Accessible India Campaign

Last updated

Accessible India Campaign
Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan
Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) logo.png
MottoAccessible India – Empowered India
CountryIndia
Prime Minister(s) Narendra Modi
Launched3 December 2015;8 years ago (2015-12-03)
StatusActive
Website accessibleindia.gov.in

Accessible India Campaign or Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan is a program which is set to be launched to serve the differently-able community of the country. The program comes with an index to measure the design of disabled-friendly buildings and human resource policies. [1] The flagship program has been launched by the Prime Minister on 3 December 2015, the International Day of people with Disabilities. The initiative also in line with the Article 9 of the (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) to which India is a signatory since 2007. [2] The scheme also comes under Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 under section 44, 45, 46 for equal Opportunities and protection of rights which provides non-discrimination in Transport to Persons with Disabilities. [3]

Contents

Targets

According to the 2011 Census of India, 2.21 per cent of the population or approximately 26.8 million Indians have a disability. The target is to make at least fifty percent government buildings accessible to disabled people under the campaign in each of the state capital and central capital till end of May 2018 and make 25 per cent of the public transport vehicles under government as disabled friendly until mid-2017. [4] It also envisages further development with bigger targets in the following years. In this way, the overall environment becomes more inclusive and provides equal opportunities to the Pwd. A website will also be made where the people can put their views on the accessibility of any building. [5] By July 2016, the international airports in the country and railway stations which come under A1, A and B categories will be made fully disabled-friendly. [6]

Special set-top boxes will be made available to make watching TV more convenient for the visually impaired. In the next 5 years, almost 200 people will be trained to speak in sign languages on government TV channels. Government websites will also be made more friendly by using text to speech option. The initiative involves retrofitting buildings, framing such standards for new buildings and transport that they are friendly to disabled people, auditing private companies on 'accessibility index' standard and making all government websites friendly to disabled people. [5] [7]

A Sugamya Bharat mobile app which can provide information on disabled-friendly public facilities in a city, will be launched under the scheme. [5] On 9 November 2017, RBI asked the banks to provide doorstep banking facilities to senior citizens of more than 70 years of age and disabled people including the visually-impaired.

After it was found that targets under the Accessible India Campaign had been missed by 1–3 years, the government had set March 2020 as the new deadline for completing all the work under this initiative. [8]

Rating

There will a collection of 10 private companies from different sectors including textiles and manufacturing which will be included in the ratings. [9] The parameters will include investment in the training of the differently able employees and their career growth and the quality of facilities provided to them. The range of rating is 1 to 10. The structure of the points allotment and data management has been estimated by the department of disability affairs which comes under the ministry of social justice and empowerment. The government sees this campaign as an ethical push with the help of the index for the corporate sector under the Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and incentives will be given according to their performance. [10]

Other features

The ministry of social justice and empowerment will give free motorized tricycles to people with 70-90% disability. [2] Each state has to choose at least 50-100 public buildings which are friendly to people with disabilities. Till 2016, the program aims to make public buildings in 50 cities of the country under the prescribed guidelines. [2] However, due to slow progress, revised deadlines had been extended to March 2020. [11]

For awareness, a team of experts will conduct workshops for sensitizing the main parties including builders and activists. [12]

The government will establish a special university for disabled people with a corpus of ₹1,700 crore (US$210 million) which will start functioning from the next[ when? ] academic year with special courses. [13]

Works done

Dignitaries at the launch of the Sugamya Pustakalaya (Accessible Library) in 2016 Ravi Shankar Prasad along with the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri Thaawar Chand Gehlot, the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Prakash Javadekar.jpg
Dignitaries at the launch of the Sugamya Pustakalaya (Accessible Library) in 2016

In August 2016, an online library Sugamya Pustakalaya (Accessible Library) was launched under the scheme by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) in collaboration with National Institute of Visually Handicapped, member organizations of Daisy Forum of India, Bookshare and TCS Access. The library would be a collection of all accessible materials from all over the country and the organizations who would become members of it would provide accessible material to its members. [14]

As of August 2016, 400 out of nearly 1800 websites of the Government of India were made accessible. [14]

Related Research Articles

Perkins School for the Blind, in Watertown, Massachusetts, was founded in 1829 and is the oldest school for the blind in the United States. It has also been known as the Perkins Institution for the Blind.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Accessibility</span> Modes of usability for people with disabilities

Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" and "indirect access" meaning compatibility with a person's assistive technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations' International Day of Persons with Disabilities</span> World day

International Day of Persons with Disabilities is an international observance promoted by the United Nations since 1992. It has been observed with varying degrees of success around the planet. The observance of the Day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life. It was originally called "International Day of Disabled Persons" until 2007. Each year the day focuses on a different issue.

In 2003 and following years, initiatives were instituted to improve internet access for people with disabilities in the Philippines. These measures were inspired by the UNESCAP "Asia-Pacific Decade for Disabled Persons" (1993–2002). Key organizations included the government body National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (Philippines) and the private sector body Philippine Web Accessibility Group (PWAG). The "Disabled Friendly Website Awards" were launched to encourage web designers to incorporate universal access. Since 2009 unhampered access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has been in the second National Human Rights Action Plan of the Philippine government.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is a Government of India ministry. It is responsible for welfare, social justice and empowerment of disadvantaged and marginalised sections of society, including scheduled castes (SC), Other Backward Classes (OBC), LGBT people, the disabled, the elderly, and the victims of drug abuse. It also helps in the enforcement of legislation with regards to these marginalized groups to better enforce anti-discrimination policies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idiriya</span>

IDIRIYA is a not-for-profit humanitarian organisation focusing on disability rights based in Sri Lanka.

india.gov.in is the Indian government’s web portal for citizens. It presents information resources and online services from government sources, accessible from a single point. It is also known as the National Portal of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana</span> Indian social welfare programme

Pradhan Mantri Gramin Aawas Yojana, previously Indira Awas Yojana, is a social welfare programme, created by the Indian Government, to provide housing for the rural poor in India. A similar scheme for urban poor was launched in 2015 as Housing for All by 2022. Indira Awas Yojana was launched in 1985 by Rajiv Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, as one of the major flagship programs of the Ministry of Rural Development to construct houses for the Below Poverty Line population in the villages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled</span>

Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, founded in 1997, is a non-profit organization providing education, accommodation, food, vocational training and placement based rehabilitation. It is based in Bangalore, India with centers across India and abroad. The organization is affiliated to the World Blind Union and received Special UN Consultative Status in 2015.

The Enabling Unit, Equal Opportunity Cell is based at University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Delhi. It ensures affirmative action’s concerning persons with disabilities including students, nonteaching staff, faculty as well as patients at UCMS. It is first such unit for students with disabilities in any medical institution in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parikipandla Narahari</span> Indian civil servant

Parikipandla Narahari also known as P. Narahari is an Indian civil servant employed by the Indian Administrative Services and author. According to Tehelka, Narahari, in his capacity as District collector of Gwalior, is one of India's few civil servants to use social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to interact with citizenry to solve their problems. The issues citizens of Gwalior raise on Narahari's wall were automatically directed to concerned departments. The Better India recognized Narahari as 10 most inspiring IAS officers of the year 2017. Narahari is one among of those rare professional officers to be credited as Publicity Advisor to three successive governments of different parties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satendra Singh (doctor)</span> Medical doctor and activist

Dr Satendra Singh is a medical doctor at the University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, Delhi. A physiologist by profession, Singh contracted poliomyelitis at the age of nine months but went on to complete a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College, Kanpur and later on Doctor of Medicine in Physiology. He is the first-ever Indian to win the prestigious Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards given to extraordinary leaders in the global disability community.

India Inclusion Summit, an initiative supported by SAP SE, J.P. Morgan, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, and Allegis Group, brings together leaders working in the field of inclusion to deliberate, discuss and take forward different talents available in the society. The Summit aims to be an egalitarian platform attracting people from a range of fields. It mainly focused on inclusion for those with physical and mental disabilities. According to a press release, the summit "aims at sensitising the public on issues related to people with IDD through cinema, sports, books and media and will leverage the support of well-known personalities to further the cause of an inclusive society."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swachh Bharat Mission</span> Indian campaign to eliminate open defecation

Swachh Bharat Mission, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, or Clean India Mission is a country-wide campaign initiated by the Government of India on 2 October 2014 to eliminate open defecation and improve solid waste management and to create Open Defecation Free (ODF) villages. The program also aims to increase awareness of menstrual health management. It is a restructured version of the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan which was launched by the Congress in 2009 that failed to achieve its intended targets due to rampant corruption and indecisive leadership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disability in Pakistan</span>

People with disabilities in Pakistan are seen differently than in most Western countries due to cultural and religious beliefs. The lack of accurate epidemiological evidence on disabilities, insufficient resources, weak health care facilities and worker shortages are major obstacles to meeting the needs of disabled Pakistanis.

Oswald Labs is a Dutch-Indian based accessibility technology company that builds products for individuals with disabilities. It specializes in enterprise web accessibility, offers smartphone apps, and also runs a startup accelerator. It was established in 2016 by Anand Chowdhary, Nishant Gadihoke and Mahendra Raghuwanshi after their product, Oswald Extension, won an event at the AngelHack hackathon in New Delhi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disability in Singapore</span>

Singapore does not have a formal definition of disability. Singapore signed on to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2013 and coordinates the Enabling Masterplan with both government and non governmental organisations.

Nidhi Goyal is an Indian disability and gender rights activist who has been appointed to the UN Women Executive Director's advisory group. Goyal is the founder and executive director of Mumbai-based NGO Rising Flame and works in the areas of sexuality, gender, health and rights for women and girls with disabilities. She is also a stand-up comedian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nipun Malhotra (social entrepreneur)</span> Indian social entrepreneur and disability rights activist

Nipun Malhotra is an Indian social entrepreneur and disability rights activist. He was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, with arthrogryposis. In 2012, he started a disability rights advocacy organization based in Delhi called Nipman Foundation. Malhotra is the Founder Chair of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry's (FICCI) Diversity & Inclusion Working Group on Empowering Persons with Disability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Accessible Books Consortium</span>

The Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) is a public-private partnership which was launched in 2014 by the World Intellectual Property Organization. The ABC was created with the intent of being "one possible initiative, amongst others, to implement the aims of the Marrakesh VIP Treaty at a practical level." ABC's goal is "to increase the number of books worldwide in accessible formats - such as braille, audio, e-text, and large print and to make them available to people who are blind, have low vision or are otherwise print disabled."

References

  1. ↑ "Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyaan) to make India Disabled – Friendly". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Govt launches Accessible India Campaign for persons with disabilities". livemint.com. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (Page 1) - About the Division - Empowerment of Persons With Disabilities: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India". socialjustice.nic.in. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Unnoticed, unheard: Will the 'Accessible India' campaign be a success?". The Indian Express. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "7 Government Initiatives That Aim to Improve Lives of People with Disabilities - The Better India". The Better India. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "Accessible India Campaign to achieve universal accessibility for persons with disabilities" . Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  7. ↑ "PM Modi to launch 'Accessible India Campaign' for persons with disabilities on December 3 - The Economic Times". The Economic Times. December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  8. ↑ Sharma, Nidhi (28 December 2019). "Fresh deadline for accessible India drive set to March 2020, targets missed by 1 to 3 yrs". The Economic Times. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  9. ↑ "Accessible India: Disabled-friendly initiatives to earn firms brownie points from Modi government - The Economic Times". The Economic Times. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "Accessible India Campaign:: Department of Disability Affairs". innovationclustersarchive.nic.in. Archived from the original on 1 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  11. ↑ Nath, Damini (13 December 2019). "Targets missed, Accessible India campaign's deadline extended". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  12. ↑ "Arun Jaitley launches Accessible India Campaign". livemint.com. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  13. ↑ "Arun Jaitley launches Accessible India Campaign". Live Mint. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  14. 1 2 "Centre launches 'Sugamya Pustakalaya' an online library for Persons with disabilities". Times of India. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.