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Empowerment of the physically disabled persons is one of the major tasks of the government. The Constitution of India ensures equality, freedom, justice and dignity of all individuals and implicitly mandates an inclusive society for all, including persons with disabilities. Concerned over an estimated 1.85 crore persons with disabilities in the country, the government has initiated several welfare measures for their socio-economic empowerment. According to a survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in July-December 2002, the number of physically disabled persons constituted 1.8 per cent of the total population. (But, the Census 2001 put the number of persons with disabilities at 2.19 crore, constituting 2.13 per cent of the total population. This was due to difference in the definitions adopted in disability levels. While NSSO survey covered the seven areas of disabilities as defined under the Persons with Disabilities Act 1995, the Census covered five groups by merging Blindness and Low Vision in one category and Hearing and Speech in one category).
Inclusive Education
Ninety per cent of the disabled children in the country do not receive any form of education, although there are a few schools in Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi where inclusive education is being practised. Keeping this in view, the government has promised to include disabled children in all its educational programmes including the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). The government’s initiatives were aimed at transforming their physically disabled status to that of “differently-abled” ones, and further to make them “definitely-abled.” The announcement by the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh that positions in the Indian bureaucracy would be open to the disabled was received with a warm welcome. The Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995 promises equal opportunities to the disabled and three per cent reservation for them in the identified jobs in government establishments and Public Sector Undertakings.
Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995
The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 provides the legal basis of a rights based inclusive society wherein the Central and State Governments have to play the lead role in making the rights actionable. The spectrum of activities that the Act enjoins is very broad and an indication of the multi-dimensional nature of rehabilitation. The Act covers prevention and early detection of disabilities and aspects of rehabilitation like early intervention, education, employment and vocational training, reservation of jobs in the State sector, non-discrimination, research and manpower development and development of barrier-free environment.
Regular intervention with the State Governments has also helped in provision of various facilities in the area of education of children with disabilities and other social security measures. Latest reports indicate that as many as 20 states and 4 UTs provide free transport facilities to children with disabilities, 24 states and 6 UTs have the provision for scholarship and 13 states and 3 UTs have initiated action for making some of the schools disabled-friendly. 26 States and 5 UTs have made provision for either disability pension or employment allowance to persons with disabilities.
The President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam recently announced the development of a Speech Applet software for the visually challenged that would provide a speech interface on the Internet. He urged government institutions to reserve three per cent jobs for the differently-abled. He also suggested drawing up a charter of missions to empower the disabled and a data bank on the employment status of the physically challenged. The Supreme Court of India, last year, has ordered creation of a trust for the welfare of the disabled with a corpus of Rs 8 billion and directed that the fund be used only on their welfare. Responding to the demand by Rights Group, the apex court has asked the Election Commission to make provision for thousands of disabled people to exercise their voting rights. An experts committee including representatives from the corporate sector, constituted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to review the existing list of identified posts for the differently-abled, had identified around 120 occupations at the executive level, and around 946 at other levels, for their employment.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)
Under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, 15.93 lakh children with disabilities, of elementary school-going age group were identified in the country in 2004-2005, of whom, 10.77 lakh children had been enrolled in elementary schools at the beginning of 2004. The Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment under its Deendayal Rehabilitation Scheme, is supporting about 465 Special Schools benefiting about 60,000 children with disabilities. The National Trust for the welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities provides training to caregivers for imparting Home-based life-skill training to the children with severe and profound disabilities. The Trust has launched a Scheme to provide financial assistance to legal guardians for the maintenance of destitute and abandoned children suffering from disabilities. This has been initiated in 26 states and one UT as a pilot scheme for three years. Another new initiative taken by the Trust is to set up the State Level Nodal Agencies in 21 States and one UT. Last year, an official notification was issued for preparation of a comprehensive education scheme for children with disabilities. They included provisions for transport facilities, removal of architectural barriers from educational institutions, supply of books, uniforms, grant of scholarships and restructuring of curriculum.
Provision of Assistive Devices
The Ministry has been providing appliances free of cost along with required surgeries to poor persons with disabilities under the Scheme of Assistance to Disabled Persons, popularly known as ADIP. The scheme was started in 1981 to promote use of scientifically manufactured, modern, standard aids and appliances. Persons with disabilities having with an income upto Rs. 5000 per month are provided aids and appliances free. Those having income between Rs. 5001 to Rs. 8000 get these aids and appliances at half the cost. This scheme includes in its ambit medical/surgical correction and intervention needed for fitment of aids and appliances. Over seven lakh beneficiaries have already been covered.
The Ministry has been organizing national level exhibition on Assistive Devices once in a year in different parts of country for the past five years. The purpose of the exhibition is to create awareness about the availability of aids and appliances.
Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI)
The Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) is a statutory body responsible for regulating training policies and programmes for various categories of professionals in the area of disability. It also maintains a Central Rehabilitation Register for all professionals/personnel and promotes research in rehabilitation and special education. The Council gives recognition to institutes meeting minimum standards of excellence to conduct courses in the field of rehabilitation.
Economic Empowerment
The National Handicapped Finance & Development Corporation (NHFDC) was set up with the objective of promoting the economic empowerment of the persons with disabilities through financing self-employment ventures and assisting beneficiaries in the upgradation of technical and entrepreneurship skills for effective management of their self employment ventures. The Corporation has distributed over Rs.1841 lakh to 4,464 beneficiaries during 2002-03, followed by over Rs.2682 lakh to 5,564 people during 2003-04 and over Rs.1491 lakh to 2,299 beneficiaries in 2004-05.
National Awards The Government of India has been giving National Awards in the field of Disability every year since 1969. The awards are given in recognition of the achievements of persons with disabilities and the individuals and organizations that are working for their welfare. Since 1995, the International Day of Disabled Persons is celebrated on 3rd December every year as per United Nation’s General Assembly Resolution and the National Awards are given on this day.
*Freelance Writer
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