Disabled passengers using prosthetic limbs, crutches or wheelchairs, often find security checks at Indian airports very disconcerting, but a move to change all that may be in the offing. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has called for a meeting on August 6 with representatives of organizations working for the rights of disabled, to discuss issues involving security checks of such passengers. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is also reviewing a proposal sent by an organization working on law and policy changes for the disabled, said officials.

Ophthalmologist Anthony Vipin Das is currently working on a new toy for the blind, FITTLE, with Tania Jain, a designer from National Institute of Design, Gandhinagar. The toy will help blind children learn to read Braille while getting a sense of the shape of the world around them. We asked him to tell us all about it. Below, his essay on what this toy is … and how it came about.

For them, failure is the first step towards success. The more they falter, the stronger their willpower grows, pushing them to rise higher in life. Hoping against hope, they walk through a tunnel’s darkness only to find light at the end of it.

It is this noble thought which has inspired National Institute of Professionals (NIP), an educational centre for the blind and disabled students, to host the second edition of All Bengal Chess Competition for the Blind early on Friday morning.

Smartphones can come in handy for blind or visually-impaired people, and researchers are working on developing a variety of different applications to assist them in tasks like walking, identifying colors and objects, and hailing cabs.

People with visual impairment now have one less hurdle to cross when applying for jobs with Indian Railways thanks to advocacy work by Eyeway.

Eyeway received reports that the Ministry of Railways officials were insisting on Disability Certificates in certain prescribed formats, and that certificates issued by medical officials were not accepted. This meant candidates were deemed ineligible to apply for positions against the Physically Handicapped quota.

On a quiet bend of a road near Mayfair Gardens in the Capital’s Hauz Khas area, quietly stands a building that is currently being renovated. It houses the National Association for the Blind (NAB) Centre for Blind Women and Disability Studies. A visually impaired girl sitting at the reception smartly points towards the exit when asked for the director’s room. Her smile is winning; I find my way to the designated room.