Financial Assistance to Non Governmental Organisations

What is financial assistance to NGOs for the differently abled?

Financial Assistance to Non Governmental Organisations is the grant-in-aid route of the Department for the Welfare of Differently Abled Persons, Government of Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu delivers most of its disability services through voluntary organisations rather than directly, and this scheme is how those organisations are funded.

According to the department's policy note, non-governmental organisations involved in rehabilitating differently abled persons are encouraged "by according Registration and Recognition", and these NGOs "are provided with grant-in-aid for providing rehabilitation services, food and medicine, therapeutic training and special education for the Differently Abled Persons". Salary grants are also provided at an enhanced rate for the rehabilitation staff engaged by these organisations.

The scale of the arrangement is substantial:

• 786 non-governmental organisations have been registered in Tamil Nadu under Section 50 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
• 393 special schools have been accorded recognition under the Tamil Nadu Recognized Private Schools (Regulation) Acts, as per the Rules of 2023.
• 323 special schools run by NGOs receive grants-in-aid assistance from Government, alongside 22 Government residential special schools and 48 Government-aided special schools.
• 1,024 special educators in NGO-run institutions receive a monthly honorarium of Rs 18,000, on which Rs 2,076.33 lakh was spent in 2024-25.
• 309 care assistants engaged by NGOs receive Rs 4,500 a month, on which Rs 166.63 lakh was spent in 2024-25.
• A combined Rs 2,510.17 lakh was allocated in the 2025-26 Budget Estimate for the honoraria of special educators and care assistants in special schools.

The scheme therefore has two faces. For the organisation, it is a grant. For the special educator or care assistant working in an NGO school, it is the source of a monthly honorarium.

Who is eligible for the grant-in-aid?

An organisation can apply if:

• It is a registered society, trust or similar body with a constitution and bye-laws.
• It works in the rehabilitation, education or care of differently abled persons in Tamil Nadu.
• It obtains registration under Section 50 of the RPwD Act, 2016 from the Commissioner for Welfare of the Differently Abled.
• Where it runs a school, it obtains recognition under the Tamil Nadu Recognized Private Schools (Regulation) Act 1973 and the 2018 amendment Act, as per the Rules of 2023.
• It maintains enrolment records with disability certificates, staff records and audited accounts.

You are not eligible if:

• You are an individual with a disability seeking personal assistance. This scheme funds institutions. Individuals should apply for the department's own benefits, the disability certificate and passbook, maintenance allowance, assistive devices, scholarships, reservation in education and employment, and the accessible facilities schemes.
• Your organisation is not registered under Section 50 of the RPwD Act, 2016.
• Your school is not recognised under the Recognized Private Schools Acts, where recognition is the precondition for grant.
• You have not filed utilisation certificates and audited accounts for a previous grant.
• You are seeking funds for an activity outside the department's mandate, such as general education or a non-disability welfare programme.

What activities are funded?

An NGO running a school for children with intellectual disability. The case most often searched for under this scheme name, falls squarely inside the special school grant-in-aid, and among the 48 Government-aided institutions, 15 function for intellectually challenged children.

How to apply for financial assistance as an NGO

1. Register the organisation as a society or trust and put in place a governing body, bye-laws and a bank account in the organisation's name.
2. Apply to the Commissionerate for Welfare of the Differently Abled for registration under Section 50 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, submitting the registration certificate, bye-laws, details of the services proposed, premises and staff.
3. Where a special school is run, apply for recognition under the Tamil Nadu Recognized Private Schools (Regulation) Act 1973 and the 2018 amendment Act, following the Rules of 2023.
4. Submit the grant-in-aid proposal through the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer, listing the children enrolled with their disability certificates, the special educators and care assistants engaged with their qualifications, and the infrastructure available.
5. Undergo inspection by the district office, which verifies enrolment, attendance, staff strength, premises and accessibility.
6. On sanction, draw the grant and the honoraria for sanctioned posts, and maintain attendance, service and payment records.
7. File audited accounts and a utilisation certificate for each year, which is the precondition for the next release.

How an individual gets help instead

If you reached this page looking for personal assistance rather than a grant, the route is different and simpler.

1. Obtain a disability certificate and passbook — the application form is available with the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer, and the medical certificate must be obtained from the competent medical authority, or a Medical Board in the case of multiple disability.
2. Apply for the Unique Disability Identification (UDID) card. The department records 8,94,220 UDID cards generated and delivered to the residences of differently abled persons as on 31 March 2025.
3. Approach the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer for maintenance allowance, assistive devices, scholarships, reservation benefits and admission to special schools or homes.
4. For grievances, write to the Assistant Special Officer, Office of the Commissionerate for Persons with Disability, No. 5, Kamarajar Salai, Chennai 600005, or call 044-28444940.

Why NGO grant proposals fail

• No registration under Section 50 of the RPwD Act, 2016, which is the gateway requirement.
• School not recognised under the Recognized Private Schools Acts.
• Enrolment not backed by disability certificates, so children cannot be counted for the grant.
• Staff without the required qualifications proposed for the special educator honorarium.
• Utilisation certificate for the previous grant not filed, which stops the next release.
• Premises that do not meet accessibility or safety requirements, particularly where residential care is provided.
• Duplicate funding for the same staff or the same service from another government source.

Help and grievance route

• State Commissionerate for Welfare of the Differently Abled, No. 5, Kamarajar Salai, Lady Wellington College Campus, Chennai 600005 to landline 044-28444948.
• Helpline, 1800 425 0111.
• Email, scd.tn@nic.in and scdatn@gmail.com.
• District Differently Abled Welfare Officer in each district, the first authority for registration, recognition, inspection and grant proposals.
• Assistant Special Officer, Office of the Commissionerate for Persons with Disability to 044-28444940, for grievances.
• State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, who exercises the statutory functions under the RPwD Act, 2016.

Registration, recognition and grant-in-aid are free of charge. No intermediary can obtain registration or a grant for an organisation, and the Commissionerate publishes the list of registered NGOs on its website for verification.

How to check your application status

This is an offline, file-based grant, so there is no online tracking portal or application ID to look up on a website. Status has to be chased through the office that is actually holding the file at each stage.

1. Registration under Section 50 of the RPwD Act, 2016. Once an organisation has submitted its papers to the Commissionerate for Welfare of the Differently Abled, follow up with the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer who forwarded the file, or call the Commissionerate office in Chennai on 044-28444948. Keep the acknowledgement or receipt number given at submission, since the office needs it to trace the file.

2. School recognition application. Recognition under the Tamil Nadu Recognized Private Schools (Regulation) Act moves through the same district office before it reaches the state Commissionerate. The district office can confirm whether the file has been sent up, is awaiting inspection, or has come back with objections.

3. Grant-in-aid proposal. After a proposal for grant-in-aid, honorarium sanction, or renewal is submitted, the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer's office is the first point of contact to check whether the inspection has been carried out, whether the proposal has moved to the Commissionerate for sanction, or whether it is held up for a missing document such as the previous year's utilisation certificate.

4. State helpline and email. For a file that appears stuck at the state level, call the toll-free helpline 1800 425 0111, or write to scd.tn@nic.in or scdatn@gmail.com, quoting the organisation's registration number and the date of submission.

5. In person. Because this is a grant to an institution rather than a benefit to an individual, phone and email follow-up sometimes gets a slower response than a visit. Organisations with a proposal pending for several months are better served visiting the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer directly with copies of everything already submitted, and asking for the file's current stage in writing.

There is no SMS-based status alert for this scheme. An organisation should also check, each year, that its own utilisation certificate and audited accounts for the previous grant have actually been received and acknowledged by the district office, since an unacknowledged submission is the most common reason a renewal appears to be "stuck" when in fact the file was never picked up for processing.