Volume 6 Issue 7

Feature

• It is time to ‘Act’!
  With every changing Minister, the favourite task of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment seems to be ‘amending’ The Disability Act 1995. This time around too, the draft amendments are making their appearance. Javed Abidi, noted disability rights activist, wonders if this will be the final ‘act’ in this never ending saga!

Interview

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  “Disability has an external environmental factor which stems from charity and welfare,” Dhruv Lakra
  Dhruv Lakra has an M.B.A. from Oxford and was working with a leading investment bank. He quit the corporate world to start Mirakle Couriers, a courier company that employs deaf boys and girls. Dorodi Sharma of D.N.I.S. talks to him about his foray into the disability sector, his trial and tribulations and plans for the future.

News

• We practice what we preach! D.N.I.S. becomes W.C.A.G. 2.0 compliant
  D.N.I.S. News Network: For the last couple of issues, Disability News and information Service (D.N.I.S.) has been highlighting the issue of web and electronic accessibility. And we have decided to lead by example. D.N.I.S. is now Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (W.C.A.G.) 2.0. compliant.
• Scheme for Incentives to the Private Sector a total flop admits P.M.
  D.N.I.S. News Network: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said that the Incentive Scheme to promote employment of people with disabilities in the private sector has failed to make any headway. He said this while addressing the State Welfare Minister’s conference in New Delhi on September 7.
• Online C.A.T. 2009 “environment friendly” but not disabled friendly
  D.N.I.S. News Network: The Common Admission Test or C.A.T. organized by Indian Institute of Management (I.I.M.) that thousands of aspirants take every year is going online this year. But the shocking news is that the C.A.T. Committee has gone horribly wrong in both technical and conceptual aspects, despite having paid a whopping 40 million dollar contract to a company to “relaunch” and “exclusively upgrade” the website to “enable students to make informed choices”!
• Supreme Court judgement out on Right to Motherhood of mentally retarded
  D.N.I.S. News Network: In July, by way of an interim order, the Supreme Court of India upheld the right to motherhood of a mentally retarded girl who was raped at a government run shelter. The detailed judgement has now been released.
• Banks sit on 10,000 crores meant for disability
  D.N.I.S. News Network: Paying no heed to a 2004 Supreme Court order directing banks to utilize the money collected by rounding up interest tax collections since 1993 for implementation of the Disability Act of 1995, banks continue to pocket Rs. 724 crores annually bringing the figure to a whopping Rs. 10,000 crores.
• High Court directs Centre to reconsider discriminatory insurance rules
  D.N.I.S. News Network: Delhi High Court has directed the Centre to reconsider its Postal Insurance Rules which discriminate against people with disabilities. The rules consider all disabilities under one category and do not distinguish between life expectancy and other factors related to different disabilities. Moreover, people with disability currently have to pay a greater premium to get an insurance cover of Rs. 1 lakh while a non - disabled person gets a cover of Rs. 5 lakhs at a much lesser premium.
• Second Conference of States Parties to U.N.C.R.P.D. held in New York
  D.N.I.S. News Network: The Second Conference of State Parties to U.N.C.R.P.D. was held on September 2 and 3 in New York. The Conference this year focused on legislative measures to implement the Convention.
• Asia’s first centre for higher education for disabled people started in U.P.
  D.N.I.S. News Network: Shakuntala Mishra Rehabilitation University in Lucknow, Asia’s first centre for higher education for physically disabled and visually impaired people was inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati on September 5.
• Supreme Court asks government to fill up job vacancies for disabled persons
  D.N.I.S. News Network: The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to file a comprehensive status report within September detailing the steps taken to identify the posts for people with disabilities and the measures taken to fill them.
• Cochlear launches implantable hearing solutions in India
  D.N.I.S. News Network: Cochlear Limited, an Australia based company, has launched 3 new technologies – Cochlear Hybrid, Cochlear Nucleus 5 and Cochlear Baha B.P. 100 in India. The next - generation implantable hearing solutions are designed for people with partial deafness, moderate to profound deafness and single - sided deafness.