Mumbai: BMC has started implementing  Dharmaveer Anand Dighe ‘Divyang’ Financial Assistance  Scheme for the differently abled aged  above 18 years within its jurisdiction. BMC had announced  the scheme and allocated around Rs 112 crore for it during  the presentation of the 2024-25 budget.
The scheme, a  brainchild of chief minister Eknath Shinde, aims to benefit  around 60,000 differently abled individuals in the city.

The young students of the nation are actively trying to come up with inventions to make lives easier. Students of a private school in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu have recently crafted a sensor-equipped shoe for the safety of visually impaired people, so that they can step out of their houses feeling more safe. Many visually impaired or those with hearing impairment have been a victim of accidents and often find it difficult to protect themselves. To alleviate their challenges, two friends studying in class 9, named Guru Prasad and Vishal came up with an idea.

A positive step forward’: Mattel launches first blind Barbie.

Toymaker created the doll, which carries a cane, to create a ‘sense of belonging’ for children with vision impairment
Six decades after the original Barbie hit shelves, Mattel is launching its first blind Barbie doll in an effort to make its range more inclusive.
The US toymaker said the doll, which is now available online and instore, has been created in a bid to make blind and low-vision children more represented within society.

As part of promoting computer skill training among young and specially challenged, NTPC Coal Mining Headquarters, Ranchi  under its CSR initiative in association with Swayamsiddha Ladies Club distributed two no.s of desktop computers to St Michael Blind school, residential school for specially challenged children with visual impairment.

On this occasion, Smt Rekha Jain,President ,NTPC Swayamsiddha Ladies handed over the desktop computers to Principal, Smt. Sarita Talal,Principal in the presence of committee members of the ladies club.

FEROZEPUR: Like every citizen of the country has a unique Aadhar card ID, on the same lines, the department of empowerment of persons with disabilities of the ministry of social justice and impowerment has also provided a unique ID for the disabled. The UDID card is recognized as a proof  of disability by the government of India. This means that PwDs can use their UDID card to access various government schemes and benefits such as financial assistance, healthcare services, education, and employment.

PFB Punjab holds meeting to start Braille Book Bank, celebrate World Disability Day in Ferozepur

Also discussed to take up the various demands of blind with heads of concerned departments

Ferozepur, July 14, 2024: On Sunday,  the meeting of Progressive Federation for the Blind, Punjab Unit was held at Home for the Blind, Makhu Gate, Ferozepur City to plan to start a Braille Book Bank and celebrate World Disability Day.

Ruhin Bhattasali, a visually impaired  girl from Hyderabad, has secured admission to IIT  Hyderabad's Computer Science Engineering program,  marking a significant achievement in her academic  journey.
From a young age, Ruhin's ambition to  excel in academics was apparent. Recognizing her potential,   her parents and teachers provided the necessary support and   encouragement.
 

Kolkata: In a first in Bengal, the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS) published a Braille version of the Constitution of India, said Vice-Chancellor, Nirmal Kanti Chakrabarti.
The Braille Constitution will empower the  visually-impaired students,”Chakrabarti added.
PhD scholar at WBNUJS, Arnab Roy, who is part of the initiative, said they would also convert other reading materials to benefit such students.

The paper “Alt4Blind: A User Interface to Simplify Charts Alt-Text Creation” related to this creation has been accepted.

Experts from the Indian Institute of Information Technology-Allahabad (IIIT-A), Prayagraj, in collaboration with their counterparts at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, have developed a tool for blind and visually impaired persons capable of creating and accessing chart images.