Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh was in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, on Saturday to visit the BSF Academy in Tekanpur district. He was there to attend the passing out parade of the BSF assistant commandants graduating from the academy.

But in addition to his official engagements, the BJP leader took time out to pay a visit to visually impaired BSF officer Sandeep Mishra. Mishra, an assistant commandant of the Border Security Force Academy at Tekanpur, had lost his eyesight in a clash with the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) militants in Assam's Tinsukia district in 2000.

BHUBANESWAR: The Centre is not serious about accessibility hurdles which have been a long standing concern for persons with disabilities (PWDs) in India.

While there has been much hype on implementation of Information Technology in an array of sectors, there is a large divide between ‘Digital India’ and ‘Accessibility India’ campaigns launched by the Union Government, said Javed Abidi ,Global Chair, Disabled People’s International here on Monday.

India to redefine blindness to meet WHO stipulation

A person unable to count fingers from a distance of 6m is categorised as “blind” in India, against the WHO’s stipulation of 3m.

The government is set to change a four-decade-old definition of blindness to bring it in line with the WHO criteria and ensure the Indian data on blindness meets the global estimates.

DERA GHAZI KHAN: Visually impaired employees of different government departments staged a protest demonstration on Thursday at Musharraf Chowk over nonpayment of their salaries for the last four months.

First rounds games to begin today

The International Braille Chess Association (IBCA) Asian Chess Championship for the Visually Challenged-2017 was inaugurated here on Wednesday. The first round games will begin on Thursday as teams from Yemen and the Philippines are to yet arrive, while teams from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are already here. The championship, hosted by Manipal University, is being organised by the All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB) under the aegis of IBCA and All India Chess Federation.