Centre for Internet & Society

Digital accessibility in the Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act 2016

by Nirmita Narasimhan

This post summarizes the provisions for digital accessibility in the new Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016

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The Quest for Education – Persons with Disabilities, Severely Challenged

by Nirmita Narasimhan

Education is the fundamental building block of development; it leads to an improved quality of life, employment, social acceptance and inclusion, national development and intellectual growth.

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Where Are There So Few Books For The Print-Impaired?

by Nirmita Narasimhan

India publishes approximately 90,000 books each year in 24 different languages. We have over 16,000 publishers, and are one of the top nations for English book publishing in the world. Clearly we are a nation which values and fosters a culture of reading and passing on knowledge in different domains ranging from literature, to yoga, language, education, science, fiction and many others.

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Mobile Apps Are Excluding Millions Of Indians Who Want To Use Them

by Nirmita Narasimhan

If someone were to ask you how many apps you use in a day, you might need to stop and count. You use apps to book cabs, to order groceries, make payments online, buy diapers, connect with friends... the list goes on. In fact apps, are becoming so intrinsic to daily life that without one handy you may have to think twice about how to complete a transaction.

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We Tested 18 Government Apps, and Most are not Fully Accessible to the Disabled

by Nirmita Narasimhan

When you wake up in the morning, the odds are one of the first things you look at is your phone. You might check WhatsApp, review the news, look at the day’s schedule, and book a taxi to work.

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Accessible ICT Procurement

by Pranesh Prakash

Today in India there is an excellent opportunity to address the needs of persons with disabilities through accessible ICT procurement. There is a growing body of evidence globally to demonstrate that governments are successfully using accessible procurement as a means of ensuring the human rights of persons with disabilities,. They are amongst the largest purchasers of IT in any country and by requiring accessible products and services, ensure that all citizens with disabilities and government employees who are disabled are able to access and use public infrastructure and communication. CIS along with 20 other organisations petition the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Information Technology to bring in accessibility considerations within the draft Procurement Bill.

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Report on eSpeak with NVDA Screen Reader and Assistive Technology for Visually Challenged

by Nirmita Narasimhan

The Centre for Internet & Society, Bangalore and National Association for the Blind, New Delhi in collaboration with Centre for Differently Abled Persons, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli organized a workshop on eSpeak with NVDA Screen Reader and Assistive Technology for Visually Challenged at Centre for Differently Abled Persons, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli on January 21, 2016.

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Report on NVDA with E-Speak and BookShare Online Library

by Nirmita Narasimhan

With the objective to sensitize and impart the skillset in handling NVDA – the Screen Reader and the usage of BookShare Online Library for the print disabled to the Special Educators, Karna Vidya Technology Centre in collaboration with Computer and Internet Society conducted a one-day Workshop on NVDA with E-Speak and BookShare Online Library on 27 02 2016 (Saturday) at Karna Vidya Technology Centre. Special Educators from Chennai, Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur totaling 48 have participated actively and got benefited from the Workshop.

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National Compendium of Laws, Policies, Programmes for Persons with Disabilities

by Nirmita Narasimhan

This compendium was compiled by the Centre for Internet & Society in collaboration with the Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Department of Disability Affairs, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India. Prasanna Kumar Pincha, Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, has written the Foreword.

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Report on use of eSpeak Bengali with NVDA

by Nirmita Narasimhan

NVDA team conducted a training programme at Turnstone Matruchaya, Siligudi, West Bengal from September 7 to 9, 2015. Fourteen delegates attended. Nirmal Verma was the language trainer.

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