Disabled

New York-headquartered Vertex Global Services on Monday announced its plan to integrate 10-12 per cent of differently-abled individuals into its workforce. The company has an existing employee base of 800-plus and has aggressive plans to take it to over 2,500 in the next four years, according to a statement. It plans to integrate 10-12 per cent of differently-abled individuals into the workforce within next four years, it said. This initiative not only promotes inclusivity but also strengthens the diverse talent pool within the organisation, it noted. In India, it stated, the unemployment rate among individuals who are differently abled remains exceptionally high, with some estimates exceeding 70 per cent. This situation persists despite the existence of legislation that allocates 3 per cent of government positions for them, it noted. Vertex Global Services aims to create a diverse pool of opportunities for differently-abled individuals to receive training in multiple languages,

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre to implement mandatory accessibility standards within three months, in a significant order aimed at improving access to public spaces for persons with disabilities. The order by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud comes in response to slow progress on the accessibility directives issued by the court in a judgement on December 15, 2017. The bench, also comprising Justice J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, underscored the necessity of "meaningful access" for disabled persons to public spaces and mandated a two-pronged approach: adapting existing infrastructures to accessibility standards, and ensuring that all new infrastructure is designed to be inclusive from the outset. The bench found that one of the rules of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act does not establish enforceable, compulsory standards, but rather, it relies on self-regulation through guidelines. While acknowledging that accessibility ..

A heartbreaking video from Bengaluru has surfaced on social media. The footage captures a disabled woman stuck in a pothole on a flooded road in the city

NGO National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled has claimed that prolonged imprisonment and inadequate medical care exacerbated pre-existing health issues of former DU professor and disability rights activist G N Saibaba and contributed to his untimely death. Saibaba died at a state-run hospital in Hyderabad due to post-operative complications on Saturday, seven months after he was acquitted in a Maoist links case. He was 54. In a statement, the non-governmental organisation underscored the challenges Saibaba faced during his incarceration and the toll it took on his health. The former professor, who had polio and was affected by multiple severe health conditions, was released just months ago after 10 years in prison on charges that the NPRD termed "false". Despite his release being hailed as a victory for justice, his freedom was tragically short-lived, it said. According to the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), Saibaba's prolonged imprisonment and ...

Disability rights activists and transgender advocates have raised alarms over the non-inclusion of provisions outlined in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPDA), 2016 and the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act (TPA), 2019 in the National Medical Commission's revised Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) Curriculum. In a letter addressed to Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr Virendra Kumar, the leaders of disability and transgender communities expressed their dismay. The letter penned by Central Advisory Board on Disability Chairperson Dr Satendra Singh and Association for Transgender Health in India CEO Air Commodore (Retd.) Dr Sanjay Sharma highlighted how the new curriculum, released on August 31, 2024, fails to address critical issues impacting these marginalized groups. "The curriculum has been deemed outdated and archaic, contradicting the Supreme Court judgements and previous guidelines," stated the letter. The controversy led to

Since the start of the Olympics, Ndieme Lame has been commuting every day to the Stade de France where she works as a volunteer helping visitors find their way. The 57-year-old wheelchair user is in awe at how easy it's been to cross the city on public transit to reach the Olympic stadium. I never would have believed I could make it here almost on my own, she said Wednesday after her 1 & 1/2-hour commute from her home in southern Paris. Her daily journey highlights the city's efforts to improve accessibility for people with disabilities ahead of the Olympics and Paralympics. Lame said an online system that lets her book assistance at commuter train stations has been particularly helpful. Challenges remain, however, particularly in the underground Metro system where most stations are not fully accessible to people in wheelchairs. And, Lame wonders whether the train station assistants will still be there after the Paralympics, which start just over two weeks after the Olympics ...

Cultural diversity is missing from the country's advertising, a report by the industry's self-regulatory body ASCI and a UN body said on Tuesday. The report said that less than one per cent of promotional campaigns feature persons belonging to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) community as well as disabled, while only 4 per cent campaigns show people aged above 65. The study by Kantar on behalf of Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) and UN Women Convened Unstereotype Alliance scrutinised over 261 ads in 13 languages, and mapped them on dimensions of age, gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, physical appearance, social class, disabilities, and religion. "Ads that are stuck in stereotypical depictions are missing a trick in connecting with India's diverse consumer base," ASCI's chief executive and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said, adding progressive advertising works better for society and for brands. With 45 per cent of ...

Earlier, the Election Commission announced 'vote-from-home' facilities for citizens over 85 years of age and persons with disabilities for the Lok Sabha elections

A total of 62,927 voters in the state applied for the home voting facility, which will be carried out till November 19

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has urged the insurance regulator Idrai to make insurance companies follow the spirit of the law of the land to ensure that the disabled get hassle-free health insurance by designing special products for them. A panel meeting of the representatives of the NHRC, Irdai, the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People and some key finance ministry officials here Friday called for rationalising and institutionalising insurance for the disabled. Disability advocacy groups have long been pushing for comprehensive health coverage for the disabled. Following the December 2022 guidelines issued by the Delhi High Court, Irdai, in February 2023, mandated insurers to offer annual health coverage to disabled, HIV-positive, and mentally disabled people. The regulator had also instructed insurers to devise inclusive insurance products aligned with the essential recommendations for the disabled. However, insurers are limiting the ...

French authorities say 11 adults are missing after a fire broke out early on Wednesday in a holiday home for people with disabilities in eastern France while 17 others have been evacuated. Interior minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted that early this morning, a fire broke out in a facility for disabled people" in the small town of Wintzenheim, close to the border with Germany. "Despite the rapid and courageous intervention of the fire department ... several casualties are reported, he said. Rescue operations were still ongoing. The local administration of the Haut-Rhin region said the fire broke out at 6:30 am in private accommodation in Wintzenheim. Seventeen people were evacuated, including 1 person sent to hospital in a relative emergency." Eleven people from the group of adults, who usually live in the city of Nancy, in eastern France, are still missing, the statement said. The building was being used ... for their vacation, the statement said. The fire department deployed 76 ...

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

The Delhi High Court has asked the city government to ensure five per cent reservation for specially-abled candidates in all educational institutions and that the mandate of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act is followed. A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma also asked Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University to reserve seats for specially-abled persons as per the law. The court's order came on a public interest litigation which alleged that the respondent university was not providing five per cent reservation to specially-abled persons following the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The bench, also comprising Justice Saurabh Banerjee, observed the university was providing a five per cent quota to specially-abled persons in all courses and no further orders need to be passed. It, however, said the Delhi government and the university "shall make all possible endeavour for filling up the seats meant for specially-abled persons

A majority of ATMs, bus stands and state government websites dealing in public utility services in Goa are not disabled-friendly, according to a survey by the Goa Institute of Management (GIM) and CII-YI. The B-School has unveiled the report, which is an outcome of a seven-month-long "survey and audit" on public utility facilities in the state from a disability perspective by its students, a statement said. The report is a part of the B-School's 'Give Goa' initiative, commissioned by the Confederation of Indian Industry Young Indians (CII-YI). V Padmanaban, who along with the other professors mentored the report, said the ATM audit covered hundred randomly chosen cash-dispensing kiosks in rural and urban parts of Goa. The findings indicated that faulty error messages or audio cues, lack of Braille-powered ATMs, improper ramp designs and complicated transactions were major issues, he said. Padmanaban and other fellow professors -- including Mantasha Firoz, Arpita Amarnani and Kings

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

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

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

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

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

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