General

Twitter makes it easy for the visually impaired to read images

Twitter has rolled out a feature to help blind and visually-impaired people read images embedded with the tweets via its new image description reminder.

The new image description reminder will encourage more people on Twitter to add helpful descriptions to the images they tweet, the company said in a statement.

Alternative text, or alt text, is a written description of what's in an image that can be picked up by screen reader software used by the visually impaired.

Monthly pension: Relief for visually impaired in TN

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has told Tamil Nadu government to treat those visually impaired persons ineligible for employment due to sickness, infirmity, and old age on a par with the other disabled people while granting monthly pension.

Visually impaired teacher with a vision

Shivani Bhakoo

Ludhiana, September 6

Maya Rani ‘Mehlawat’, a visually impaired teacher, has been teaching blind students for the past over two decades. She is unhappy that the parents of visually impaired students do not bring them up in a normal environment.

She says, “The parents are either too possessive and protective or they completely neglect their children. They need to adopt a normal approach towards them.”

Jharkhand HC orders Rs 10 lakh for visually impaired gang-rape survivor

RANCHI: The Jharkhand high court on Wednesday ordered the state government to pay Rs 10 lakh to a visually impaired rape victim who's been impregnated by the offender. The high court has also ordered the Ranchi deputy commissioner to ensure that proper care is taken of the victim during her pregnancy till her delivery.

Kaun Banega Crorepati 14: Visually impaired professor from Surat wins Rs 25 lakh on Big B's show

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan was in awe of visually impaired 'Kaun Banega Crorepati 14' contestant Aneri Arya from Surat, and kept praising her for her logical reasoning skills and the calmness with which she approached the quiz-based reality show.

Visually impaired to get free skill devpt lessons at old GDC

A two-year free skill development programme has started at Mata Jijabai Govt PG Girls College (old GDC) for career advancement of the visually impaired students who have been studying undergraduate courses.
Of the 13 states selected for the skill development and English classes for career enhancement of visually impaired students, in Madhya Pradesh, Old GDC College is the only higher educational institution (HEI) to be a part of this training programme.

Mastercard’s Touch Card for the visually impaired

Mastercard has announced that Ajman Bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become the first financial institution to issue its new Touch Card, a payment card designed for blind and partially sighted consumers to help them differentiate between their cards.

Visually impaired MP youth bags Rs 45 lakh job offer from Microsoft

BHOPAL: Stephen Hawking’s famous words, “Disability need not be an obstacle to success,” have been proved correct by 25-year-old Yash Sonkiya.

A young software engineer in Indore, conquering his congenital Glaucoma (which caused irreversible blindness since birth), has bagged a prized job from global Information and Technology (IT) firm Microsoft. He got an offer of Rs 45 lakh per annum after clearing an online test and three rounds of interviews between March and June this year.

4 college students team up to devise low-cost navigation stick for visually challenged

Mysuru: To help visually challenged folks, four students of Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering have devised an automated stick for them. It is meant to help visually impaired individuals navigate swiftly, identifying potholes and obstacles while out in crowded places.
The stick is said to be low-cost, reliable and portable.

Enable votes in Braille, appeals visually impaired voter

A visually impaired voter, Shankar Khautankar on Wednesday requested elections authorities and the State government to provide voting in Braille to help several blind people to exercise their fundamental rights without the help of a companion.
Khauntankar, who is a voter of Ward 5 in Chicalim panchayat, expressed concern after he was informed that Braille cannot be made available under the provisions of the Panchayat Raj Act.