Aimed at identifying and solving the basic issues being faced by visually impaired people while using computers, a model Information Communication Technology (I.C.T.) centre will be set up in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

The centre plans to provide a complete ‘Free Software-based solution’, which gives the users complete freedom to adapt the entire solution for their needs. It also gives the freedom to use, modify and redistribute copies of the software. So, the total cost per user is very low compared to the proprietary solutions.

‘Emacspeak’, the software comes with an auditory browser that would make sense of the visual clutter of the Web, so visually impaired person can seamlessly browse the web. The software for audio desktop was developed by T. V. Raman, a visually impaired person.

This resource centre will initiate awareness campaigns and training programmes among the website developers and programmers about the importance of making the websites/software accessible to visually impaired people.

There will be research and development activities to ensure access to the world of information and communication for physically disabled people.