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
The reservation in promotion will be applicable only to Secretariat departments treated as ‘one unit’, and will not apply to the Finance and Law Departments, as per the government order.
Disabilities Eligible for Promotion in Secretariat Service
For the posts of Assistant, Assistant Section Officer, Section Officer, and Under Secretary, the following categories of disabilities have been identified:
- Visual Impairment (VI)
- Low Vision (LV)
- Hearing Impairment (HI)
- Hard of Hearing (HH)
- Locomotor Disability (LD – OA, OL, BA, BL, OAL, BLOA, Others)
- Cerebral Palsy (CP)
- Leprosy Cured (LC)
- Dwarfism (DF)
- Acid Attack Victims (AC)
- Muscular Dystrophy (MUD)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder – Mild [ASD (M)]
- Specific Learning Disability (SLD)
- Mental Illness – Moderate [MI (Mod)]
- Multiple Disabilities (MD)
Eligibility for Stenographic & Personal Staff Posts
For the posts of Personal Clerk, Senior Personal Clerk, Personal Assistant, Private Secretary, and Senior Private Secretary, the following categories will be accommodated:
- Visual Impairment (VI)
- Low Vision (LV)
- Hard of Hearing (HH) (with assistive devices)
- Locomotor Disability (OA, OL, BA, BL, OAL, BLOA, Others)
- Acid Attack Victims (AC)
- Leprosy Cured (LC) (without limb deformity)
- Dwarfism (DF)
- Multiple Disabilities (MD)
Record & Typist Posts
For Record Clerk and Record Assistant posts, eligible categories include:
- Low Vision (LV)
- Hard of Hearing (HH)
- Locomotor Disability (OA, OL, Others)
- Dwarfism (DF)
- Acid Attack Victims (AC)
- Leprosy Cured (LC)
- Specific Learning Disability (SLD)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder – Mild [ASD (M)]
- Mental Illness – Moderate [MI (Mod)]
- Multiple Disabilities (MD)
For Typist and Senior Typist posts, the following categories are eligible:
- Visual Impairment (VI)
- Low Vision (LV)
- Hearing Impairment (HI)
- Hard of Hearing (HH)
- Locomotor Disability (OL, BL, Others)
- Leprosy Cured (LC)
- Dwarfism (DF)
- Acid Attack Victims (AC)
- Mental Illness – Moderate [MI (Mod)]
- Autism Spectrum Disorder – Mild [ASD (M)]
- Specific Learning Disability (SLD) (with comprehension, spelling & calculation skills)
- Multiple Disabilities (MD)
Legal Background
Under Section 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, governments are mandated to identify posts suitable for persons with benchmark disabilities and ensure reservation in employment.
In June 2023, the Tamil Nadu government reconstituted an Expert Committee to identify suitable posts across Group ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, and ‘D’ services for implementing 4% reservation in employment.
In June 2025, the State government issued orders extending 4% reservation in promotion for persons with benchmark disabilities. Subsequently, in October 2025, the Expert Committee met to identify suitable posts for promotion and direct recruitment in the Secretariat service.
Based on these recommendations, the government has now officially identified the eligible categories of disabilities for various promotional posts in the Tamil Nadu Secretariat.
