Volume 4 Issue 8

Feature

• 
  
  The good, the bad and the ugly face of Indian Civil Services Examination for disabled aspirants
  

  With the Civil Services Examination (Preliminary) barely a month away, bright disabled people are once again being denied legitimate concessions to enable them an equal playing field to compete in these exams. Parvinder Singh takes a look at the struggle of the disability sector and disabled individuals to find a place in India’s elite bureaucratic services.

Interview

• 
  
  Rashtriya Vikalang Party will be a National Party: K. K. Dikshit
  

  “Those in power are neither interested nor familiar with issues of disabled people. We are convinced, with all these years of experience, that participation in governance is the only way of changing the lives of millions of disabled people,” says Rashtriya Vikalang Party President K. K. Dikshit in conversation with Parvinder Singh.

News

• 
  
  Inclusive Education to receive unprecedented focus through S.S.A.; Sub-Mission announced
  

  Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (S.S.A.), the project that aims to provide eight years of school education to all children and ultimately pave the way for the Goal of Universal Enrolment by 2010, has now boldly shifted its focus on Inclusive Education with the announcement of a Sub-Mission that will specifically monitor and implement Inclusive Education for disabled children.

• 
  
  Assembly polls see debut of Braille-enabled E.V.M.s in Assam, but very few ramps
  

  The recent polling for the Assam Assembly was a mixed affair for disabled people from the view point of access. Though very few ramps were seen at polling stations, use of Braille-enabled Electronic Voting Machines at Barhampur constituency allowed as many as 32 visually impaired voters to independently exercise their franchise.

• N.C.P.E.D.P partners with C.I.I. for Conference on Disability
  

  National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (N.C.P.E.D.P.) will partner with Confederation of Indian Industry (C.I.I.) to host a path-breaking conference titled “Disability: Mainstreaming the Marginalised”.

• 
  
  Disabled girl’s dream of joining I.A.S. nipped in the bud
  

  With barely a month to go before the Civil Services Examination (Preliminary), a bright young disabled woman is struggling hard to keep alive her dream of joining India’s elite bureaucratic service.

• Goa becomes the first to announce State Disability Policy
  

  Greater employment opportunities, rehabilitation and early intervention are some of the highlights of the recently announced State Disability Policy (S.D.P.) of Goa. With this, the state has stolen the march over Chhattisgarh, which also is currently finalising its own policy, to become the first state in India to announce a disability policy.

• 
  
  Social Justice March by disabled political activists reaches Delhi
  

  Traversing a distance of 600-km in the harsh north Indian summer, a tired but determined group of disabled political activists reached the National Capital at the culmination of the Social Justice March to highlight the demands of Rashtriya Viklang Party (National Disabled Party).

• Disabled women in Orissa step out to press for their demands on World Women’s Day
  

  Disabled women in Orissa took out a rally on the World Women’s Day for demanding implementation of the Disability Act and formation of State-level Disability Commission, among other issues.

• 
  
  M.S.J.E. clears over one billion rupee to D.T.C. to make public transport disabled-friendly
  

  In one of the biggest projects to make the public transport system in the National Capital disabled-friendly, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (M.S.J.E.) has sanctioned a grant of over one billion rupee to Delhi Transport Corporation (D.T.C.) for making 70 bus stops universally accessible.

• 
  
  Jawaharlal Nehru University gearing for disabled-friendly initiatives
  

  India’s premier higher education institution, Jawaharlal Nehru University (J.N.U.), could witness a number of architectural and technological initiatives, in the coming academic year that will make the institution more accessible to its disabled students.

• 
  
  Exhibition involving mentally disabled youth, India’s best painters breaks the charity mould
  

  An art exhibition involving mentally disabled youth and the country’s best painters was recently held in the Capital to raise funds for the activities of Society for Child Development.