=>Need of the hour
An important aim of the society is to integrate persons with disabilities in the society so that they can actively participate in society and lead a normal life. Ideally, a disabled person should be able to commute between home, work place and other destinations with independence, convenience and safety. The more persons with disabilities are able to access physical facilities, the more they will be part of the social mainstream
=>Componets to achieve Disability Inclusive Development
- Capacity development
- Awareness
- Leadershilp ability generation
- Technical solution : R&D (eg : coclear implants, wheelchair etc)
- Corporate Social Reponsibility (CSR)
=>Obligation on the Government
India is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Article 9 of UNCRPD casts an obligation on all the signatory governments to take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas.
Goal No. 3 of the Incheon Strategy mentions that access to the physical environment, public transportation, knowledge, information and communication is a pre-condition for persons with disabilities to fulfill their rights in an inclusive society. The accessibility of urban, rural and remote areas based on universal design increases safety and ease of use not only for persons with disabilities, but also for all other members of the society.
Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities. Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995 under Section 44, 45 and 46 also categorically provides for non-discrimination in participation, non-discrimination of the roads and built up environment. As per Section 46 of the PwD Act, the States are required to provide for :
i)Ramps in public building
ii)Provision of toilets for wheelchair users
iii)Braille symbols and auditory signals in elevators or lift
iv)Ramps in hospitals, primary health centres and other rehabilitation centres
=>Schemes and campaigns
#Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan)
- Nation-wide campaign for achieving universal accessibility for PwDs (Persons with Disabilities)
- The campaign targets three separate verticals for achieving universal accessibility namely the built up environment, transportation eco-system and information & communication eco-system.
- The objective of this campaign is to empower the disabled to easily access the public places through the installation of disabled friendly infrastructures like ramps, railings, lifts in public buildings, municipal buildings and transportation. Features like audio descriptions, captioning to promote easy accessibility to television broadcasts would also be incorporated by the Ministry of Information and broadcasting.
- The campaign has ambitious targets with defined timelines and will use IT and social media for spreading awareness about the campaign and seeking commitment / engagement of various stakeholders.
- This will be supported by the Scheme of Implementation of Persons with Disabilities Act (SIPDA), an umbrella scheme run by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) for implementing various initiatives for social and economic empowerment of PwDs
=>Institutions
#Natioanal Handicap Finance Corporation
- Under Department of PwDs
- They offer credit based and non credit based support for the betterment of PwDs