Centre for Internet and Society

Universal Service — An Instrument for Accessibility

praskrishna — 2011-08-17T08:53:58Z

Every year, billions of dollars are earmarked for fulfilling universal service obligations across the globe. These funds represent a prime opportunity for governments to initiate telecommunication policies and programmes for persons with disabilities, writes Deepti Bharthur.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/universal-service

The Business Case for Web Accessibility

nirmita — 2011-12-07T09:56:47Z

NASSCOM Foundation has published a handbook on web accessibility titled "Understanding WebAccessibility — A Guide to create Accessible Work Environments". Nirmita Narasimhan authored a chapter "The Business Case for Web Accessibility".

The Internet is perhaps one of the most revolutionary things that happened for persons with disabilities. It has transformed their lives from one of ignorance and dependence to one of inclusion and participation. Using assistive technologies, blind persons can now read newspapers and information on websites, deaf persons can understand video content through captioning and persons with different disabilities can access computers in a variety of ways. However, despite these exciting developments in assistive technologies, the relative inaccessi-bility of websites remains a severe impediment to disability access to the internet.

There may be several reasons for complying with web accessibility. These may be:

Social (i.e. acknowledging the right of persons with disabilities to have equal access to information and opportunities offered by the internet);
Legal reasons (i.e. complying with national guidelines, policies or laws);
Technical (i.e. ensuring increased interoperability, reducing server load, time taken in website maintenance and better quality websites); and
Business (i.e. realizing that having an accessible website makes good business sense).

This article focuses on the last reason, i.e. business drivers for web accessibility.

Web accessibility means that a website can be accessed completely by all users, regardless of disability or any disabling factor such as illiteracy, old age or limited bandwidth. Compliance with the Web Content Access Guidelines (WCAG) will ensure that a website will be equally accessible to all disabled users, irrespective of the type of disability (visual, motor, auditory, cognitive or persons who are prone to seizures). Contrary to common belief, an accessible website is not necessarily a boring one. In fact, often times, the difference between an accessible and an inaccessible website may not be evident visually, but only upon use.

It is important for business houses to bear in mind that making websites accessible not only benefits persons with disabilities, but is helpful to every user. For instance, captioning of videos for the deaf will also benefit illiterate persons and persons having limited bandwidth, who constitute a sizeable percentage of the Indian population. Furthermore, nearly everyone benefits from clearly structured content, easy navigation and illustrated graphics. There are over a billion persons with disabilities living around the world, over 70 million in India alone and some surveys also estimate that one fifth of internet users have some form of disability or disabling condition. Hence companies which ensure that their web sites are accessible will be assured of a much wider reach than companies whose websites are not accessible.

An important aspect of creating an accessible website is that if a website is designed and developed in an accessible manner from the very beginning, its cost would exceed the cost of creating an inaccessible web site by perhaps merely 2%. However, on the other hand, if one were to have to retrofit accessibility features into a website, the cost and effort would be the same as that of creating an entirely new site. Furthermore, while the website would become accessible, the maintenance and day to day activities on it would also need to continue to be accessible. An accessible web site enhances ease of maintenance and scalability. Companies must also ensure that the developers maintaining the website must have a good understanding of WCAG.

Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of having an accessible web site is that it also increases its chances of ranking and visibility amongst search engines. There is a significant overlap between guidelines for accessibility and SEO. For instance, both of them require alternative text for graphics, clearly defined heading structures, identification of language of pages and page content, descriptive links etc. Having an accessible website will ensure that it can be accessed on new browsing technologies and platforms, like mobile phones and PDAs. Not only is navigation and usability enhanced, but the separation of content from presentation drastically reduces the download time of accessible web sites, rendering it a pleasurable experience for users to visit the web site.

There is a clear business case in creating products and web sites which are accessible. This is evident in the fact that some of the largest and most successful companies in the world have incorporated accessibility and universal design in their products and services. For instance,

Apple has been committed to accessibility since 1985 and its accessibility website3 features all its accessibility technologies for persons with disabilities as well as other third party products. Apple has integrated universal access into its operating system so that they are usable with Apple and other products.

The accessibility statement on the web site of General Electric4 gives details of its ongoing work on the accessibility of its website and a disabled user can track the company's progress by reading this page. It also provides a help facility for persons who are unable to use the site due to access problems.

A stunning example of a company which has made huge business profits through application of universal design principles in its products is that of NTT DoCoMo which came out with its accessible line of mobile phones called the “Raku-Raku” phone and rapidly captured the majority market share of mobile phones in Japan. The company has sold up to 20 million5 handsets as of July 2011 since its inception and released 18 models.

Some further examples of companies which are committed to accessibility are Cisco Systems Inc.6, AT&T Services Inc.7, France Telecom8, Google9, Hewlett-Packard10, IBM11, Microsoft Corporation12, Nokia13 and Vodafone14. The web sites of these companies have detailed information on the key areas of their accessibility work.

It is therefore clear that companies are increasingly recognizing the wisdom of unlocking their content to a larger audience. Not only do they increase their customer base, but also are able to garner loyalty from their customers as well as bolster their image by showing consideration towards customers with different needs.

The publicity that can be leveraged by business houses on account of their commitment to accessibility and inclusion will go a long way in building a good and lasting relationship with their customers. Hence, companies are strongly urged to make a concerted effort to promote web accessibility through awareness, internal policies and providing requisite training and support. In a world where policy makers are also increasingly becoming aware of the need for web accessibility and mandating it through policies, it will become inevitable for both public and private organizations to have websites which are universally accessible.

Read the original published by NASSCOM Foundation here

Download the entire book here (PDF, 1570 kb)

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/business-case-for-web-accessibility

Survey on Banking Accessibility

Vrinda Maheshwari — 2013-06-06T06:12:04Z

The Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs (G3ict) is launching a survey on the accessibility of financial services in banks for persons with disabilities around the world. The survey is looking at the kind of accommodations being made by different banks and assessing best practices for accessibility to financial services for persons with disabilities.

The object of the survey is to design options for banks to increase their customer base by enabling them to cater to a larger group than is currently able to access services or better serve their communities from a Corporate Social Responsibility standpoint. If you or anyone you know works in the banking sector, please do fill out the survey to help us capture the current accessibility standards in banks and financial institutions. The survey is available here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/survey-on-banking-accessibility

National Resource Kit: The Odisha Chapter (Call for Comments)

anandi — 2013-11-07T06:14:29Z

The National Resource Kit team is pleased to bring you its research on the state of laws, policies and programmes for persons with disabilities in the state of Odisha.

Executive Summary

Odisha has the highest percentage (2.78%) of persons with disabilities in the country. The state has framed the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Amended Odisha Rules 2012 to implement the provisions under the central Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995. The state has issued two notifications in education, one notification in employment and one notification for health and rehabilitation.

State Profile

Capital: Bhubaneswar
Population: 41,947,358[1]
Population of Persons with disabilities: 10, 50,000 (2.78%)[2]. (Census 2001)
HDI: 0.452 Rank: 27th
Literacy: 73.45%
Department: Women and Child Development Department
Directorate: Directorate for Welfare of Persons with Disabilities

Legal Provisions

The state of Odisha has framed the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Amended Odisha Rules 2012 to implement the provisions under the central Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995 (Persons with Disabilities Act).[3] These rules have been issued as an amendment to the previous Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Odisha Rules 2003.

The government of Odisha has formed the Directorate for Welfare of Persons with Disabilities under the Women and Child Development Department to cater to the requirements of persons with disabilities in the state.[4] The government has appointed the Collectors of each district as Deputy Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities for their respective district to assist the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in discharging their functions.[5]

The state in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) (i) and (2) (h) of Section 13 of the persons with Disabilities Act, appointed the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (SCPD) and Chairperson, Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights as members of the State Co-ordination Committee as constituted in the Department Notification No. 708-WCD, dated the 8th January 2003.[6]

The various provisions by the state of Odisha for the persons with disabilities are listed categorically as under:

Education
The government of Odisha has framed the guidelines for establishment, recognition and grant-in-aid to institutions imparting education to children with disabilities to fulfil the mandates under the Persons with Disabilities Act, National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act 1998 and the Right of Education Act, 2009. [7]

Odisha offers an integrated scholarship scheme for students with disabilities titled ‘Banishree – A Scholarship for Students with Special Needs’.[8] The scheme is open to students to continue their education from Class I to university education. Students from middle school and upwards (Class V and upwards) are eligible to apply under this scheme only if they do not receive any scholarship from the Government of India. Students from special schools registered under the Persons with Disabilities Act are eligible to apply provided that they are not in receipt of any grant-in-aid from the central or state government. Students with disabilities pursuing distance education through recognised universities and government organisation, or those pursuing professional, technical or professional courses in any of the recognised institutes are eligible to apply.

Applicants must fulfill the following eligibility criteria:
Should be bonafide resident of Odisha
Should be a regular student of the educational institution
Total income of the applicant’s family should not be more than Rs. 60,000 per annum.
Should not be in receipt of any assistance, stipend or scholarship from the central or state governments under any other scheme.
Should enrol and regularly attend any institution irrespective of whether the applicant has passed the examination or not in a particular year.

The rates of the scholarship offered under the scheme are given as below:

Within the state:

Class I – Class V: Rs. 100 per month
Class VI – Class XI: Rs. 140 per month
Class +2 and Class +3: Rs. 160 per month
University – Post Graduation: Rs. 190 per month
Technical and Vocational: Rs. 190 per month

Outside the state:

Students prosecuting normal course of study or technical/ vocational / professional education/training not available in the State and not covered by Govt. of India Scholarship are given a scholarship of Rs. 250 per month.

Reader allowance for students with visual impairment:

Primary school: Rs. 100 per month
Middle and High School: Rs. 150 per month
Other studies: Rs. 200 per month

Students with orthopaedic disabilities who have 75 per cent or more disability are eligible for a special transport allowance of Rs. 100 per month.

Employment

The government has made provisions to extend the benefits of the Odisha Revised Pay Rule 2008 to the teaching staff of the special schools for persons with disabilities.[9]

Health & Rehabilitation

The District Rehabilitation Centre (DRC) Bhubaneswar has been renamed as the State Institute of Disability Rehabilitation Bhubaneswar and will function as the nodal centre for disability rehabilitation in the state and will be under the control of the Directorate for Welfare of Persons with Disabilities.[10]

[1]. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odisha

[2]. http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=39515

[3]. Women & Child Development Department, No. 1814 Cuttack Saturday September 22 2012/ Bhadra 31 1934, S.R.O No. 518/2012 Dated: 22 June 2012

[4]. Women & Child Development Department, No. 1881 Cuttack Friday, September 28th 2012/ Aswina 6 1934, No. 16140-DW-II-68/2012-WCD Dated: 15th September 2012

[5]. Women & Child Development Department, No. 1588 Cuttack Wednesday July 13 2011/ Asadha 22 1933, S.R.O. No. 537/ 2011 Dated: 30th June 2011

[6]. Women & Child Development Department, No. 982 Cuttack Thursday May17th 2012/ Baisakha 27 1934, No. 7871-DW-II-E-90/2010-WCD Dated: 4th May 2012

[7]. Women & Child Development Department, No. 112 Cuttack Monday, January 14th 20 13/ Pausa 24D 1934, No. 532/2013-WCD

[8]. Women & Child Development Department, No. 1426 Cuttack Friday July 25 2008/ Sravana 3 1930, No. 15776-HW-2-23/2008-WCD

[9]. Women & Child Development Department, No. 2189 Cuttack, Friday September 23 2011/ Aswina 1 1933 No. 15084-DW-I-(A)-40/2011-WCD

[10]. Women & Child Development Department, No. 1290 Cuttack Thursday June 2 2011/ Jaistha 12 1933, No. 10080-DW-H-E-412011-WCD

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/national-resource-kit-odisha-call-for-comments

Visually impaired seek access to print materials

pranesh — 2013-01-16T06:20:49Z

An article in the Deccan Herald (November 3, 2008, page 4) by L. Subramani on the CIS signature campaign.

Rahul Cherian is quoted in this article published in the Deccan Herald.

Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), an organisation researching on the impact of internet on society, has initiated a signature campaign to persuade the Indian government to support the Treaty for the Improved Access for the Blind, Visually Impaired and other Reading Disabled Persons.

The treaty, drafted earlier this year by the World Blind Union (WBU) and Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), asks governments of various countries to change their copyright laws to allow free access to information of several print disabled persons.

The nation-wide campaign (in India) is being supported by organisations such as National Association of the Blind, Delhi and National Federation for the Blind (who is also an affiliate member of the WBU).

“Those who are visually challenged and otherwise print disabled are able to use computers independently with the help of screen readers and magnifiers (software technology), yet they are excluded from accessing copyrighted materials since such materials aren’t available in accessible formats,” said Nirmita Narasimhan, who oversees the campaign at CIS.

Treaty endorsement
Signatures are sought from individuals and organisations to urge the Government of India to endorse the treaty, which calls for copyright laws to be modified so that organisations of the blind and disabled can convert books available in the market into formats which can be accessed by persons with different visual and reading disabilities.

“The Indian Copyright Act (1957) is not taking into account recent technology advancements that has empowered the print disabled to access printed materials,” said Rahul Cherian, a Chennai-based copyrights lawyer involved in drafting the treaty.

“Collecting signatures from people would be an evidence of public opinion in India regarding the issue and would help us to persuade the Government to make our country a signatory to the treaty. This would mean that the government must make amending the national law a priority.”

Rahul said Indian publishers are largely willing to endorse changes to the law, since they view improved accessibility would bring more readers to the market (it is believed about 30 million persons are print disabled in the country). He also feels opposition from authors is unlikely as it doesn’t seriously threaten their incomes.

Interested can contact: Centre for Internet and Society, No D2, 3rd floor, Sheriff Chambers, 14, Cunningham Road, B’lore - 560 052. P: +91 80 4092 6283. M: 098458 68078. The current address of the Centre for Internet & Society is No. 194, Second 'C' Cross, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Bangalore - 560071, Ph: +91 80 4092 6283

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/deccan-herald-november-3-2008-l-subramani-visually-impaired-seek-access-to-print-materials

Websites Accessibility Evaluation Methodologies: Conference Report

praskrishna — 2011-11-08T10:45:32Z

G3ict, W3C and CIS co-organised a panel on 30 March 2011 from 4.30p.m to 6.00 p.m., in the W3C track at the Twentieth International World Wide Web Conference in Hyderabad. The panel discussed web accessibility evaluation methodologies and their challenges and practical technical survey methodologies alternatives. The panel was moderated by Nirmita Narasimhan and featured four speakers — Shadi Abou Zahra (W3C/WAI), Neeta Verma (Senior Technical Director, NIC), Srinivasu Chakravartula (Accessibility Manager, Yahoo India) and Glenda Sims (Senior Accessibility Consultant, DeQue Systems).

The panel began with an introduction and background by Nirmita Narasimhan on the digital dispositions of the UNCRPD, obligations of states parties and the need to have clearly defined and credible evaluation methodologies for effective policy formulation and implementation.

Shadi Abou Zahra gave a brief overview of the WCAG 2.0 guidelines and discussed some of the important points which need to be borne in mind while doing large scale evaluation of websites. He talked about the selection of tools, limitations of automated tools, importance of selection of pages for manual testing, sampling techniques, qualitative versus quantitative analysis, different types of testing such as expert and user testing and evaluation goal and scalability issues.

Neeta Verma discussed the guidelines for Indian websites brought out by the NIC in February 2010 and said that as per the checkpoints in the guidelines, there were a small percentage of checkpoints which could be tested using automated tools, some percentage for which expert and user testing was required. She presented one approach to evaluation adopted by the NIC, which was to certify the CMS rather than individual pages since the latter would be extremely difficult in cases of websites having thousands of pages, as was the case with several government websites. She stressed the need for positive thinking, user involvement and on the need to have an organized community of trained accessibility experts in India to whom the government could outsource testing work.

Srinivasu made a distinction in Yahoo’s approach with regard to accessible websites between existing and upcoming websites. He said that for existing websites, the approach was to do an evaluation, prepare a report and prioritize the issues to be addressed. And as far as new websites are concerned, the attempt should be to keep accessibility in the loop right from the development stage itself. In terms of doing evaluation, he said that his methodology was to first quickly run an automated tool to check for errors. Then depending upon the number and kinds of errors, he would decide whether or not to follow up with a manual test. If the errors thrown up were few or nil, then he would do a manual test of some pages. However, if there were many errors and many of the errors were very basic ones like no alt text attributes, no headings, etc., then he may decide not to go ahead with the manual test at all.

Shadi also pointed out that sometimes it was possible that a website could be error free, except for one error, but if this one error was that the pay button on a shopping site was inaccessible, then the website would have to be evaluated as inaccessible since this was the most important button in the website rendering it usable or unusable. Shadi pointed that automated testing was critical to do large scale evaluations, but that this would only help in getting a quantitative analysis while aggregating results, whereas for a qualitative analysis, one would still have to do a manual test with users and experts and pay special attention to the kinds of pages which are selected for this type of test.

While highlighting the importance of manual testing, Srinivasu pointed out that although an automated tool could tell you whether or not an alt attribute was present, it could not determine whether that attribute was the appropriate one. When asked to share his impression on the common inaccessible features on government websites which he has been testing in large numbers over the past few weeks, he said that he found a lot of errors which were very basic, like no headings, no alt attributes, table based layouts, missing keyboard functionality for drop down menus, dynamic websites which used Java script and Ajax instead of Aria and so on.

Glenda walked the audience through the methodology which she used for evaluating a single client’s website, how she used manual testing to do a baseline accessibility survey of the Texas University website and then used different tools to test different things, for example, desktop tools like Fire Eyes and accessibility tools for testing page by page. Glenda also talked about the importance of testing authoring tools, producing enterprise accessibility report, code validation, and accessibility validators to test with assistive technology. Glenda concurred with the other speakers that accessibility evaluation and monitoring should be at all stages of the website’s development life cycle — accessibility at the design stage, testing and mediating during development to ensure that it continues to remain accessible, because a lot of websites start out by being accessible, but lose accessibility somewhere along the way and finally test for monitoring accessibility of the website.

Some other issues which were discussed were the importance of user level for determining accessibility and choice of users, evaluation methodology to include reporting of minor changes in order to allow for monitoring of progress even if it is on a small scale, need for testers to think from every person and every device perspective, doing component and template testing for new websites as a good way to check for accessibility and the importance of aggregation and report writing. Overall there was a consensus amongst speakers that any effective and credible evaluation methodology, especially for large scale evaluation, would involve a mix of automated and manual testing with users and experts and would have to be done at every stage of development and maintenance of a website.

See the event on W3C website here

Presentations

See Glenda Sims presentation in Youtube
See Srinivasu's presentation here
Download Glenda Sims presentation here [ppt file, 5.85 MB]
Neeta Verma presentation here [ppt file, 11.4 MB]

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/websites-accessibility-evaluation-methodologies

National Resource Kit: The Jharkhand Chapter (Call for Comments)

Manojna Yeluri — 2013-11-07T06:14:16Z

The National Resource Kit team is pleased to bring you its research on the state of laws, policies and programmes for persons with disabilities in the state of Jharkhand.

Executive Summary

According to the 2001 Census, the number of persons with disability i Jharkhand amounted to about 4,48,377 which is roughly 3% of the total population of Jharkhand.[1] The largest section of the disabled population in Jharkhand is visually impaired, constituting about 41.53%. Statistics indicate that Jharkhand houses approximately 2.04% of the total disabled population of the country.

Quick Statistics:

Capital: Ranchi
Population: 32,966,238 (2011 Census)
Population of Persons with Disabilities: 448,377 (2001 Census)
Literacy: 67.63%

The Nodal Department in charge of the implementation and enforcement of the Rules and Acts concerning Persons with Disabilities is the Department of Social Welfare, Women and Child Development. The Jharkhand State Policy on Disability Rights seeks to ensure, inter alia, Participation, Inclusion, Barrier free environment, Empowerment and Self Advocacy.

Legal Provisions

The Jharkhand State Policy on Disability has been formulated under the provisions enshrined in the Central Policies and laws.

The State Policy seeks to facilitate the inclusion of disability rights in the strategies of the Government, to develop an integrated management system for the coordination of disability planning and its implementation, and finally, to develop a comprehensive plan of action that will include among other things, a strong public education system and awareness raising programmes. The Policy focuses mainly on the following areas:

Public Education and Awareness Raising
Prevention of Disabilities through Early Identification and Intervention, immunisation, healthy lifestyle promotion and so on.
Health Care and Nutrition
Community Based Rehabilitation
Barrier Free Access
Accessible and Flexible Public Transport System
Inclusive Education
Employment and Economic Empowerment
Participation in Public Life
Skill Development through special vocation training services
Human Resource Development to ensure access to the necessary rehabilitation services
Social Security
Housing
Cultural and Creative Activities and Sports
Data Gathering and Research on Persons with Disabilities
Special Focus areas: Mental Illness, Sensory and Multiple Disabilities, Women and Girls with Disabilities and Certification

Additionally, a new policy is set to be passed which will ensure a three per cent fund allotment in the State’s annual budget, for the upliftment of people with disability.[2]

Accessibility

The Department of Social Welfare, Jharkhand has not made any schemes under this category except for the following:

Concessions on Tickets: For persons with blindness, physical or mental disability, 75% concession on the price of tickets is given in sleeper class and 3^rd AC compartment while 50% concession is given in 2^nd and 1^st AC. For persons who are hearing and speech impaired, a 50% concession is provided. A concession is also provided for any helper traveling with the person with disability.[3]

Tricycles and Wheelchairs: Tricycles, wheelchairs and other aids and appliances are to be provided to the physically challenged, however there is no specific scheme for the same.[4]

No other provisions have been made with regard to travel allowances.

Education

The state government provides for scholarships, reserevations and other facilities for stidents with disabilities. The benefits provided are as follows:

Scholarships and Stipends for students with disabilities:

Class 1- 8 in Govt schools: Stipend of Rs. 50/- per student per month.

Class 9 to Undergraduate degree in Govt school/ college: Stipend of Rs.250/- per student per month.

Postgraduate degree in a Govt college: Stipend of Rs. 260/- per student per college.

Boarders from Class 1-8 in a Govt school: Stipend of Rs. 100/- per student per month.
Additionally, if any registered Non Governmental Organisation sets up a school for children with disabilities, students of that school are also to be taken care of. It is to be ensured that the schools have trained teachers and the necessary equipments.[5]

Reservation in Educational Institutions: As per Section 39 of the PWD Act, reservation of 3% is provided in government educational institutions as well as educational institutions funded by the government for persons with disabilities.

Non Formal education: 5^th class dropout students with disabilities are to be given Non Formal education and children over the age of 16 are to be given special books, desired equipments and are to be taught through open schools and universities in order for them to attain functional literacy.[6]

Grants in Aid Schemes: The Department of Social Welfare runs various bodies and institutions through grants in aid to Non Governmental Organisations for the welfare of its target groups. Few of such schemes are as follows.

Establishment of Schools for Spastic Children: The scheme for the spastic children is being implemented in this State through Non Governmental Organisations in different blocks of the State. For this scheme funds are provided to those Non Governmental Organisations that wish to open special schools for the benefit of spastic children.
Schools for the Blind, Hearing and Speech Impaired: The State government has set up construction and renovation work for schools for the blind, hearing and speech impaired. In addition to these, 3 new schools and hostels have been completed. It is proposed to run these institutions with the help of capable Non Governmental Organisations.

Employment

Reservation in Government Jobs: As per Notification No. 728 dated 01/11/2007 read with Notification No. 5776 dated 10/10/2002 and Notification No. 5795 dated 10/10/2002, 3% of Government jobs have been reserved for persons with disabilities in the State.[7] Within this 3%, 1% of the jobs is reserved for persons with partial or complete blindness, 1% for people with hearing disability and 1% for people who are orthopaedically disabled.[8]

Health and Rehabilitation

No health and rehabilitation schemes have been formulated except for provision of equipment and aids and appliances.

Equipments for persons with disabilities: Equipments such as crutches, hearing aids, tricycles are being provided by the State government to persons with disabilities.

Social Protection

Swami Vivekananda Nisshakta Svawalamban Protsahan Yojana: This is a flagship scheme promulgated by the Jharkhand State Government with regard to the welfare of persons with disabilities in the State. Since the financial year 2006-07 the Government has started this scheme where an amount of Rs. 200/- per month is given to every person with disability living in the State and is above the age of 5 years as a stipend through Anganwadi workers. This amount has now been increased to Rs. 400/- per month.[9]

Minor Disability Sector scheme: Apart from the scheme of Swami Vivekananda Nisshakta Svawalamban Protsahan Yojana there are a few minor schemes relating to disability which are run by the Department of Social Welfare. They are as follows:

Special Equipment for Disabled

Scholarship to Handicapped

Economic & Social Survey of the Disabled

Workshop for the Disabled[10]

Reservation in Poverty Alleviation Programmes: Notification No. 3260 dated 06/06/2003 provides that any poverty alleviation programme of the Government must have a 3% reservation for persons with disabilities.[11]

Workshop for the Disabled: Under this scheme funds are provided to Non Governmental Organisations for conducting workshops, seminars etc. on disability, and also for organizing Abilympics and related events.[12] Abilympics is a vocational skills competition on the lines of the Olympics, held for persons with disabilities to showcase their talents.

Central Schemes

Cash Transfer Scheme: Jharkhand government has decided to bring all 24 districts of the state under Direct Cash Transfer scheme of the Central Government by May 2013. The Direct Cash Transfer scheme will start in four districts of Jharkhand- Ranchi, Ramgarh, Hazaribagh and Saraikela Kharsawan. The scheme would provide cash directly to persons with disability, in addition to scholarships and pensions for the elderly and other welfare schemes of Central Government through Aadhar cards.

Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme to promote Voluntary Action for Persons with Disabilities: This is an umbrella scheme by the Central Government for the effective rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. The Jharkhand Government, under this scheme, provides assistance to Non Governmental Organisations for provision of a wide range of services to the disabled such as early intervention, programmes for pre school, vocational training, special education, community based rehabilitation, manpower development and so on.[13]

Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fitting of Aids/Appliances (ADIP) Scheme: This scheme of the Central Government has been implemented by the Jharkhand Government. Funds are provided to the state notionally which are then allocated to Implementing Agencies for the purpose of assisting persons with disabilities to promote their physical, social and psychological rehabilitation by helping them.[14]

Scheme for providing Employment to Persons with Disabilities in the Private Sector: Incentives are being provided by the Government to the private sector employers in order to promote employment in the private sector as well.[15]

[1].http://www.jharkhand.gov.in/new_depts/socwf/Social%20Welfare%20Annual%20Plan%2009-10.pdf

[2].http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-09-05/ranchi/33614847_1_state-disability-commissioner-pwd-act-disability-act

[3].Directory for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities through Government and Non Governmental Organisations, pp.25-26.

[4].http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130302/jsp/jharkhand/story_16623167.jsp#.UYc8tLW7KAg

[5].http://socialwelfarejhar.com/ap12-13.pdf, p.5.

[6].Section 27 of the PWD Act.

[7].Directory for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities through Government and Non Governmental Organisations, p. 33.

[8]. Office Memorandum No.36035/3/2004-Estt.(Res.) dated 29.12.2005.

[9].http://socialwelfarejhar.com/

[10].http://www.jharkhand.gov.in/new_depts/ap201011/Social_welfare201011.pdf

[11].Supra, n.7.

[12].http://www.jharkhand.gov.in/new_depts/socwf/Social%20Welfare%20Annual%20Plan%2009-10.pdf

[13].http://socialjustice.nic.in/ddrs.php?pageid=6

[14].http://socialjustice.nic.in/adipjh.php

[15].http://socialjustice.nic.in/incentdd.php

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/national-resource-kit-jharkhand-call-for-comments

Bengalureans to receive Helen Keller award

Admin — 2018-01-01T16:24:49Z

Three Bengalureans and two organisations from the city have been selected this year for the Helen Keller awards, given by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) and Mindtree.

The article was published by Deccan Herald on November 30, 2017

The awards, instated in 1999 to encourage the creation of employment for persons with disabilities (PwD), will be presented on December 2, in Delhi, on the eve of World Disability Day. A total of 10 awards are given - six to individuals and four to role-model organisations.

In the Role Model-Disabled Person category, Pradip Sinha, an executive in Dell-EMC in Bengaluru is one of the individuals awarded. In spite of being hearing and visually impaired, Pradip works independently without an interpreter. He also teaches deaf-blind children at Helen Keller Institute for the Deaf Blind (HKIDB).

Dr Nirmita Narasimhan, the founding member of Centre for Internet and Society in Bengaluru, has also been awarded in this category. Nirmita is partially visually disabled and has worked with disability organisations, governments and UN bodies advocating for digital accessibility, promoting universal design and open source assistive technology.

In the role model, non-disabled person category, Swaminathan Subramanian, a manager at ANZ Bengaluru Service Centre has won. He has been working for inclusion of PwD and his efforts have resulted in the hiring of 220 persons with disabilities in the company.

City-based coffee chain Hatti Kaapi has been awarded as a role model organisation for providing employment to PwD, senior citizens, and people from rural areas. It has partnered with various NGOs to look for people with disabilities such as autism, physical disability, and visual disability. Inspired by the award, the company has decided to dedicate one of their outlets to be run and managed exclusively by disabled employees from December 2.

Vindhya E-Infomedia Private Limited, BPO in the city which has a large proportion of PwD in their staff has also been awarded. In their Bengaluru centre, about 58% of employees are disabled while the Hyderabad centre has only PwD as staff.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/news/deccan-herald-november-30-2017-bengalureans-to-receive-helen-keller-award

October 2017 Newsletter

praskrishna — 2018-01-10T00:53:03Z

October 2017 Newsletter

Dear readers,

Previous issues of the newsletters can be accessed here.

Highlights
CIS submitted its comments on mobile accessibility guidelines to the Ministry of Electronics & IT, Govt. of India. Between 1 to 16 September, an online discussion took place on the creation of social media guidelines and strategy for Telugu Wikimedia handles online. Manasa Rao captured the developments in a blog post. Padma Venkataraman in a blog entry chronologically mapped CIS’ efforts at enhancing financial transparency and accountability at ICANN, while providing an outline of what remains to be done. Shyam Ponappa's article on NPAs and structural issues was published in the Business Standard on October 5, 2017.

Highlights

CIS submitted its comments on mobile accessibility guidelines to the Ministry of Electronics & IT, Govt. of India.
Between 1 to 16 September, an online discussion took place on the creation of social media guidelines and strategy for Telugu Wikimedia handles online. Manasa Rao captured the developments in a blog post.
Padma Venkataraman in a blog entry chronologically mapped CIS’ efforts at enhancing financial transparency and accountability at ICANN, while providing an outline of what remains to be done.
Shyam Ponappa's article on NPAs and structural issues was published in the Business Standard on October 5, 2017.

CIS in the News:

Attempted data breach of UIDAI, RBI, ISRO and Flipkart is worrisome (DailyO, October 4, 2017).
Sex, drugs and the dark web (Hindu; October 7, 2017).
Ahead of data protection law roll out, experts caution that it shouldn't limit collection and use of data (First Post; October 12, 2017).
#NAMAprivacy: The economics and business models of IoT and other issues (Medianama; October 18, 2017).
#NAMAprivacy: Data standards for IoT and home automation systems (Medianama; October 18, 2017).
Majority of top politicians' Twitter followers fake: audit (Furquan Moharkan; Deccan Herald; October 24, 2017).
Awards for those working on employment opportunities for disabled (Eastern Mirror; October 24, 2017).
Nibbling away into your bank account, salami attackers cart away a fortune (New Indian Express; October 25, 2017).
Nirmita Narasimhan wins the 18th NCPEDP-Mindtree Helen Keller Award 2017! (National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People; October 31, 2017).

-----------------------------------
Access to Knowledge
-----------------------------------
Our Access to Knowledge programme currently consists of two projects. The Pervasive Technologies project, conducted under a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), aims to conduct research on the complex interplay between low-cost pervasive technologies and intellectual property, in order to encourage the proliferation and development of such technologies as a social good. The Wikipedia project, which is under a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation, is for the growth of Indic language communities and projects by designing community collaborations and partnerships that recruit and cultivate new editors and explore innovative approaches to building projects.

►Wikipedia

Blog Entries

Odia Wikisource Turns 3 (Manasa Rao; October 22, 2017).
Wikimedia Workshop at Ismailsaheb Mulla Law College, Satara (Subodh Kulkarni; October 24, 2017).
Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Dalit Mahila Vikas Mandal, Satara (Subodh Kulkarni; October 24, 2017).
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at MGM Trust's College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Aurangabad (Subodh Kulkarni; October 24, 2017).
Orientation Program at Kannada University, Hampi (A. Gopalakrishna; October 24, 2017).
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Solapur University (Subodh Kulkarni; October 24, 2017).
Discussion on Creation of Social Media Guidelines & Strategy for Telugu Wikimedia (Manasa Rao; October 24, 2017).

►Openness

Our work in the Openness programme focuses on open data, especially open government data, open access, open education resources, open knowledge in Indic languages, open media, and open technologies and standards - hardware and software. We approach openness as a cross-cutting principle for knowledge production and distribution, and not as a thing-in-itself.

-----------------------------------

Internet Governance
-----------------------------------

As part of its research on privacy and free speech, CIS is engaged with two different projects. The first one (under a grant from Privacy International and IDRC) is on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). The second one (under a grant from MacArthur Foundation) is on restrictions that the Indian government has placed on freedom of expression online.

►Freedom of Expression

ICANN’s Problems with Accountability and the .WEB Controversy (Padma Venkataraman; October 24, 2017).
Why Presumption of Renewal is Unsuitable for the Current Registry Market Structure (Padma Venkataraman; October 29, 2017).
CIS’ Efforts Towards Greater Financial Disclosure by ICANN (Padma Venkataraman; October 29, 2017).

►Cyber Security

Participation in Event

CyFy 2017 (Organized by Observer Research Foundation; New Delhi; October 2 - 4, 2017). Sunil Abraham was a speaker.

►Privacy

Blog Entry

GDPR and India: A Comparative Analysis (Aditi Chaturvedi; October 17, 2017).

Participation in Event

Securing The Digital Payments Ecosystem (Organized by NITI Aayog; October 9, 2017).

►Big Data

Blog Entry

Revisiting Per Se vs Rule of Reason in Light of the Intel Conditional Rebate Case (Shruthi Anand; October 4, 2017).

Event Organized

Emerging Issues in the Internet of Things (CIS, Bengaluru; October 23, 2017). Andrew Rens gave a talk.

-----------------------------------

Telecom
-----------------------------------
CIS is involved in promoting access and accessibility to telecommunications services and resources, and has provided inputs to ongoing policy discussions and consultation papers published by TRAI. It has prepared reports on unlicensed spectrum and accessibility of mobile phones for persons with disabilities and also works with the USOF to include funding projects for persons with disabilities in its mandate:

Article

NPAs & Structural Issues (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; October 4, 2017).

-----------------------------------
Researchers at Work
-----------------------------------
The Researchers at Work (RAW) programme is an interdisciplinary research initiative driven by an emerging need to understand the reconfigurations of social practices and structures through the Internet and digital media technologies, and vice versa. It aims to produce local and contextual accounts of interactions, negotiations, and resolutions between the Internet, and socio-material and geo-political processes:

Articles

Digital Native: There is no spoon, There is no privacy (Nishant Shah; October 9, 2017).
Digital Native: Finger on the buzzer (Nishant Shah; October 22, 2017).

-----------------------------------
About CIS
-----------------------------------

The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is a non-profit organisation that undertakes interdisciplinary research on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. The areas of focus include digital accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge, intellectual property rights, openness (including open data, free and open source software, open standards, open access, open educational resources, and open video), internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security. The academic research at CIS seeks to understand the reconfigurations of social and cultural processes and structures as mediated through the internet and digital media technologies.

► Follow us elsewhere

Twitter: http://twitter.com/cis_india
Twitter - Access to Knowledge: https://twitter.com/CISA2K
Twitter - Information Policy: https://twitter.com/CIS_InfoPolicy
Facebook - Access to Knowledge: https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k
E-Mail - Access to Knowledge: a2k@cis-india.org
E-Mail - Researchers at Work: raw@cis-india.org
List - Researchers at Work: https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers

► Support Us

Please help us defend consumer and citizen rights on the Internet! Write a cheque in favour of 'The Centre for Internet and Society' and mail it to us at No. 194, 2nd 'C' Cross, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru - 5600 71.

► Request for Collaboration

We invite researchers, practitioners, artists, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to engage with us on topics related internet and society, and improve our collective understanding of this field. To discuss such possibilities, please write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at sunil@cis-india.org (for policy research), or Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Research Director, at sumandro@cis-india.org (for academic research), with an indication of the form and the content of the collaboration you might be interested in. To discuss collaborations on Indic language Wikipedia projects, write to Tanveer Hasan, Programme Officer, at tanveer@cis-india.org.

CIS is grateful to its primary donor the Kusuma Trust founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin for its core funding and support for most of its projects. CIS is also grateful to its other donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and IDRC for funding its various projects.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/october-2017-newsletter

November 2017 Newsletter

praskrishna — 2018-01-10T01:57:29Z

November 2017 Newsletter

Dear readers,

Previous issues of the newsletters can be accessed here.

Highlights
Anubha Sinha took part in the 35th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from 13 November, 2017 to 18 November, 2017. She posed a question on the agenda 'Other Matters' on behalf of CIS on Day 5, 17 November, 2017. CIS also gave statements on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives and GRULAC Proposal for Analysis of Copyright in the Digital Environment. CIS-A2K signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Telangana Government’s IT, Electronics & Communications Department with to catalyse the development of the Wikimedia movement in Telangana and improve the state of free-licensed digital content in Telugu and Urdu. The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India has published the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW). Nirmita Narasimhan on behalf of the Centre for Internet & Society gave comments on GIGW. The government has already set up a Nudge unit; now, it should apply the Nobel laureate's insights on auctions relating to essential infrastructure wrote Shyam Ponappa in an article in the Business Standard on November 1, 2017. DataMeet and CIS have collaborated on identifying and addressing the challenges to open up and integrate data and information in the water sector. CIS commented on the Consultation Paper on Privacy, Security and Ownership of Data in Telecom Sector published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on August 9, 2017. CIS published a report that compares laws and regulations in the United Kingdom and India to see the similarities and disjunctions in cyber security policy between them. CIS sent comments on TRAI consultation paper on promoting local telecom equipment manufacturing. The submission drew on research primarily done in the Pervasive Technologies project.

Highlights

Anubha Sinha took part in the 35th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from 13 November, 2017 to 18 November, 2017. She posed a question on the agenda 'Other Matters' on behalf of CIS on Day 5, 17 November, 2017. CIS also gave statements on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives and GRULAC Proposal for Analysis of Copyright in the Digital Environment.
CIS-A2K signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Telangana Government’s IT, Electronics & Communications Department with to catalyse the development of the Wikimedia movement in Telangana and improve the state of free-licensed digital content in Telugu and Urdu.
The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India has published the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW). Nirmita Narasimhan on behalf of the Centre for Internet & Society gave comments on GIGW.
The government has already set up a Nudge unit; now, it should apply the Nobel laureate's insights on auctions relating to essential infrastructure wrote Shyam Ponappa in an article in the Business Standard on November 1, 2017.
DataMeet and CIS have collaborated on identifying and addressing the challenges to open up and integrate data and information in the water sector.
CIS commented on the Consultation Paper on Privacy, Security and Ownership of Data in Telecom Sector published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on August 9, 2017.
CIS published a report that compares laws and regulations in the United Kingdom and India to see the similarities and disjunctions in cyber security policy between them.
CIS sent comments on TRAI consultation paper on promoting local telecom equipment manufacturing. The submission drew on research primarily done in the Pervasive Technologies project.

CIS in the News:

Big Data for governance (Alekhya Hanumanthu; Telangana Today; November 4, 2017).
How tech is making life easier for differently-abled (Shalini Umachandrani; November 7, 2017).
India Today Conclave Next 2017: Aadhaar was rushed, says MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar (Priya Pathak; India Today; November 8, 2017).
What You Need To Worry About Before Linking Your Mobile Number With Aadhaar (Roopa Raju and Shekhar Rai; Youth Ki Awaaz; November 8, 2017).
OPINION | Data is New Oil and Human Mind the New Battlefield. India Must Wake Up Now (Lt. General (Retd.) D. S. Hooda; News18.com; November 11, 2017).
Aadhaar seeding: benefits and concerns (Shaikh Zoaib Saleem; Livemint; November 14, 2017).
Privacy issues exist even without Aadhaar (Ronald Abraham; November 15, 2017).
Advocating for Openness: Nine Ways Civil Society Groups Have Mobilized to Defend Internet Freedom (Centre for International Media Assistance; November 15, 2017).
Govt working to set up financial CERT to tackle cyber threats (Komal Gupta; Livemint; November 16, 2017).
Financial CERT to combat cyber threats, says MoS home affairs (CISO MAG; November 17, 2017).
UIDAI admits 210 government websites made Aadhaar details public (Financial Express; November 20, 2017).
India’s internet missionaries: The women Google is relying on to spread its Next Billion message (Sunny Sen; Livemint; November 21, 2017).
FCC’s plan to repeal net neutrality may not impact India (Surabhi Agarwal; Economic Times; November 23, 2017).
Indian activists slam FCC decision to ditch net neutrality (Kul Bhushan; Hindustan Times; November 23, 2017).
FCC’s plan to repeal net neutrality may not impact India (Surabhi Agarwal; Economic Times; November 23, 2017).
Why should you keep a close eye on the net neutrality debate in the US (Subhrojit Mallick; Digit; November 24, 2017).
Cyberattacks a significant threat to democracy: Modi (Komal Gupta; Livemint; November 24, 2017).
Aadhaar verification at airports raises need for stricter data privacy regulations (Aman Sethi; Hindustan Times, November 27, 2017).
IDAP Interview Series: Interview with Nirmita Narasimhan (IDIA Law; November 27, 2017).
Govt releases white paper on data protection framework (Komal Gupta; Livemint; November 28, 2017).
Bengalureans to receive Helen Keller award (Deccan Herald; November 30, 2017).

-------------------------------------
Accessibility & Inclusion
-------------------------------------
India has an estimated 70 million persons with disabilities who don't have access to read printed materials due to some form of physical, sensory, cognitive or other disability. As part of our endeavour to make available accessible content for persons with disabilities, we are developing a text-to-speech software in 15 languages with support from the Hans Foundation. The progress made so far in the project can be accessed here.

Submission

Comments on Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (Nirmita Narasimhan; November 26, 2017).

►Copyright & Patent

35th SCCR: CIS Statement on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives (Anubha Sinha; November 15, 2017).
35th SCCR: CIS Statement on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives (Anubha Sinha; November 17, 2017).
35th SCCR: CIS' Question to Dr. Rostama on her Study on the Impact of the Digital Environment on Copyright Legislation (Anubha Sinha; November 19, 2017).

►Wikipedia

Blog Entry

CIS-A2K signs MoU with Telangana Government (Manasa Rao; November 8, 2017).

►Openness

-----------------------------------

Internet Governance
-----------------------------------

►Privacy

Blog Entries

A Comparison of Legal and Regulatory Approaches to Cyber Security in India and the United Kingdom (Divij Joshi; edited by Elonnai Hickok; November 12, 2017).
Counter Comments on TRAI's Consultation Paper on Privacy, Security and Ownership of Data in Telecom Sector (Amber Sinha; November 23, 2017).

Participation in Event

BIS International Seminar on Internet of Things (Organized by BIS; November 15, 2017; India Habitat Centre, New Delhi). Amber Sinha attended the event.
Internet Universality Indicators for a Safe, Secure and Inclusive Cyberspace for Sustainable Development (Organized by UNESCO in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India; UNESCO Conference Room, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi; November 17, 2017). Amber Sinha attended the event.

Roundtable on Data Integrity and Privacy (Organized by Observer Research Foundation; November 18, 2017). The round table discussion was chaired by Shri Baijayant Panda, Hon'ble Member of Parliament.

►Cyber Security

Blog Entry

Breach Notifications: A Step towards Cyber Security for Consumers and Citizens (Amelia Andersdotter; November 14, 2017).

Event Organized

Roundtable on Enhancing Indian Cyber Security through Multi-Stakeholder Cooperation (Indian Islamic Centre; Lodhi Road; New Delhi; November 4, 2017).
Open House on Security Practices in FinTech (Organized by CIS and Has Geek; November 17, 2017).

Participation in Event

Multinational Cyber Security Forum at University of Haifa (Organized by Center for Cyber, Law and Policy and University of Haifa in collaboration with the Hewlett Foundation Cyber Initiative; November 5 - 7, 2017). Sunil Abraham participated in the meeting held in Israel.
Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace (GCSC) (Organized by GCSC; November 21, 2017; New Delhi). Pranesh Prakash participated in the event.

-----------------------------------
Telecom
-----------------------------------

CIS is involved in promoting access and accessibility to telecommunications services and resources, and has provided inputs to ongoing policy discussions and consultation papers published by TRAI. It has prepared reports on unlicensed spectrum and accessibility of mobile phones for persons with disabilities and also works with the USOF to include funding projects for persons with disabilities in its mandate:

Article

Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler's Views On Auctions (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; November 1, 2017).

Submission

Comments on TRAI Consultation Paper on Promoting Local Telecom Equipment Manufacturing (Anubha Sinha; November 26, 2017).

Articles

Digital native: Rebellion by Google Doc (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; November 4, 2017)
Digital native: Let there be life (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; November 19, 2017).

-----------------------------------

About CIS
-----------------------------------
The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is a non-profit organisation that undertakes interdisciplinary research on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. The areas of focus include digital accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge, intellectual property rights, openness (including open data, free and open source software, open standards, open access, open educational resources, and open video), internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security. The academic research at CIS seeks to understand the reconfigurations of social and cultural processes and structures as mediated through the internet and digital media technologies.

► Follow us elsewhere

Twitter: http://twitter.com/cis_india
Twitter - Access to Knowledge: https://twitter.com/CISA2K
Twitter - Information Policy: https://twitter.com/CIS_InfoPolicy
Facebook - Access to Knowledge: https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k
E-Mail - Access to Knowledge: a2k@cis-india.org
E-Mail - Researchers at Work: raw@cis-india.org
List - Researchers at Work: https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers

► Support Us

► Request for Collaboration

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/november-2017-newsletter

January 2018 Newsletter

praskrishna — 2018-03-01T01:35:56Z

January 2018 Newsletter

Dear readers,

Previous issues of the newsletters can be accessed here.

Highlights
The paper titled "Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products" has been published in the latest issue of the NYU Journal of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law. It is one of the outputs of the Pervasive Technology project and has been authored by Prof. Jorge L. Contreras, Paxton M. Lewis, and Rohini Lakshané. CIS made a submission to the Department of Industrial Planning and Promotion on mobile patents. CIS offered its assistance on matters aimed at developing a suitable policy framework for SEPs and FRAND in India, and, working towards sustained innovation, manufacture and availability of mobile technologies in India The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare in India is increasing with new startups and large ICT companies offering AI solutions for healthcare challenges in the country. The report by by Yesha Paul, Elonnai Hickok, Amber Sinha and Udbhav Tiwari seeks to map the present state of AI in the healthcare sector in India. About 27% of India's population is still illiterate or barely literate. Most privacy policies and terms of services for web and mobile applications are in English and therefore it is only 10% of us who can actually read them before we provide our consent. The article by Sunil Abraham was published in Deccan Herald on January 20, 2018. CIS made a submission to TRAI Consultation on inputs to the National Telecom Policy. CIS in its submission also recommended what all should be the main objectives of TRAI while drafting the next edition of National Telecom Policy. Under a research grant from the Azim Premji University CIS has initiated a study of the ongoing updation process of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and the resultant reform of citizen identification infrastructure in India. The 2G judgment of December 2017 provides a critique of how no proper evidence was presented on existence of an FCFS policy and its improper implementation, wrote Shyam Ponappa in his article in the Business Standard which was published on January 3, 2018.

Highlights

The paper titled "Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products" has been published in the latest issue of the NYU Journal of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law. It is one of the outputs of the Pervasive Technology project and has been authored by Prof. Jorge L. Contreras, Paxton M. Lewis, and Rohini Lakshané.
CIS made a submission to the Department of Industrial Planning and Promotion on mobile patents. CIS offered its assistance on matters aimed at developing a suitable policy framework for SEPs and FRAND in India, and, working towards sustained innovation, manufacture and availability of mobile technologies in India
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare in India is increasing with new startups and large ICT companies offering AI solutions for healthcare challenges in the country. The report by by Yesha Paul, Elonnai Hickok, Amber Sinha and Udbhav Tiwari seeks to map the present state of AI in the healthcare sector in India.
About 27% of India's population is still illiterate or barely literate. Most privacy policies and terms of services for web and mobile applications are in English and therefore it is only 10% of us who can actually read them before we provide our consent. The article by Sunil Abraham was published in Deccan Herald on January 20, 2018.
CIS made a submission to TRAI Consultation on inputs to the National Telecom Policy. CIS in its submission also recommended what all should be the main objectives of TRAI while drafting the next edition of National Telecom Policy.
Under a research grant from the Azim Premji University CIS has initiated a study of the ongoing updation process of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and the resultant reform of citizen identification infrastructure in India.
The 2G judgment of December 2017 provides a critique of how no proper evidence was presented on existence of an FCFS policy and its improper implementation, wrote Shyam Ponappa in his article in the Business Standard which was published on January 3, 2018.

The following articles were written by CIS members:

Digital native: Memory card is full (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; January 3, 2018).
The 2G Judgment of December 2017: What Was It About? (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; January 3, 2018).
Fixing Aadhaar: Security developers' task is to trim chances of data breach (Sunil Abraham; Business Standard; January 10, 2018).
Another Step towards Privacy Law (Elonnai Hickok; Governance Now; January 15, 2018).

Data Protection: We can innovate, leapfrog (Sunil Abraham; Deccan Herald; January 20, 2018).

CIS in the News:

From net neutrality to IBC & Aadhaar, how Vidhi is framing key government legislation (Surabhi Agarwal and Samanwaya Rautray; Economic Times; January 4, 2018).
UIDAI denies any breach of Aadhaar database (Komal Gupta; Livemint; January 7, 2018).
Token security or tokenized security? (Manasa Venkataraman and Ajay Patri; Livemint; January 9, 2018).
UIDAI introduces new two-layer security system to improve Aadhaar privacy (Economic Times; January 11, 2018).
Hammered government offers Virtual ID firewall to protect your Aadhaar (New Indian Express; January 11, 2018).
Virtual Aadhaar ID: too little, too late? (Yuthika Bhargava; Hindu; January 11, 2018).
India To Introduce Virtual ID For Aadhaar To Strengthen Privacy (Bloomberg Quint; January 11, 2018).
UIDAI's Virtual ID, limited KYC does little to protect Aadhaar data already collected, say critics (Business Today; January 12, 2018).
Aadhaar Body Talked About Virtual ID 7 Years Ago, Put It Off: UIDAI Chief (Sukriti Dwivedi; NDTV; January 13, 2018).
Bengaluru gives data safety tips to panel (Deccan Herald; January 14, 2018).
Is your personal information under lock and key? (Sravanthi Challapalli; Hindu Businessline; January 16, 2018).
Aadhaar-privacy debate: How the 12-digit number went from personal identifier to all pervasive transaction tool (First Post; January 18, 2018).
Paytm Payments Bank woos corporates with digital incentives (Komal Gupta and Remya Nair; Livemint; January 24, 2018).
Aadhaar's new security measures are good, it is still work in progress (Alnoor Peermohamed; Business Standard; January 25, 2018).

►Wikipedia

Blog Entries

Government of Odisha adopting Creative Commons License to Promote Transparency and Access to Knowledge (Sailesh Patnaik; January 17, 2018).
Experience and Learning outcome from Wikipedia Education Program (Lakshmi Karlekar; January 30, 2018).

Events Organized

Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Dept. of Mass Communication, Solapur University (Organized by CIS-A2K and Dept of Mass Communication, Solapur University; Solapur; January 2, 2018).
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Dayanand College, Solapur (Organized by CIS-A2K and Dayanand College, Solapur; Solapur; January 3, 2018).
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Willingdon College, Sangli (Organized by CIS-A2K and Willingdon College; Sangli; January 5, 2018).
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Govt.Science & Arts College, Aurangabad (Organized by CIS-A2K and Govt.Science & Arts College; Aurangabad; January 9, 2018).
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada Vidyapeeth (Organized by CIS-A2K and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University; Aurangabad; January 10, 2018).
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Shivaji University, Kolhapur (Organized by CIS-A2K and Shivaji University; Kolhapur; January 15, 2018).
Wikidata Workshop (Organized by CIS-A2K and Andhra Loyola College; Vijaywada; January 20 - 21, 2018).
Train the Trainer 2018 (Organized by CIS-A2K; Mysore; January 26 - 28, 2018).

►Pervasive Technologies

Research Paper

Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products (Jorge L. Contreras, Rohini Lakshané and Paxton M. Lewis; JIPEL NYU Journal of Intellectual Property & Entertainment Law, Vol. 7 - No.1 on January 16, 2018).

Submission

Submission to DIPP at Meeting with IP Stakeholders (Anubha Sinha; January 1, 2018). The submission was made in December 2017 but it was published on the website in January 2018.

►Openness

-----------------------------------

Internet Governance
-----------------------------------

►Privacy

Blog Entry

Artificial Intelligence and the Healthcare Industry in India (Yesha Paul, Elonnai Hickok, Amber Sinha and Udbhav Tiwari (Ecosystem mapping by Shweta Mohandas, Sidharth Ray and Elonnai Hickok. Designed by Saumyaa Naidu under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License; January 26, 2018).

Events Organized

Roundtable on A.I. and Manufacturing and Services (TERI, Bengaluru; January 19, 2018).

null Bangalore Meet: Special Session on Digital Identity and Privacy (CIS, Bengaluru; January 19, 2018). Sunil Abraham gave a talk.

►Free Speech and Expression

Blog Entries

Internet Governance Forum Report 2017 (Shweta Mohandas; January 11, 2018).

Mobile net ban during peaceful protest leaves farmers confused (Shruti Jain; January 19, 2018).

‘Hurt sentiments’ cost Udaipur internet access for four days (Shruti Jain; January 19, 2018).

-----------------------------------

Article

Submission to TRAI Consultation on "Inputs for Formulation of National Telecom Policy - 2018" (Pranesh Prakash; January 25, 2018).

Blog Entry

Life of a Tuple: National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Reform of Citizen Identification Infrastructure in Assam (Sumandro Chattapadhyay; January 22, 2018). All posts related to the study can be found here.

-----------------------------------
About CIS
-----------------------------------

► Follow us elsewhere

Twitter: http://twitter.com/cis_india
Twitter - Access to Knowledge: https://twitter.com/CISA2K
Twitter - Information Policy: https://twitter.com/CIS_InfoPolicy
Facebook - Access to Knowledge: https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k
E-Mail - Access to Knowledge: a2k@cis-india.org
E-Mail - Researchers at Work: raw@cis-india.org
List - Researchers at Work: https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers

► Support Us

► Request for Collaboration

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/Qjanuary-2018-newsletter

The Legal Framework for Enforcement of Rights of Persons with Disabilities

CLPR — 2014-11-06T15:56:46Z

In order to get a complete understanding of the legal framework governing the rights of persons with disabilities, we need to understand the several legislations that cover the field. The Constitution of India is the founding legal document guaranteeing fundamental rights to all persons which includes persons with disabilities. The main legislation on disability rights is the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 ("PWD Act") which this chapter will be providing a detailed overview of.

Other legislations which also cover some specialized aspects of disability issues are the National Trusts Act, the Rehabilitiation Council of India Act and the Mental Health Act 1987. This chapter will not be dealing with these legislations and will focus mainly on the PWD Act as this is the main legislation covering all rights of perosns with disabilities in the country.

The Constitution of India
The Constitution of India under Chapter III guarantees fundamental human rights to all persons. The right to equality is enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution and recognizes that all persons are equal before the law. Persons with disabilities are entitled to this guarantee to not be discriminated against in any manner and to be treated equally, which includes the requirement for special treatment where required. Similarly, Article 15 and 16 prohibits discrimination on the grounds of "religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them and guarantees equal opportunity in matters of public employment. Article 16 (3) & (4) provides that the State can make provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services. It is on the basis of Article 16, that the guarantees to reservation and equal opportunity in public employment are made under the PWD Act. The right to equality has been upheld for persons with disabilities not to be discriminated and to be provided equal opportunity in recruitment to the civil services.[1] Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the right to life to all persons, which has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to include the right to live with dignity,[2] , the right to livelihood,[3] and the right to education.[4] Article 21A guarantees the right to fre and compulsoy education for all children between the ages of 6-14 years.

Chapter IV of the constitution contains the Directive Principles of State Policy, which are also aims for the State to comply with. The DPSPs provide in Article 38 that the State Policy has to be directed to minimize inequalities, secure right to an adequate means of livelihood and also secure that the operation of legal system promotes justice. Under Article 41, the State shall make provisions for ensuring the right to work, education and public assistance in case of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement and in other cases of undeserved want. The State shall endeavour to provide for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of 14 years and under Article 46 the State has also the responsibility of promoting with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people. All these provisions are equally applicable to the persons with disabilities.

The denial or violation of any of these rights would entitle any person to approach the High Courts or the Supreme Court in their writ jurisdictions under Articles 226 and 32, respectively, if there is no other alternative or equally efficacious remedy available.

The PWD Act
The PWD Act came into force on 1^st January 1996, and was enacted in pursuance of India's obligation under the Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities in the Asian and Pacific Region, which it adopted in December 1992. The Act provides for various measures for persons with disabilities to facilitate their access to education, employment, basic infrastructure and social welfare measures.

Under the PWD Act, a 'person with disability' has been defined as any person having 40% or more of any of the following disabilities: (i) Blindness; (ii) Low vision; (iii) Leprosy cured; (iv) Hearing impairment; (v) Locomotor disability; (vi) Mental retardation; and (vii) Mental illness. This is a limited definition, as only perosns who fall within this definition as having 40% or more of the above 7 disabilities would be categorized as perosns with disabiltiies and would be entitled to get the benefits of the rights and schemes under the PWD Act.

The main rights available to persons with disabiltiies are in the field of education in public schools, public employment, infrastructure on the roads and in public transport and access to public buildings and a greiavance redressal procedure for protection of their rights.

Education
Under the PWD Act, all children with disabilities below the age of 18 have the riht to free and compulsory eduication that is accessible. This goes even beyond the mandate of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 that calls for free education to be provided to children up to the age of 14. The further obligations placed on the government by the PWD Act with respect to formal education are that efforts must be made to see that these children with disabilities are integrated into regular schools that they attend, and that the setting up of special schools with vocational training facilities should be encouraged at the local level in the Government and private sectors, so that children across the country who require special education have access to such schools in their areas. Section 39 of the PWD Act also requires that 3% of all seats in Government and Government-aided educational institutions be earmarked for children or students with disabilities. The PWD Act also requires that the government formulate and implement schemes pertaining to non-formal, functional education, in respect of the following matters:

(a) Conducting part-time classes in respect of children with disabilities who have completed the fifth grade and could not continue full-time studies thereafter;

(b) Conducting special part-time classes to provide functional literacy for children with disabilities in the age group of sixteen and above;

(d) Imparting education through open schools or open universities;

(e) Conducting class and discussions through interactive electronic or other media; and

(f) Providing every child with disability the requisite books and equipments, at no cost.

Additionally, to facilitate equal opportunities in education for children with disabilities, the government is obligated to promote research on assistive devices, teaching aids and special teaching materials, and establish and assist special teachers' training institutions. Educational institutions are required to ensure that children with visual disabilities are provided with scribes when required. To further facilitate the mainstreaming of children with disabilities, the government is required to prepare a comprehensive scheme providing for facilities or financial support for transport to and from school, making school supplies available, scholarships, grievance redressal fora, modification of examinations and restructuring of the curriculum.

Employment
Chapter VI of the PWD Act, containing Sections 32 to 40, addresses the affirmative action measures with respect to the employment of persons with disabilities. It requires that at least 3% of all posts in all jobs under the government are required to be reserved for persons with disabilities, with 1% each being reserved for persons with blindness / low vision, persons with hearing disabilities and persons with locomotor disabilities / cerebral palsy.

To ensure that reservations have meaning, the government is required to identify posts in all public establishments that shall be reserved for persons with disability, based on the suitability of such posts to each category of disability. The list of identified posts so prepared is required to be revised in light of technological developments, at regular intervals of a maximum of 3 years.

Under Section 34, vacancies are required to be advertised, with the details of the reservations for the persons with disabilities, in the Special Employment Exchange and, if not filled, shall be carried forward to the next recruitment year.

There are also many requirements of reasonable accommodations to be provided by the Government uder Article 38 of the PWD Act and to formulate schemes for the following:

(a) relaxations of age limit,

(b) training,

(d) The government is also required to frame an insurance scheme for its employees with disabilities, and is expressly prohibited from discriminating against employees who acquire disabilities over the course of their employment as well as employees with disabilities in the matter of promotions.

(e) Finally, for those persons with disabilities who are registered with the Special Employment Exchange and have not been able to find gainful employment for over 2 years, the government is required to frame a reasonable scheme for unemployment allowance.

Accessibility
Accessing public spaces and infrastructure are addressed in Sections 44 to 47 of the PWD Act. Such measures include adapting public transport facilities for easy access to persons with disabilities, installing auditory and tactile indicators on public roads and pavements to aid those with auditory and visual disabilities, and installing ramps, Braille symbols and auditory signals in facilities in public buildings and medical institutions.

Statutory Authorities and Grievance Redressal
The PWD Act provides for the appointment of a Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities at the central level under section 57 and Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities at the state level under Section 60 of the PWD Act. The Commissioners have the powers to

(i) Co-ordinate with the departments of the State Government for the programmes and schemes for the benefit of persons with disabilities;

(ii) Monitor the utilization of funds disbursed by the State Government;

(iii) Take steps to safeguard the rights and facilities made available to persons with disabilities;

(iv) Submit reports to the State Government on the implementation of the Act at such intervals as that Government may prescribe and forward a copy thereof to the Chief Commissioner.

In addition to these powers, the Chief Commissioner and Commissioners may of their own motion or on the application of any aggrieved person or otherwise look into complaints relating to deprivation of rights of persons with disabilities or the non-implementation of laws, rules, bye-laws, regulations, executive orders, guidelines or instructions made or issued by the appropriate Governments and the local authorities for the welfare and protection of rights of persons with disabilities, and take up the matter with the appropriate authorities. In order to enquire and adjudicate into these complaints, the Chief Commissioner and the State Commissioners have certain powers of civil court such as summoning of documents, etc.

Thus any matter of discrimination or denial by public authorities in matters of recruitment, promotion, benefits that perosns with disabilities are entitled to may be brought before the Commissioners for adjudication and under Section 62 of the PWD Act, , and they can recommend appropriate action to be taken by the offending body.

The central government and many State governments have enacted rules under the PWD Act which include rules on the procedure for filing complaints before the Commisisoners. The complainants do not require legal representation during the proceedings, and generally, they may institute a complaint by submitting complete details of their complaint and facts to the relevant Commissioner. In accordance with the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Rules, 1996, complaints are ideally to be disposed of within 3 months from the date of notifying the opposite party.

In the event that any party is not satusfied with the decision of the Chief Commisisoner or the State Commissioner, the said decision can be challenged in a writ petition in the respective state Hogh Court by the aggrieved party.

[1] NFB vs. UPSC (1993) 2 SCC 411, Amita vs. Union of India (2005) 13 SCC 721

[2] Francis Coralie Mullin vs. Union Territory of Delhi , (1981) 1 SCC 608

[3] Olga Tellis and Ors. vs. Bombay Municipal Corporation and Ors., (1985) 3 SCC 545

[4] Unnikrishnan J.P. and Ors. vs. State of Andhra Pradesh and Ors., (1993) 1 SCC 645

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/the-legal-framework-for-enforcement-of-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities

Comments and Feedback on the Draft Twelfth Five Year Plan with respect to Persons with Disabilities

Rahul Cherian — 2012-12-28T15:33:02Z

The Centre for Internet & Society was one of the ten organizations representing people with disabilities that sent comments and feedback on the draft twelfth five year plan.

We write to you on behalf of the organizations representing people with disabilities listed at the end of this document. At the outset, we would like to thank you for circulating the Draft Twelfth Five Year Plan with respect to persons with disabilities in advance in order to gain the feedback and the perspective of all interested parties and stakeholders, including persons with disabilities. However, we would like to bring to your attention that while the entire budgetary allocation has been given to us in this draft, the specifics of the allocation i.e. the detailed break up has not been given, and so any input that we may have may be insufficient in the absence of this information.

The World Health Organization estimates that globally about 1 billion people (or 14% of the population) live with some form of disability of who nearly 200 million experience considerable difficulties in functioning.[1] Given the large prevalence of disability of approximately 14% of the population, it is submitted that the statistics of the 2001 census which states that only 2.11 % of the population is disabled is wholly inaccurate. If the financial outlay is based on the flawed assumption that only 2.11% of the population is disabled, we fear that the financial outlay will be substantially less than is necessary to meet the actual needs of people with disabilities. Therefore we recommend that the Twelfth V Year Plan should be based on realistic numbers of the persons with disabilities in the country. It is recommended that at least 5% of the total outlay for the Twelfth Plan should be for disability related projects. It is also recommended that a reality check is done on the benefits available to persons with disabilities such as pensions. Unless this is done, the benefits available to persons with disabilities is wholly inadequate.

We would like to point out that the document you had circulated does not give the status of the implementation of the various schemes that were proposed under the Eleventh V Year. Without the status of implementation of schemes proposed earlier, we are concerned that merely reiterating the same schemes for the upcoming Plan period may lead to suboptimal usage of the allocated funds particularly with respect to those schemes that have not been implemented to the maximum extent possible. We therefore request you to include the status of implementation of the various schemes that were proposed in the earlier Plan period to enable transparency in this exercise.

Before we give specific input and comments on the financial outlay, we would like to point out our grievance in the wording of Sec. 24.218[2] of the draft which states that persons with disabilities have "un-evolved capacities" and we strongly believe that this approach that persons with disabilities will completely obscure the optimistic approaches sought to be achieved by this Plan. While it is appreciated that persons with disabilities need some protection, using terminology like "unevolved capacity" is just reaffirming a protectionist attitude as well as patronizing one. We hope that this terminology will be removed from the document. We also point out that in point number 24.227 the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is wrongly mentioned as "United Nations Conference on Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)". This error must be rectified.

Be that as it may, the undersigned would like to place on record our appreciation for the inclusion of many aspects into the above mentioned document. We would also like to bring your attention to several aspects given below which we believe should be covered in the Twelfth V Year Plan (hereinafter referred to as "the Plan").

Specific Input

I. Detection of Disability
Early detection of disabilities in babies and children is critical to determine what types of early intervention and rehabilitation is required to be provided. The Plan must provide financial outlay for the following with respect to detection of disabilities for further action:

At birth screening - Every baby born should be examined in detail using a standard examination checklist, to detect anomalies. The checklist should focus on detecting anomalies so that further follow up on developmental delay could be identified for at risk cases which could further lead to interventions. At birth screening must be made mandatory and the mother and child should not be discharged from hospitals without completing this procedure. Special attention must be taken to screen high risk babies (such as babies born to mothers who have diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid deficiency, pre-term babies, babies with history of perinatal hypoxia, neonatal infections, low birth weight babies, etc.). The screening should be done free of cost and appropriate allocation should be done for the training of medical professionals and soliciting of equipment for this purpose.
Additional Screening In addition, screening by health workers, medical officers and doctors are required at stages like vaccinations, routine check ups, etc. The Plan must include allocation for training programs to be formulated and appropriate training must be given to all health care workers on how to diagnose disabilities and how to determine developmental milestones. Allocation of funds must be made to train doctors at maternity clinics/hospitals on conducting adequate checks/tests for early detection of developmental delays and disabilities If any disability is suspected, the child must be referred to the medical officer. There must be recognition of the fact that failure to detect disabilities at the early stage may lead to secondary disabilities.
Universal screening camps - The Plan itself must provide financial outlay to enable each state to organize bi annual universal screening camps for all school going children in the state to detect disabilities. The screening must be conducted for all disabilities. These camps must include the necessary manpower /specialists (including audiologist /speech therapist, clinical child psychologist, physiotherapist, etc.) and equipment required to detect all types of disabilities in babies. Appropriate budgetary allocations need to be in place. Universal screening camps must be held in conjunction with setting up of early intervention centres failing which the children identified to have disabilities will tend to face social stigma.
Registration of Births of Children with Disabilities: In accordance with the Persons with Disabilities Act, the Registrar General appointed under section 3 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1969 shall whilst carrying out the superintendence duties of registering births and deaths in the country ensure, including by issuing general directions to all Chief Registrars and other concerned officials, that the registration of births and deaths of all children with disabilities is undertaken in accordance with the procedure specified in the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1969.

II. Early Intervention
Early intervention has been touched upon in the policy document. However, there is not enough emphasis on this area. The importance of early intervention is well established. Early intervention provides support for infants and young children with disabilities, their families and communities, in order to promote the child's development and inclusion. Without early intervention it is extremely difficult for children with disabilities to be integrated into mainstream society. Delay in diagnosis and treatment results in irreversible damage to the child's development. Early intervention could be in the form of medical intervention and/or variety of disability specific rehabilitation intervention like different therapies and specialized training (specialized training or therapy). Early intervention would also include:

Counseling and training of parents of children with disability.
Early stimulation for High risk babies
Early Intervention for Developmental Delay, Speech & Hearing Problems, Visual Problems, Autism Intervention etc.
Parental guidance for supporting activities of daily living.

It is critical that early intervention centres are set up in each district in the country. The State of Kerala has created a blue print for setting up early intervention centres in each district in the State. This document is attached separately for your information. The Plan should incorporate salient features from this document. Point 24.226 must be modified accordingly.

III. Education
While the Plan places emphasis on education in point 24.222 a most critical aspect has been left out. Training of teachers to impart education to children with disabilities in an inclusive school setup is extremely critical if such children are to get a meaningful education. In this connection the Plan should provide financial outlay for ensuring that both mainstream teachers and teachers in special schools are provided the necessary training for imparting education to children with disabilities. The salary of all such teachers should be on par with regular teachers. The Plan should also provide for refresher training to be imparted to teachers in this connection. In addition to the above, the Plan should provide adequate financial outlay to ensure that all educational materials are provided to children with disabilities in the accessible formats they require including in Braille, Daisy, etc. It is also critical to ensure that schools are made accessible such that children with disabilities have equal access to 4 all parts of the school. Moreover, it is imperative that adequate accessible transportation is provided to enable children with disabilities to reach the school. In this connection, point 24.245 is adequately modified. The Plan should also ensure that children with disabilities have access to schools at every taluk.

In point 24.222 there is a mention of setting up a national accessible library. This is an extremely encouraging move. However, the national accessible library is not mentioned in the responsibilities of any of the Ministry. We recommend that the national accessible library is included in the responsibilities of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The Plan makes no mention of the HEPSN scheme and capacity building in colleges and universities. This should be addressed explicitly. In addition, the Plan makes no mention of the role of the UGC. Given the fact that the UGC is responsible for higher education in India, it needs to promote inclusive higher education through adequate capacity building through incentivizing the setting up of resource centers and accessible content creation. It could also interface with organizations like the National Assessment Accreditation Council (NAAC) that is responsible for accrediting colleges and universities to ensure that the provision of certain minimum standards / disabled student registration be made compulsory to receive accreditation and consequent larger share of UGC grants. Financial support for college / university professors (human / technological) needs to be specifically mentioned and augmented over the Xlth plan outlays. Several existing plans including the ADIP Scheme and the IEDC Scheme need to be brought in line with practical realities and the amounts payable under such Scheme should be significantly enhanced.

IV. Employment
Point 24.221 rightly highlights reservation as being critical. However, the Plan does not tackle the issue of the huge backlog in this area that has crept in over the year. The Plan must deal with this issue on a priority basis. The Plan should also provide for bridge training to be provided to persons with disabilities to enable them to be equipped to perform their respective roles after they are recruited to mainstream jobs. In this connection it is critical that all government offices must be made accessible (both in terms of physical accessibility and also in terms of accessibility of the electronic infrastructure) failing which disabled employees will not be able work from these offices. Point 24.225 should be therefore adequately modified to reflect this. The Plan should provide for setting up of career guidance cells in every district for persons with disabilities. The Plan should provide financial outlay to ensure that they necessary assistive aids such as computer screen reading software is made available at government offices free of cost for employees with visual impairment. Lastly the Plan should also provide financial outlay to ensure that accessible transport is provided to persons with disabilities to travel to and from the work place. In the alternative the Plan should provide for additional payments to be made to ensure that persons with disabilities can make their own arrangements to take the mode of transport they are most comfortable in to come and go from their workplace.

V. Accessibility
Access to the physical environment as well as to information, technology and communication is an essential requirement for integration of persons with disability into mainstream society. It is critical to recognize that the lack of provision of accessibility is the same as discrimination against persons with disabilities. The provision of accessibility both by the Government and by the private sector is therefore critical and the Plan must make an effective strategy to ensure that both these stakeholders provide the necessary accessibility to persons with disabilities.

While accessibility is tackled in a general manner in point 24.225, this has not been adequately tackled in the responsibilities of the Ministries in the subsequent pages of the document. The responsibilities of each of the Ministries with respect to accessibility must be explicitly specified in the document. While the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has been allotted some responsibilities, this does not cover access to content, access to telecommunication services or access to broadcasting. For further information on access to content, telecommunication services and broadcasting see Annexure A. In addition, point 24.225 mentions that only important government buildings must be made accessible. This approach is fraught with danger and the Plan must provide for all government buildings and buildings accessible to the public in general must be made accessible. The Government must also formulate a set of standards for accessibility.

We would also like to point out that the recommendation under the obligations of the Ministry of Railways to provide one coach for persons with disabilities is blatant discrimination and is "ghettoisation" of persons with disabilities. It is submitted that this is the same as asking any other minority community to use only a particular coach on the train and is in violation of Article 14, Article 15 and Article 21 of the Constitution. This provision will prevent persons with disabilities from having equal access to the air conditioned coaches, first class coaches and will also prevent persons with disabilities from travel on an equal basis with others. The Ministry of Railways should instead be mandated to ensure that every coach is made accessible for persons with disabilities. In addition, the Plan requires the Ministry of Railways only to make multilevel and multiple platform railways stations to be made accessible. This is blatantly discriminatory to rural India. We therefore recommend that all railway stations are made accessible, including toilets, rest rooms etc.

VI. Independent Living
In point 24.226, the Plan does touch upon the subject of Independent Living. However, there needs to be detailed specifications on the manner in which Independent Living for persons with disabilities are provided. The setting up of Independent Living Centres is extremely crucial in light of Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. While this is not something which can be achieved overnight, the Government can begin by commissioning the setting up of one independent living centres or townships in each State over the next 5 years, which are fully accessible, and thus creating a model which can be replicated easily in the years to come. This would include independent living for persons with physical disability as well as psychosocial disabilities.

It has come to our attention that there has been a report filed by a committee under the Chairmanship of Additional Secretary, Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development, to make recommendations on the criteria for grant of benefits under the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme. While the Scheme already includes "severe" and "multiple" disabilities, the Committee has also recommended the specific inclusion of autism and cerebral palsy. While the committee report itself is not available, this information is available in the press note . Choosing specific categories should not be encouraged whereas disability should be acknowledged based on the definition for persons with disabilities as provided by UNCRPD.

A crucial aspect to a real development of an individual with disability is not just pension but the support and assistance that he or she requires to live independently by effectively functioning and contributing in the family and community. In this respect, there is a huge requirement for personal assistants for persons with severe and profound disabilities. The National Social Assistance program should look at allocating funds to be disbursed for the payment of personal assistants for persons with disabilities rather than mere pension.

VII. Identity Cards and BPL Cards
We urge that the Plan takes all steps to ensure that identity cards are made available to all persons with disabilities in the country to ensure that they can easily access all the benefits available to them. These cards should be recognized throughout the country and accepted by all departments and authorities. We also urge that the Plan redoubles it efforts to ensure that BPL Cards are given to the applicable persons with disabilities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we appreciate the initiative of the Government to double the financial outlay for persons with disabilities in the Twelfth V Year Plan to Rs. 32684 crores. However, there are significant areas that must be tackled as mentioned above if there has to be meaningful progress of persons with disabilities. We humbly request the Government to consider the points given above when finalizing the Plan.

We are happy to provide you any additional information in this connection.

Thank you and best regards,
Prepared by

Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability Law and Policy
Rahul Cherian and Amba Salelkar

With Input From:

Centre for Internet and Society
Nirmita Narasimhan
nirmita@cis-india.org
Xavier's Resource Center for the Visually Challenged
Sam Taraporevala
sam@xrcvc.org
Daisy Forum of India
Dipendra Manocha
dipendra.manocha@gmail.com
Andhjan Kalyan Trust
Praful Vyas
aktrust.drj@gmail.com
Parivaar
J.P. Gadkari
jpgadkari@gmail.com
Ummeed Child Development Centre
vibha.krishnamurthy@ummeed.org
National Centre for Autism, India
Merry Barua
actionforautism@gmail.com
Network of Persons with disAbility Organisations
Srinivasulu
npdoap@gmail.com
Disabilities Legislative Unit, South
dlu.south@gmail.com
National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled
A. Muralidharan
nprd.in@gmail.com

[1]. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2011/9789240685215jeng.pdf
[2]. Protection acknowledging that Persons with Disabilities have 'un-evolved' capacities as a consequence of their disabilities and thereby have rights to protection; on the part of parents, community and the State from abuse and from participation in activities likely to cause them harm.

ANNEXURE A - Access to Content, Telecommunication Services and Broadcasting

Access to Content

Objective
All published content, whether printed or electronic, must be made available in accessible formats at the same time as it is first published and with no extra cost or hardship to persons with disabilities.

Strategy/ activities

Books for education- both at the school and university levels, must be made available in accessible electronic formats. This could be a target to be achieved in five years. CBSE and state board syllabi in all languages may be made available in accessible electronic formats.
Funds may be outlayed towards digitizing public libraries.
Government may frame schemes for funding disability organizations which are engaged in converting books into accessible formats, as is done in other countries like USA.
All the public libraries should have the facility to provide books in accessible formats to its disabled readership.
Government may promote open access and open education resources amongst educational, scientific and research organizations and libraries and stress the need for accessibility.
All government information must be available in accessible formats which can be accessed on multiple platforms like computers or mobile phones, including information provided through RTIs, etc.
All archives containing digital copies of books must be able to provide a requested book in an accessible format, even where they have been unable to completely digitize their archives in an accessible manner. However, the long term target must be to have all archives completely accessible.

Access to Telecommunication Services

Objective:
To ensure that every person with a disability has access to basic telephone and broadband services both in rural as well as urban areas.

Strategy/ Activities:

Public Kiosks and Common Service Centres set up by the Government must have at least one machine which is fitted with assistive technology for every ward.
Each school and college with an ICT centre must have at least one computer befitted with assistive technology and should be manned by a trained instructor who can guide students in using them.
Research and development must be funded in open source and cloud based solutions like screen readers and operating systems which will facilitate universal access at no cost to user. These research projects must necessarily have persons with disabilities to advise on the efficacy and design of the product.
Assistive technologies for computers and mobile phones must be developed in local languages and be made available at low cost.
Schemes may be launched to provide funds to persons with disabilities to purchase assistive technologies for their computers or handsets.
Each household with a person with disability must have a broadband connection and telephone connection.
At least 1 public pay phone in each area must be accessible with texting facility.
A national toll free emergency number must be set up like Reach 112 in Europe.
TRAI must include persons with disabilities in its periodic survey to gauge their access to telecommunication services. Similarly the DoT and DIT must make available data on ICT access for persons with disabilities.
A Code of Good practice should be evolved for servicing disabled customers which contains both minimum as well as best practices to be adhered to by service providers.

Service providers/ operators:

Should make their services accessible for persons with disabilities. Information about their accessible services must be available on their web site, which should also adhere to WCAG standards.
Should collect data on the number of their disabled customers and frame at least 1 or 2 schemes for persons with different disabilities and provide basic accommodations like accessible billing and accessible customer care. They could have a public relations officer to service the complaints of disabled customers.

The charter of the Universal Service Obligation Fund must be expanded to include 'persons with disabilities' as an underserved community and all ongoing projects must be made inclusive.
The DoT must make special mention of persons with disabilities in the Telecom Policy and also formulate specific policies to connect them with accessible telecom services.

Access to Broadcasting

Objective
To provide broadcasting access to persons with various disabilities.

Strategy/ Activities:

It must be made mandatory for all television programming to be recorded with clearly legible and appropriate audio descriptions and closed captioning.
All films must have clearly legible and appropriate closed captioning and audio description, and sign language tracks recorded and this must be made a prerequisite for obtaining a censor certificate.
All new theatres must have facilities for patrons to access closed captioning/audio descriptions/sign language, without which they should not be granted licenses. Existing theatres should be granted a period of 1 year within which such facilities should be obtained. These facilities should be available at no extra charge beyond that of the ticket to patrons.
In the ongoing compulsory digitalization of cable television in India, all set top boxes being procured must be made accessible to persons with vision/cognitive disabilities. Optional voice navigation must be made mandatory for all set top boxes being sold/imported into India.
All new television receivers/set top boxes must have built-in decoder circuitry or capability designed to display closed captioned video programming, the transmission and delivery of video description services, and the conveyance of emergency information. Existing patrons should be allowed to exchange their television receivers/set top boxes for accessible ones.
All new television sets sold or imported in India must be equipped with built-in closed caption decoder circuitry or capability designed to display closed-captioned video programming/ audio descriptions, and have the capability to decode and make available the transmission and delivery of video/audio description services, and have the capability to decode and make available emergency information in a manner that is accessible to individuals who are disabled.

Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability Law and Policy
12/21 Custain Beach Road, Santhome,
Chennai - 600 004.
Tel: +91-44-24611313
Fax: +91-44-24617924
www.inclusiveplanet.org.in

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/feedback-on-draft-twelfth-five-year-plan

International Day of People with Disability

praskrishna — 2015-12-16T15:54:46Z

Nirmita Narasimhan was a panelist at this event organized by Capgemini in Bangalore on November 30, 2015.

The theme of the panel discussion was Accessibility. Nirmita Narasimhan was one of the guest speakers. She spoke about the work done on Accessibility at the Centre for Internet & Society.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/news/international-day-of-people-with-disability

Global Charter: Promoting Global Digital Inclusion through ICT Procurement Policies & Accessibility Standards

praskrishna — 2016-01-03T05:26:44Z

The Centre for Internet & Society was a signatory to this initiative.

This was published by G3ict.

Foreword

G3ict, the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communications Technologies (“ICTs”), whose mission is to promote the full implementation of the dispositions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ("CRPD”) relative to the accessibility of ICTs,

Considering that Accessibility, Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination are among the fundamental principles of the CRPD, the realization of which in the digital age is conditioned by the availability of accessible ICTs,
Taking into account that the CRPD specifically recognizes the accessibility of information and communication technologies (ICTs) both as a right (Article 9) and as an enabler of other human rights as prescribed in other articles of the Convention.
Noting that its articles 4(a) to 4(d) under "General obligations" further require that States Parties adopt appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures to ensure these rights are met and to refrain from any act or practice that is inconsistent with the Convention and that public authorities and institutions are in particular required to act in conformity with the Convention.
Acknowledging that the procurement of ICTs for use by the public that are not usable and accessible by persons with disabilities may be deemed to be in contravention of the Convention.
Recalling that Reporting Guidelines to States Parties should include legislative and other measures taken to ensure access by persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation and to information and communications; technical standards and guidelines for accessibility, as well as the use of public procurement provisions and other measures that establish compulsory accessibility requirements.

Offers the attached charter for signature by leaders of Civil Society, International Organizations and the Private Sector to further the progress and momentum of international cooperation in establishing public procurement policies and standards in compliance with the CRPD.

Charter

We believe that governments should use their purchasing power to support the innovation of accessible technology and the creation of more robust accessible technology markets in every country.

We encourage governments at all levels and around the world to promote the digital inclusion of persons with disabilities and older persons by adopting effective policies for the public procurement of accessible ICT and an international accessibility standard to support them.

Public Procurement as an Inclusion Strategy

Public procurement processes have gained increased attention as an effective policy tool to promote the accessibility of information and communications (ICT) equipment, software, applications, and services purchased by governments or government-funded programs. Global interest in the positive effect of public procurement is in part the result two well-known accessibility public policy activities; Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act in the United States (governing the federal government purchase of accessible electronic and information technology) and in Europe, the Public Procurement Directive of 2014 in combination with EN 301 549 (the European accessibility standard developed to support the public procurement of accessible ICT products and services in Europe). However, G3ict research and analysis show that to date only 33% of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) have enacted some type of policy on the procurement of accessible ICT.

Everyone Benefits from the Procurement of Accessible ICT

Public procurement of accessible ICT can advance equality and non-discrimination for persons with disabilities. Governments that purchase accessible ICT are better able to provide inclusive services to all citizens. Because governments are large employers, their investments in accessible ICT products and services help to create inclusive workplaces and support the employment of people with disabilities. Procurement policies strengthen the local technology industry in a country. They lead to greater innovation, competition, and choice for accessible technology. They drive the creation of new development tools for accessible technology and better accessibility training for technology professionals. Procurement policies create positive ripple effects into the broader consumer ICT marketplace.

The Tools Available for Success

G3ict, working with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and with global experts from civil society and industry has created a model procurement policy as resource for governments wanting to ensure that their technology purchases support digital inclusion. There exists today a comprehensive technical standard, EN 301 549, that was developed by experts specifically for public procurement. It defines accessibility across all types of disability and technology. The ITU has created a training course to support procurement officials as they implement accessibility into their procurement work.

If your organization would like to be part of this Global Charter for Accessible ICT Procurement, please send us an email globalcharter@g3ict.org.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/news/global-charter-promoting-global-digital-inclusion-through-ict-procurement-policies-accessibility-standards