New Delhi: Being disability friendly is not just about compassion but also a lesson in business and economics, Niti Aayog chief executive Amitabh Kant said at the Equal Opportunity Awards held Wednesday.

“Persons with disabilities add immensely to businesses — research shows that inclusive companies are as likely to have twice the shareholder returns compared to their peers,” said Kant, who as chief guest at the event.
 

Students of the Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School for Blind in Tiruchi celebrated Childrens’ Day on Thursday. The students showcased several song and dance performances set to popular tunes. Headmistress T. Vijayalakshmi offered words of encouragement and presented the children with sweets and snacks. “We are all equal, have intelligence and strength. We must not look at ourselves as any lesser or with any shortcomings. We will take on the world with all our might,” Ms. Vijayalakshmi said as she addressed the students.

The Maharashtra Ophthalmological Society represents more than 2,500 eye doctors practising in the state. All members of society will be conducting free screening for diabetic eye diseases in every district of the state throughout the month.

India is home to 2.7 crore people with a disability, be it physical or mental, according to the 2011 Census. As per the country's latest statistics, an estimated 2.1 per cent of the Indian population has a disability; a humbling figure of over 26 million people.

Blindness combined with poverty limits their access to education, employment, health services, which finally leads to their socio-economic exclusion.

Bengaluru: India is home to world’s largest visually impaired population with over 50 lakh people, according to the 2011 census and 2,50,000 blind persons in Karnataka. Most of the visually impaired people belong to the underprivileged sections of society.  Blindness combined with poverty limits their access to education, employment, health services, which finally leads to their socio-economic exclusion.