India's law for disabled significant step under UN convention:

India has taken a significant step under the UN convention by enacting a law with provision to provide reservation in jobs and colleges for people with physical disabilities, Minister for Social Justice Thawar Chand Gehlot said today.
Addressing Inter-Governmental meeting on the mid-point review of Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities here, Gehlot highlighted the passing of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act by the Parliament which came into force from April this year.
Some of the important affirmative actions under the law include 4 per cent reservation in government jobs, 5 per cent reservation of seats in government and government-aided higher educational institutes and 5 per cent reservation in poverty alleviation schemes and allotment of land for housing, setting up business at concessional rate of interest etc, he said.

Gehlot said the government has organised 5,889 camps across the country wherein aids and appliances worth Rs 5,264 million have been distributed to 900,000 people with disabilities.
"We have also launched the National Action Plan for Skill Development with a target of skilling 25 lakh persons with disabilities by the year 2022 through various stakeholders," he said.
Steps have been taken to intensify the awareness generation to promote legal rights.

The issues concerning empowerment of persons with disabilities are on the centrestage of the National Developmental Agenda of the government, he said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has coined the word "Divyangjan", which means "Persons with Divine Abilities" to address "Persons with Disabilities".

The government has also launched 'Accessible India Campaign', a flagship programme, to create barrier-free environment for persons with disabilities, Gehlot said.
The campaign targets creation of physical and virtual infrastructure truly accessible and inclusive for the persons with disabilities and for making public buildings, transport system and information and communication technologies accessible on a wide scale, he said.
"We remain committed to building an enabling environment for the persons with disabilities, to enable them to enjoy their rights equally with others, and to realise their full potential," he said.
India is open to sharing of the best practices and international cooperation for the empowerment and inclusion of persons with disabilities, he added.