News

Volume 6 Issue 7 - September 15, 2009

We practice what we preach! D.N.I.S. becomes W.C.A.G. 2.0 compliant

D.N.I.S. News Network, India: For the last couple of issues, Disability News and information Service (D.N.I.S.) has been highlighting the issue of web and electronic accessibility. And we have decided to lead by example. D.N.I.S. is now Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (W.C.A.G.) 2.0. compliant.

D.N.I.S. is committed to ensure that it is accessible to all users irrespective of device in use, technology or ability. It has been built, with an aim, to provide maximum accessibility and usability. As a result the website can be viewed from a variety of devices such as a desktop or a laptop computer, web-enabled mobile devices, W.A.P. phones, P.D.A.s, etc.

We have put in our best efforts to ensure that all information on this website is accessible to all people with disabilities. For example, a user with visual disability can access this website using assistive technologies, such as screen readers and screen magnifiers.

We also aim to be standards compliant and follow principles of usability and universal design, which should help all visitors of this website.

It may be mentioned that N.C.P.E.D.P. has been steadfastly advocating for web accessibility. As a result of this, the Ministry of Information Technology released its revised Web Access Guidelines (http://web.guidelines.gov.in) in February this year, requiring all websites in public domain to be W.C.A.G. 2.0 compliant. The government also agreed to make 50 of its websites disabled friendly.

But 7 months since then, nothing significant has been achieved. In fact, it is a sad irony that the websites of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the institutes under it as well as the website of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities are still not W.C.A.G. 2.0 compliant. The other shocking development is that the recently launched Rajya Sabha website and the C.A.T. examination website for admission to I.I.M.s have flouted these norms.

Readers can now also follow D.N.I.S. on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dnisindia.