Infosys, Coca-Cola agree to make sign language official

They signed a petition which read that PM's dream of "accessible India" could only be fulfilled if sign language became the official language

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Infosys co-founder N.R.Narayana Murthy and Coca-Cola India president Venkatesh Kini on Thursday co-signed a petition to make sign language an official language of India.

The petitioners also urged the prime minister and the union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to include sign language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

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The petition read that the prime minister's dream of "accessible India" could only be fulfilled if sign language became the official language of the country.

"This will bring millions of people to the mainstream and further enable our society to become an inclusive society," the joint petition said.

Speaking at the annual event to felicitate "Special People of the Year", organised by the Limca Book of Awards in India, Murthy said that the government and corporates must come together to accomplish the vision of an accessible India.

"It is difficult to imagine India becoming a strong economy without becoming an inclusive economy, which is inclusive in gender, ability, ethnicity, and all other social parameters," he said.

This year, the Limca Book of Records team felicitated 15 specially-abled persons from various spheres of life.

A first ever Braille edition of the Limca Book of Records was also launched on the occasion.

"It will enable the visually challenged to browse through the existing records and challenge themselves to create new records," Venkatesh Kini said.