Volume 6 Issue 3

Feature

• An ‘inclusive’ budget that excludes millions
  

  Much was expected from the Union Budget this year. But all that the disability sector got was a token tax exemption, despite the Finance Minister’s emphasis on ‘inclusive growth’!

Interview

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  “It will be a sad day when the disabled people are forced into an unnecessary confrontation,” Abidi
  

  Javed Abidi, Honorary Director, N.C.P.E.D.P., is a name to reckon with in the disability sector. From getting the sector understand the idea of cross disability to fighting for India to ratify U.N.C.R.P.D., he has been continuously fighting for the rights of people with disability. Dorodi Sharma of D.N.I.S. talks to him about his reaction to Budget 2009 and a lot more.

News

• National Committee on the Rights of People with Disabilities – India to meet on July 24 & 25
  D.N.I.S. News Network: The third meeting of the National Committee on the Rights of People with Disabilities – India (N.C.R.P.D. - India) will be held in New Delhi on July 24 and 25.
• N.C.P.E.D.P. and AccessAbility propose new Access Guidelines
  D.N.I.S. News Network: National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (N.C.P.E.D.P.) in association with AccessAbility has come out with access guidelines with proposed revisions to the existing Indian standards for buildings and facilities under the National Building Code (N.B.C.).
• N.C.P.E.D.P. and BarrierBreak Technologies put forward National Policy on Electronic Accessibility
  D.N.I.S. News Network: National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (N.C.P.E.D.P.) in association with BarrierBreak Technologies has come up with a draft for a National Policy on Electronic Accessibility.
• Supreme Court direction to the Medical Council of India
  D.N.I.S. News Network: In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of India has asked the Medical Council of India (M.C.I.) to provide a mechanism of filling up the 3 percent seats in medical courses reserved for students with locomotor disability of lower limbs, in a manner that students having 40 to 50 percent locomotor disability of the lower limbs can avail this reservation.
• Supreme Court ruling: Minimum medical standards must even for disabled people
  D.N.I.S. News Network: Supreme Court has ruled that even people with disabilities will have to meet the minimum medical standards needed for a post if it is necessary for safety, security and efficient functioning of an organization.
• Andhra Pradesh High Court: A Role Model
  D.N.I.S. News Network: In what can be considered as an achievement for the Indian disability sector, the Andhra Pradesh High Court has ruled against its own employment policy and allowed a 100 percent visually impaired person to appear for a screening test for the post of civil judge and write the exam with the help of an assistant.
• Scheme for Incentives to Employers in the Private Sector a total flop!
  D.N.I.S. News Network: In a bid to improve employment of people with disabilities, the government launched a scheme titled ‘Scheme of Incentives to Employers in the Private Sector for providing Employment to Persons with Disabilities’ in 2008. But more than a year after it was launched, it is yet to take off.
• Backlog of vacancies for people with disability to be filled up
  D.N.I.S. News Network: A special recruitment drive will be initiated to fill up backlog vacancies for posts reserved for people with disability soon, D. Napoleon, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment told the Rajya Sabha.
• Delhi University filling up teaching posts reserved for disabled people
  D.N.I.S. News Network: Delhi University (D.U.) is finally filling up vacancies in the teaching departments reserved for people with disability through a special recruitment drive.
• Visually impaired person makes it to M.I.T.
  D.N.I.S. News Network: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) is a dream for many Indian teenagers. For B. Srikanth, a visually impaired teenager from Machilipatnam, this dream has come true. What makes this achievement even better is that he has got a full fee waiver.
• Demand to recognize dwarfism as a disability
  D.N.I.S. News Network: The Andhra Pradesh High Court in 2005 recognised dwarfism as a locomotor disability. But people with dwarfism across other parts of the country are still fighting a prolonged battle.
• 1000 disabled people stage protest in Chennai
  D.N.I.S. News Network: More than 1000 members of the Tamil Nadu Physically Handicapped Federation staged a protest against the non-implementation of schemes for disabled people on July 1.