619 ADIP camps organized and more than one lakhs Divyanjgans provided Aids and Assistive devices in the year 2017. 934 motorized tricycles provided and 296 cochlear implant surgery conducted successfully during this year. DEPwD is in process of implementing UDID project to create National database for Pwds and to issue unique id card to them.
HIGHEST NUMBER OF DIVYANGJAN GIVEN AIDS AND APPLIANCES IN THE PRESENCE OF PRIME MINISTER MODI AT RAJKOT SAMAJIK ADHIKARITA SHIVIR
Samajik Adhikarita Shivir for distribution of Aids & Assistive Devices to Divyangjan was organized at Rajkot (Gujarat) by the Department through ALIMCO, Kanpur, a CPSU under the Department in association with District Administration, Rajkot. The camp was held at Race Course Ground, Rajkot, Gujarat where assistive Aids and Appliances were distributed under Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fitting of Aids/ Appliances (ADIP) scheme of Government of India to Divyangjan in the August presence of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
At Rajkot Camp aids and appliances to the tune of Rs.11.19 Cr. were distributed among 17589 divyang beneficiaries including 3000 beneficiaries who have received aids and appliances from the State Government amounting to Rs.1.53 Cr. So far it is the biggest camp in the history of the country in terms of the number of beneficiaries in a single camp for distribution of aids and appliances.
During the event 90 motorized tricycles, 1960 tricycles, 1541 wheel chairs, 77 Cerebral Palsy (CP) chairs, 2896 crutches, 3095 walking sticks, 529 Braille cane, 112 rolators, 162 Braille kits, 732 smart canes, 214 smart phone with screen reader, 68 daisy players, 20 ADL kits for leprosy cured, 2206 digital hearing aid, 1101 artificial limbs and callipers, 4416 TML kits and 73 laptops for person with intellectual disability were distributed among various classes of Divyangjan as per their need. The State Government on their own also distributed devices for rehabilitation and empowerment of persons with disabilities to 3000 divyangjans.
Two Guinness World Records were created in connection with the event. On 28thJune 2017 a Guinness Book of World Record was created in the category of highest ever participation of 1442 persons with hearing impairment in a sign language lesson at a single venue while performing our National Anthem. Previously, such a record was hold by Taiwan (China) with participation of 978 persons with hearing impairment. The participants of this historic record repeated their performance in the presence of Prime Minister.
Second Guinness World Record was created in the category of highest number of Orthosis (Calipers) fitted to 781 mobility impaired persons on a single day.
In addition to the above two Guinness Book of World records, another new ‘World Book Record’ was also created in the category of World’s Largest Disbursement of Aids and Appliances for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) at a single venue, in one day, involving 17589 persons with disabilities (Divyangjan).
Earlier similar mega camps in the August presence of Prime Minister were conducted by the Department at Varanasi, Navsari & Vadodara in the year 2016 benefiting about 10000, 11,000 and 10,500 beneficiaries respectively.
UNIQUE DISABILITY IDENTIFICATION (UDID) PROJECT IN PROCESS
The Department is in the process of implementing UDID Project with a view to creating a national data-base for Persons with Disabilities and also to issue unique ID card to every one of them. It will subsequently help in tracking the physical and financial progress of delivery of benefits and in terms of hierarchy at all levels on implementation from Village level to Block level, District level, State level and National level. So far more than 2.74 lakh disability certificates as well as e-UDID cards have been processed through this online mode in about 318 districts in 12 States / UTs namely Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Meghalaya.
PRESIDENT PRESENTS “NATIONAL AWARDS FOR EMPOWERMENT OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES -2017
The President of India gave away the National Awards for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), 2017 to awardees at a function organized by Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in New Delhi on 3rd December, 2017 on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3rd December). Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Ministers of State of Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar and Shri Ramdas Athawale also graced the occasion.
On International Day of Persons with Disabilities i.e. 3rd December the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment presents National Awards on Individuals, Institutions, Organisations, State/District etc for their outstanding achievements and work done towards empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.
ACCESSIBLE INDIA CAMPAIGN (AIC) -IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENTS /MILESTONES OF THE CAMPAIGN
Accessible India Campaign was launched on December 3, 2015 to achieve universal accessibility for persons with Disabilities in Built Environment, Transport systems, and Information & Communication Technology eco system. So far, Access Audit of 1662 buildings in 50 cities has been completed by the auditors. All 34 International Airports and all 48 Domestic Airports have been provided with accessible features viz. Ramps, Accessible Toilets, lifts with Braille symbols and auditory signals. 644 out of 709 A1, A, B, category Railway Stations and 12894 buses out of 1,41,572 buses have been provided with accessibility features. 917 identified websites of State Governments/UTs are in the process of being made accessible through ERNET India.
AIC ACHIEVEMENTS
The Department organized Drawing and Painting Competition for School students including Students with Disability on the theme of “Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities” on Thursday, 2nd November, 2017 at Bal Bhawan, New Delhi. Around 1200 students participated. The Award Function of the event was held on 14.11.2017 at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra, New Delhi where prizes were distributed in the presence of Hon’ble Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment and Hon’ble Ministers of State for Social Justice and Empowerment.
On 9th November, 2017, the Department organized an award function of Short Film Competition on Divyangjan Sashaktikaran in association with Directorate of Film Festival (DFF). Total 10 awards were given in three categories-Documentaries, Short Films and TV Spots. Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment presented the awardees with certificates and mementos in a glittering ceremony, held at Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi.
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS OF DEPwD
- A National Consultation Workshop on Skill Development of Persons with Disabilities was organized on 3rd February, in New Delhi, to finalize strategy and action plan for skill development of PwDs. The workshop was organized in collaboration with National Skill Development Corporation, focusing on intellectual and developmental disabilities in addition to other disabilities.
- The National Trust, in collaboration with Child Neurology Division, Department of Pediatrics, AIIMS, New Delhi organized the 2nd three-day Workshop for Training Master Trainers in Autism Tools-INCLEN & ISAA, from 09-Feb-2017 to 11-Feb-2017 in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.
- The Department felicitated the team that won the Global IT Challenge 2016 for Youth with Disabilities on 22nd February in the presence of the Minister and T-20 Blind Cricket World Cup winning team on 28th February in the presence of Hon’ble Prime Minister.
- A two-day National Conference on “Empowering Deaf through Indian Sign Language” was organized on 20th-21st March, 2017 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, by Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC), an autonomous organization under the Department The conference was conducted with the prime objective of providing a common platform to all the professionals working in the field of education for the Deaf and Indian Sign Language (ISL) to share experiences on various aspects of communication, education and employment of the Deaf. The Conference was inaugurated by Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment who was the chief guest of the function.
- The National Trust organized National Conference on Down Syndrome at Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra, New Delhi on 25.03.2017 in relation to the world Autism Day. The conference was inaugurated by Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Following five Regional Zonal Conferences were organized to discuss important schemes / Programmes of the Department:-
I. Western Regional Conference was held in Mumbai 11.05.2017 attended by the States of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Daman & Dio, Dadar and Nagar Haweli;
II. Southern Regional Conference was held in Chennai on 12th May 2017 attended by States of Tamilnadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Andaman Nicobar, Lakshadweep and Pondicherry.
III. Northern Regional Conference was held in Chandigarh on 26.05.2017 attended by States of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi and Chandigarh.
IV. Central Regional Conference and Eastern Regional Conference were held on 02.06.2017 and 09.06.2017 at Bhopal and New Delhi respectively to discuss important schemes / Programmes of the Department. The States of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Tripura and West Bengal were attended.
Important schemes and initiatives such as Accessible India Campaign (AIC), Introduction of DBT, launch of the Unique Disability Identity Card (UDID) were reviewed in these conferences. In addition, States were sensitized about the salient features of the new Act, their responsibilities there under and the necessity for its effective implementation.
- The National IT Challenge for Youth with Disability in the age group of 13-19 years in the category of visual impairment, hearing impairment, locomotor disability and development disability was held in collaboration with National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra on 20-21 July, 2017. The winners of this competition have been nominated to participate in the Global IT Challenge, 2017 to be held at Hanoi, Vietnam during 18-22 September, 2017. The Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities is organised by Korean Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities every year in the Asia-Pacific countries on rotation basis.
- To popularize the Inclusive India initiative in the country, the National Trust organized an ‘Inclusive India Summit 2017’ in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on 12th September 2017. The objective of the summit was to bring together leaders from diverse sectors of the country and seek their commitment in changing India into an inclusive nation for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (PwIDDs).
- The Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) in collaboration with the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD) organized an All India Course Coordination Meet – AICCM: Southern Zone – 2017 on 9th September 2017 at Chennai. The aim of the Meet was to discuss issues related to recognition, registration ongoing professional development and examination of Rehabilitation Professionals. Over 120 Rehabilitation professionals attended the event.
Source: Press Information Bureau, Government of India