Disabled

Samarthanam raises awareness about post-Covid impact on PwDs at UNHRC

In an oral intervention in the general debate on persons with disabilities at the 52nd Session of the Human Rights Council, Samarthanam Trust for the disabled raised awareness about the impact

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

Launch insurance products for the disabled, mentally unwell: Irdai

Regulator Irdai has asked general and standalone health insurers to offer a specific cover for Persons with Disabilities (PWD), persons afflicted with HIV/AIDS, and those with mental illness. In a circular, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) asked the insurers to determine the price of the product in line with the IRDAI (Health Insurance) Regulations, 2016 (HIR, 2016). The insurers have been directed to put in place a Board-approved underwriting policy that ensures that no proposal from these categories of population is denied insurance cover. The policy tenure of the product should be for one year and is renewable as per regulatory framework. General and standalone health insurers, who have been issued a Certificate of Registration to transact General and/or Health Insurance Business, have been asked to mandatorily launch and offer their respective product immediately. Irdai has been set up to bring about speedy and orderly growth of the insurance

SC committee seeks inputs on ensuring access to differently-abled

A Supreme Court committee, constituted to ensure that differently-abled persons have equal access to the apex court, has released two questionnaires to seek feedback from lawyers, activists, and litigants on the matter. The Committee on Accessibility, formed under the chairmanship of Supreme Court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat, has released the questionnaires, which are available on the apex court's website, to gather "valuable feedback" to enable it to identify areas that need improvement, said a top court official on Wednesday. "The Committee is working with a specific mandate to examine accessibility aspects related to the Supreme Court of India, and these questionnaires are a step in achieving that goal. The questionnaires are intended to gather feedback on all aspects of accessibility," the official said. Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud had constituted the committee in December last year. According to the court official, while the first questionnaire aims to gather inpu

MoRTH amends norms to ease vehicle purchase by differently abled people

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has proposed allowing conversion of fully built vehicles into adapted vehicles through temporary registration to facilitate buying of motor vehicles by differently abled people. Adaptation of motor vehicles, as per the specific needs of Divyangajan (differently abled people), is often required to facilitate their mobility. Currently, such adaptation could either be carried out prior to registration of vehicle, by the manufacturer or his authorised dealer. It can also be done after the registration of vehicle in as-is form on the basis of permission received from registering authority. "To simplify this process, MoRTH has proposed amendments in rules 53A and 53B, to extend the facility of temporary registration for adaptation of motor vehicles," the ministry said in a statement on Friday. According to the draft notification, in rule 53A, the grounds for applying for temporary registration has been expanded to include cases of fully

5.79 mn Unique Disability ID cards issued across country: Virendra Kumar

Around 57.95 lakh Unique Disability identity cards have been issued across the country so far, Union Minister Virendra Kumar said Saturday while asserting that the Narendra Modi government has done unprecedented work for the welfare of disabled people. The minister for social justice and empowerment said after the implementation of the Rights to Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the categories for disability have been increased from seven to 21, and reservation for Divyangjan in government jobs has also been raised from three per cent to four per cent besides increasing reservation in higher education to 5 per cent. "Unique ID for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) project is being implemented with a view of creating a national database for PwDs and issuing a Unique Disability Identity Card. So far, about 57. 95 Lakh UDID cards have been issued," he said after virtually inaugurating a camp for the distribution of free aid and appliances among the disabled in the Doda district under

Disappointed over less faculty in institutes for disabled: Parl panel

A parliamentary standing committee has expressed disappointment over the majority of national institutes for the disabled having much less faculty members than their sanctioned strength. The panel's report on social justice and empowerment on the 'review of the functioning of national institutes established for different types of disabilities' was tabled in Lok Sabha on Friday. The committee is "disappointed" to note that the faculty members in most of these institutes are much less in comparison to their sanctioned strength. Insufficient faculty even in those Institutes which were established decades back is an alarming revelation. The situation at Composite Regional Centres (CRCs) is also not good, the report said. "For instance, the sanctioned strength for all the CRCs of the National Institute for Locomotor Disabilities is 26, out of which 20 posts are vacant," the report said. "Similarly, out of the sanctioned strength of regular posts of 20 and contractual posts of 106 at CR

HC asks Irdai to consult insurance firms about health cover for disabled

Court asked regulator and insurance companies to submit a status report before March 17, 2023

Prez felicitates 52 people with disabilities; PM lauds their achievements

President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday felicitated 52 persons with disabilities for their laudable contribution in their fields, including a 66-year-old Mridu Ram Goel, who is an expert in access audit. Goel, who suffers from 81 per cent locomotor disability and is wheel-chairbound, has been raising issues related to the construction of ramps in government buildings in Lucknow. Vidhya Y, 29, another recipient of the award, was honoured by the president for, among other things, developing the world's most affordable electronic Braille book reading solution for children. Murmu presented the National Awards for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities for 2021 and 2022 here on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Vidhya, who is visually-impaired and has done her Msc in Digital Society, founded Vision Empower (VE) in 2017 which was incubated at the IIIT-Bangalore Innovation Centre. In 2020, she also co-founded Vembi Technologies' to design and manufacture

TN CM Stalin announces Rs 500 hike in pension to differently-abled citizens

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday announced an increase in pension for the differently-abled including the visually challenged people from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 and said his government is committed to the welfare of all sections of people, particularly, the marginalised. The Chief Minister said the State-level expert and high level committees are working towards providing technology based framework that would enable the differently-abled persons in government and private sectors to work independently without support. "There is no necessity for the differently-abled persons to go to office to work. We are going to create an ambience that would facilitate working from home," he said in his address on the occasion of the International day of persons with disabilities celebration held by the government here. A new initiative is on under the auspices of the Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation to upskill them and provide employment opportunities and the scheme covers ..

DE&I in India Inc: Finding a job gets tougher for persons with disabilities

The refinery, crude oil and natural gas sector, dominated by public sector companies, has done better on inclusion

AI language processors show bias against people with disabilities: Study

A recent study has found that the algorithms that power AI based language processors frequently exhibit characteristics that might be insulting or discriminatory toward people with disabilities

Can't deny boarding to disabled air traveller without notice: DGCA

The regulator had proposed the aforementioned regulations on June 3, six days after it had imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on IndiGo for denying boarding to a disabled boy at Ranchi airport on May 7

Powering a range of devices to give specially-abled a sense of independence

Chennai-based startups use EV and augmented alternative communication to offer solutions that allow their special customers to lead much more normal lives than they could otherwise

Employment struggles continue after pandemic for those with disabilities

There has also been the loss of existing means of support with layoffs and economic turmoil costing livelihoods among the PWD population too

My wheelchair is my legs and my family is my backbone: Avani Lekhara

In a Q&A, the shooting gold medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics talks about her difficult journey after a debilitating accident left the wheelchair-bound champion totally paralysed waist down

Hope on horizon for people with disabilities aspiring to be sports stars

India's splendid show at the Tokyo Paralympics has inspired many people with disabilities to get into sports; here's how they can complete the exciting yet challenging journey that will get them there

US govt sues Uber, saying wait fees discriminate against disabled

The federal government is suing Uber saying it discriminates against disabled people by charging fees when drivers have to wait for passengers to board their vehicles

Draft guideline issued to ensure ease during air travel for disabled people

The Civil Aviation Ministry on Tuesday issued draft guidelines for aviation sector stakeholders such as airlines and airports to ensure disabled people can travel at ease

Govt issues guidelines on vaccinating elderly, differently-abled near home

The Centre Thursday issued guidelines for vaccination near home, making it easier for the elderly and the differently-abled to get inoculated against coronavirus.