They may not be toppers but they are surely achievers. Notwithstanding physical disabilities, several students fought against the odds and made their parents and schools proud.

Suffering from vision impairment, Rachit Malik of Amity International School in Noida secured 93.8% in the Class 12 science stream while Ambika Khattar from Delhi Public School (RK Puram) scored 83.8%.

In an impressive performance as well as a huge morale booster to the differently-abled persons to pursue academic excellence, a visually impaired student of Government Ideal Blind School, Takyel scored letter marks in Mathematics in the recently declared HSLC (Cl-X) examination.
The outstanding achievement of thokchom Anjalina Devi, who scored 80 marks in Mathematics at the HSLC examination conducted by the Board of Secondary Education Manipur, has undoubtedly proved that with proper guidance and hard work even the differently abled persons can compete with the able-bodied.

Odisha Blind Foundation (OBF) released a book named ‘Alok Pathara Jatridala' on Friday to commemorate 44{+t}{+h}death anniversary of Louis Braille.
This book was released at a function organised on the premises of the only Braille press in Odisha, functioning in the city. It is the third book published by the OBF to make general public know about social activists of the world and our country who have played a major role to attach the visually impaired to the mainstream. The other two books published by the OBF in the past were related to lives of Louis Braille and Helen Keller.

Perhaps, other state undertakings like TSTC, MTC and Railways can take a cue from Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) in considering the needs of the differently-abled while designing projects for public utility. The amenities proposed in ongoing metro project would definitely be a benchmark, if CMRL were to translate them into reality.
Among the long list of amenities proposed for metro stations are dedicated parking space (subject to space availability) and tactile tiles to access functional areas and platforms and non-slippery floors.

Delhi University seems to be getting a better response from differently-abled aspirants this year. At least 71 students with special needs have already registered for admission in DU colleges over last two days. A DU official said they were excited about the increasing number of such applicants. They assured that all possible facilities were being provided to them.

The school education department has constituted a seven-member regulatory body to ensure that the provisions of the right to education (RTE) act are followed in all schools, including private ones.
The Right to Education Protection Authority, headed by retired high court judge Sadhan Gupta, would look into allegations such as schools taking donation during admission, holding admission tests instead of drawing lots and punishing students physically, said school education minister Bratya Basu after announcing the formation of the regulatory body.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday inaugurated a private eye hospital in the city which is boasting of having a chain of facilities in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and one in Mauritius. Claimed to have been built at a whopping cost of Rs 10 crore, Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital assures to provide quality eye care by a team of dedicated doctors.

The hospital is believed to be well- equipped in performing certain ophthalmic surgeries. It has promised to provide free cataract surgeries on at least three days in a month.

Tarak Luhar, visually impaired since birth, was the first to withdraw money from the country’s first ‘Talking ATM’ installed by the Union Bank of India on Wednesday at the Blind People’s Association (BPA) premise in Vastrapur. The machine did the talking through the head phones and he would just run his fingers on the Braille keypad on the machine.
Bank chairman and managing director D Sarkar inaugurated the disabled-friendly machine with a view to assist the visually and physically challenged.

A few months ago, when Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar handed over a certificate of participation to a visually impaired student on a study visit to Parliament, she faced an innocent but important question: “But how will I read this certificate?”

Kumar, a former Union minister for social justice and empowerment, took note of the situation.