In politics, it takes a great deal of maturity and courage to respect the body of work of a predecessor. In that sense, the NDA government’s budget is reminiscent of Nelson Mandela’s ‘rainbow nation’ philosophy, which adopted continuity in the face of volatile relations. This is a landmark practice for a government.
 
The tone of the budget was, in my opinion, smart to wise. While carrying on some of the major initiatives of the previous regime, it was able to enhance prospects for key aspects of Indian industry.
 

For blind people, Union Budget 2014-15 presented on Thursday was historic - for the first time, the word 'Braille' was given the importance of being mentioned in a central Budget. The role of a teacher from Gujarat, Geeta Vaghela, who wrote the Braille version of Narendra Modi's book on education, 'Kelve te Kelavanikar', may be behind this sudden impetus given to Braille in the central Budget. The Budget made the provision for 15 Braille presses and Braille-embossed currency. Vaghela had gifted the Braille edition of the book to Modi in 2007, when he was the chief minister.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Thursday announced some new schemes for disabled people.
Tabling the union budget 2014-15 in parliament,
 
Jaitley said: "Fifteen new Braille presses will be established and 10 existing ones will be revived."

Jaitley said the scheme to assist the disabled to purchase aids and appliances will be extended.

"I propose to extend the scheme for assistance to disabled persons for purchase of aids and appliances (ADIP) to include contemporary aids and assistive devices," he said.

Advocates for the blind are debating whether to use a carrot or a stick to persuade one of their oldest allies, Apple Inc, to close an emerging digital divide in mobile technology.

As digital life increasingly moves to the world of smartphones and tablets, some disabled people with visual, hearing and other impairments are feeling more left out than ever.