President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday conferred the National Awards on individuals, institutions, organisations and state/district etc. for their outstanding achievements and work done towards empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).
The president was the Chief Guest at a function to celebrate “International Day of Persons with Disabilities” organized by the DEPwD, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment on Friday.
Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr. Virendra Kumar, Ministers of State for Social Justice & Empowerment Ramdas Athawale, Pratima Bhaumik were also present in the function.
In his address, Dr. Virendra Kumar expressed his gratitude to the President for his presence and guidance from time to time towards empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.
Dr. Kumar said that the Divyangjans are valuable human resources and the Prime Minister gives priority to the issues of persons with disabilities in the National Development Agenda. His motto is "Inclusive growth, development of all and confidence of all". The Government has enacted the Right to Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 which came into effect from 19.04.2017. The Act provides for 4% reservation in government jobs for persons with disabilities. In January 2021, the Ministry has identified 3566 posts suitable for persons with disabilities, he said.
He also said that the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan (Accessible India Campaign) was launched by the Government on 03.12.2015 to provide universal accessibility to persons with disabilities so that they can live a meaningful life with dignity. Public buildings, transport system and information and communication technology have been included under this campaign. Keeping in view the problems related to accessibility faced by the masses, the Department has developed a Mobile APP to address those problems in a quick and systematic manner as possible.
The Government has set up Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre to promote the empowerment of hearing-impaired persons and to create sign language in India. The Institute, among other functions, is continuously preparing sign language dictionaries that have so far included more than 10,000 words.