Page 3 - Disability

What is the disability quota in UPSC exams? Here's all you need to know

UPSC's sanctity is in question nowadays after the case of IAS Pooja Khedkar's disability quota surfaced. Here's all about disability quota in UPSC exams

'Fake' disability, OBC claims: Trainee IAS Pooja Khedkar is in big trouble

Pooja Khedkar, who secured an all-India rank of 841 in the Union Public Service Commission exam in 2023, is accused of misusing her powers as a trainee IAS officer

Govt to redesign Sugamya Bharat App to incorporate AI features: Official

The government will redesign the Sugamya Bharat App to incorporate artificial intelligence features to make it a one-stop point for people with disability, said Disability Affairs Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal on Monday. The app -- a crowdsourcing mobile application -- is a means to sensitise and enhance accessibility in the built environment, transportation sector and ICT ecosystem in India. "In AI, the features we aim to add are information from annual reports, various schemes, recent district-wise data and important judgements of the Supreme Court and High Courts," Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary in the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, told PTI. For this, an agreement has been signed between the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the chairmanship of Aggarwal with NGOs Mission Accessibility and National Association For The Blind (NAB Delhi) and research institute I-STEM. "The objective of this MoU is to deliver a fully accessible, multiling

Urban Company customises app to make it convenient for visually impaired

On-demand home service provider Urban Company has updated its app to make it convenient for visually impaired persons to book services. The update works with 'Voice Over' on iOS and 'TalkBack' on Android -- commonly used screen reading software by persons with visual impairment, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. "We are focused on ensuring a seamless experience for all our customers, including visually impaired individuals. Our new app update will hopefully make it easy for them to book services on Urban Company and communicate seamlessly with their service professionals," Urban Company, Co-Founder and chief product and technology officer, Raghav Chandra said.

Disability sector can contribute $1 trn to economy by 2047, says expert

India's specially-abled population can actively contribute USD 1 trillion to the country's economy by 2047, according to a prominent Indian-American leader in the sector. Pranav Desai, the founder of the Voice of Specially Abled People, recently travelled to India and met top leaders of the ruling BJP in New Delhi including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and BJP president J P Nadda; the Gujarat Chief minister in Ahmedabad to present his vision document for the cause. He also travelled to Goa for a volunteer meeting. In an interview with PTI, Desai said that with proper strategy, policy and action, India's specially-abled population can actively contribute to the nation's economic growth, ultimately achieving a USD 1 trillion contribution to the disability sector by 2047 in Viksit Bharat. India can be a leader in this sector. My proposal was well received in New Delhi, Desai said, referring to his conversations with the top leadership in India. Desai said in his meeting with ..

Centre introduces interactive employability skills course for PwDs

These guidelines, meticulously tailored for both physical and digital skill training infrastructure, stand as a beacon of inclusivity for individuals with diverse disabilities

NFHS-6 launched, will not have disability-related questions: Centre

Centre said that based on data collection for a few parameters on disability in NFHS, it is not possible to adequately capture the all-India extent of disability and will underestimate its prevalence

If office inaccessible to divyangjan, then officers must go to them: Ruling

If a government office is operating from a building or premise which is not accessible to divyangjan, then the officers concerned should go to the ground floor or another accessible location to serve such people, the court of chief commissioner of persons with disabilities has said. The ruling of the chief commissioner came after a video of wheelchair-bound Virali Modi going through a harrowing experience on the day of her marriage went viral. She had to be carried to the second-floor office of a marriage registrar in the city on her wedding day because the building had no lift and the officials refused to come down to complete the formalities. Following the viral post, Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities Rajesh Aggarwal held a hearing and ruled that despite very clear statutory mandates various public buildings and public services are still not made fully accessible. The court of the chief commissioner for persons with disabilities, in its order on Thursday, said the

Centre's response sought on plea raising issue of assistance to PwD

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to respond to a plea which sought that quantum of assistance to persons with disabilities should be 25 per cent higher than those given to others under similar social welfare schemes. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud issued notice to the Centre seeking its response on the petition filed by Delhi-based organisation 'Bhumika Trust' and posted the matter for hearing after four weeks. The bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, requested Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati to assist the apex court in the matter. The top court noted the petitioner has relied on the proviso to section 24 (1) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Section 24 of the 2016 Act deals with social security and section 24 (1) says, "The appropriate government shall within the limit of its economic capacity and development formulate necessary schemes and programmes to safeguard and promote the right of perso

Providing dignified life to disabled people responsibility of society: Prez

President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday said providing a dignified life to persons with disabilities is the responsibility of the entire society. "We have to ensure that they get proper education, employment opportunities, accessible public places and a safer and better life," Murmu said at the golden jubilee celebrations of the National Federation of the Blind here. In the Indian culture, she said, disability has never been considered a hindrance in acquiring knowledge and achieving excellence. Citing examples of Rishi Ashtavakra, who had eight physical deformities, and blind poet Surdas, one of the most influential figures of the Bhakti Movement, Murmu said, "Insight is more important than sight." Providing a dignified life to persons with disabilities is the responsibility of the entire society, she said. The President appreciated the National Federation of the Blind for playing an important role in improving the lives of visually impaired people in the last 50 years, according to

Divyang artisans, entrepreneurs to showcase products at 'Divya Kala Mela'

The event will be held from June 29 to July 5, 2023, at the Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur, Rajasthan

Record set as 3,000 disable persons practice yoga together in Hyderabad

A mass yoga event here in which as many as 3,000 persons with disabilities from across the country participated has secured recognition from several 'Books of Records' on Wednesday, the organisers said. Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar attended the event organised on the occasion of International Yoga Day as the chief guest. "Mass Yoga performance by Divyangjan (persons with disabilities) across India creates (records in the) International World Book of Records, Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records for the maximum number of Divyangjan performing mass yoga," an official release said. For the first time, 20,000 persons with disabilities took place in yoga events across the country at various locations, while 3,000 persons of them took part in the event in Hyderabad alone, an official release said. The 3,000 people included those with visual impairment, hearing impairment, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and autism. The event was

UN Convention needs to define concept of reasonable opportunity, says India

India has said that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (CRPD) provides the concept of reasonable opportunity but it is required to be defined properly as it is culminating in the proportionate opportunity, which is restrictive in nature. The opportunities for employment should not be denied by prescription of kind of disabilities; full opportunity should be afforded to ensure need-based distributive justice, Justice Arun Mishra, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said. The CRPD provides the concept of reasonable opportunity. However, it is required to be defined properly as it is culminating in the proportionate opportunity, which is restrictive in nature, he said. Justice Mishra said this while making an intervention in the 3rd Roundtable on the Implementation of CRPD as part of the 16th Session of the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP16), which is being organised at UN ..

9.4 mn Unique Disability ID cards issued, just 9 in Bengal: Official data

Out of total 94 lakh unique disability identification cards issued throughout the country, just nine have been generated from West Bengal till now, according to official data. Unique Disability Identity Card (UDID) is a card to help persons with disabilities avail the benefits extended to them through various schemes. According to the data shared by the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry, 94.30 lakh e-UDID cards have been generated in 716 districts in all states/Union Territories till now. Out of which, just nine have been generated from West Bengal. However, it is not known if West Bengal has a separate scheme of issuing cards for people with disabilities. Addressing a press conference, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar said they are continuously in talks with states and Union Territories to expedite the process of issuance of the cards. Kumar also said that under target of conducting accessibility audit of 25-50 most important government buildings and .

SC asks NMC to set up panel to examine modes of disability assessment

The Supreme Court has directed the National Medical Council to set up a panel of domain experts to examine a plea for evolving modes of disability assessment of students having mental illnesses, special learning disorder (SLD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for granting quota in admission to MBBS course. The top court's direction came on a petition by Vishal Gupta who was denied reservation in admission to MBBS course under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act on the ground that his mental disability was 55 per cent rendering him ineligible for securing admission in a medical college. Under the Act, if the certifying authority certifies that the disability of a person is not less than 40 per cent then he or she is said to have the benchmark disability, and in that condition, the candidate cannot get the benefit of reservation in admission. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala took note of the submissions of lawyer

Apple previews accessibility features for people with disabilities: Details

Coming later this year, the new accessibility features include live speech, personal voice, point-and-speak, and assistive access that would be available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac users

Musk engages in heated exchange with ex-Twitter employee; apologises later

It started when Haraldur Thorleifsson sought clarity on whether the company had fired him or not. Musk replied with mocking replies and talked about Thorleifsson's disability openly

Over 75% Indian workplaces lack basic facilities for PwD: Randstad survey

The findings of a report released by Randstad India reveal that there is a gap between the policies for PwD and their implementation

Japan plans to raise employment rate of people with disabilities to 2.7%

This marked the largest increase since the current system was introduced, local media has reported

Over 8.8 mn UDID cards for people with disabilities issued: Official data

Over 88 lakh UDID cards for people with disabilities have been issued in the country so far, official data has showed. Unique ID for Persons with Disabilities project is being implemented with a view of creating a National Database for PwDs, and to issue a Unique Disability Identity Card to each person with disabilities. According to the latest data, 88,18,452 UDID cards have been generated till now. Elaborating further during an event, Social Justice and Empowerment minister Virendra Kumar said that the scheme has been implemented in all the states across the country. "Persons with Disabilities do not need to make multiple copies of documents as the card will capture all the necessary details and is valid throughout the country," he said. According to census 2011, there are 26.8 million people with disabilities in India, making up 2.21 per cent of the total population.