Celebrating diversity, a national festival for showcasing the abilities of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) is being organised by the department of disability affairs under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on January 15 to 16 at Siri Fort Auditorium. The event was inaugurated by Sonia Gandhi.
As per Census 2011, there are 2.68 crore persons with disabilities and constitute 2.22 percent of the total population of the country. The persons with disabilities form a very diverse group and include persons with impairments such as visual (18.8 per cent), hearing (18.9 per cent), speech (7.5 per cent), loco- motor (20.3 per cent), mental retardation (5.6 per cent) mental illness (2.7 per cent) and multiple disability (7.9 per cent). The department of disability affairs’ mandate and rehabilitation and empowerment of PwDs. As rehabilitation is multidisciplinary, the department has adopted a multi-pronged collaborative approach involving all the appropriate partners: governments/UTs, central/state undertakings, local authorities, NGOs etc. India has also signed and ratified the United Nations Convention for protection and promotion of the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Among the many commitments towards the said convention, a major one is building capacity among people with disabilities and raising awareness about disability issues.