Centre for Internet and Society

Indian Users’ Perspective On WIPO Negotiations On Treaty For Visually Impaired

praskrishna — 2013-02-18T09:07:06Z

South-East Asia is host to one-third of the world’s 39 million blind people. Over 20 million live in India alone. This week’s special session of the World Intellectual Property Organization aims to clean up the text of an international treaty to facilitate access to books for the blind and visually impaired community. It is thus of prime importance for India, and some there worry that issues such as commercial availability could undermine the treaty’s effectiveness.

This blog post by Catherine Saez was published in Intellectual Property Watch on February 16, 2013, Nirmita Narasimhan is quoted.

According to Nirmita Narasimhan, policy director with the Center for Internet and Society, barely five percent of published books in India are available in accessible formats. Visually impaired people struggle to get access to “education, news and entertainment, cultural materials, and employment.”

For instance, she told Intellectual Property Watch “even where there are seats reserved forl the blind in universities, there may not be enough applicants/candidates to fill those seats because of lack of educational resources.”

“Leisure reading and being up to date with the latest bestsellers is of course also a problem because these are unavailable at the time these reach the global market,” she said.

“Until last year, we did not have any fair use exception in our copyright law permitting conversion,” Narasimhan said. The new copyright amendment [pdf], which amended the Indian copyright Act of 1957, was adopted in May 2012 (IPW, Inside Views, 22 January 2013) but “has not yet translated into significant results in terms of accessible books,” Narasimhan said. The amendment allows conversion of books to accessible formats.

There are very limited resources in India, “both in terms of finances as well as manpower to carry out conversion activities, and a demand which far outstrips the supply, hence disability organisations struggle to keep up with the demand for accessible books,” she said, adding that “unlike organisations in other countries, organisations in India do not receive any government support for carrying out funding activities.”

Progress is slow and we still do not have complete access to global online collections such as Bookshare since there is some ambiguity regarding the definition of an ‘accessible format’ in our copyright act. Talking books are not explicitly mentioned in the Act,” she added. “Talking books” refer to books under a Digital Accessible Information SYstem (Daisy) format. The Copyright Amendment Bill of 2012 also does not address import and export, she said.

According to the Daisy Consortium, which includes 20 full members and over 40 associate members, a Daisy book is “a set of digital files” that includes “one or more digital audio files containing a human narration of part or all of the source text, a marked-up file containing some or all of the text (…), a synchronisation file to relate markings in the text file with time points in the audio file, and a navigation control file which enables the user to move smoothly between files while synchronisation between text and audio is maintained.“

“The Daisy Forum of India is an active network of over 85 organisations who are converting into Daisy, but the number of books with them is still significantly lower than those available in other countries,” she said.

“Technological solutions are still by and large unavailable in rural areas,” Narasimhan said. “Hence, while solutions like electronic text are useful in cities, audio or Braille would still be the primary means of reading for the blind in rural India.”

India is also working on a draft Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill. In particular, Article 51 on access to information and communication technology states that measures should be taken so that “all content in whichever medium whether audio, print or electronic shall be

made available to persons with disabilities in accessible format,” and that “persons with disabilities have access to electronic media by providing for audio description, sign language interpretation and close captioning.”

International Treaty of Utmost Importance

“Countries like India could benefit tremendously from access to accessible versions of books in libraries around the world,” according to Narasimhan. “It would dispense with the administrative mechanism of seeking copyright permissions, which would greatly ease the life of disability organisations engaged in conversions.”

A paper, posted on the CIS-India website on 23 January, by Rahul Cherian, founder of Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability Law and Policy, said next week’s session “is probably the last change to sort out the major outstanding issues in the text of the document before the diplomatic conference.”

“One of the most critical issues that remain outstanding is the desire that some government negotiators have to link the use of the treaty provisions or copyright exceptions to commercial unavailability of the work in accessible formats,” he wrote, underlining the “impossibility of verifying commercial availability with any degree of certainty.”

In particular, the linkage between commercial availability and the exceptions appear at two places in the treaty, he said: in Article C (National law limitations and exceptions on accessible format copies) and in Article D (Cross-Border exchange of accessible format copies).

The paper gives the example of the complexity of exception in relation to cross-border exchange. “Imagine that the United Kingdom introduces a provision in their copyright law allowing the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to export accessible format copies to people with visual impairment in Chennai but only after verifying that the accessible format copy cannot be otherwise obtained within a reasonable time and at a reasonable price.”

“Remember that ‘reasonable price’ in India means that the accessible format copy of the work is available at prices that are affordable in that market, taking into account the needs and income disparities of persons who have limited vision and those with print disabilities,” it states.

He questioned how the RNIB based in the UK could even begin to undertake this exercise which would entail several steps such as checking whether the accessible format copy is available in India, understanding the needs and income disparities of those with limited vision and print disabilities, and checking the cost of the accessible format copy and determine whether the cost of the accessible format copy is reasonable.

Linking commercial availability and exceptions as mentioned in Article C, Cherian said, “will lead to countries such as India being put under pressure from the European Union and the United States to amend our Copyright Act and linking our exceptions to commercial availability,” and he added, “the same applies to countries that want to introduce copyright exceptions after the Treaty.”

Rahul Cherian died unexpectedly on 7 February.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/ip-watch-feb-16-2013-catherine-saez-indian-users-perspective-on-wipo-negotiations-on-treaty-for-visually-impaired

One For All

nishant — 2013-03-04T04:13:06Z

The importance of making information accessible and universal.

Nishant Shah's column was published in the Indian Express on February 17, 2013.

In the late 1990s, when I was an undergraduate student studying English Literature, a professor asked me if I could volunteer to write exam papers for a student with visual impairment, Milind, who was one year my senior. It was my first encounter with a student with a visual challenge, and it changed my experience and understanding of education. I had always found comfort in the world of words and stories. When I first met Milind, I soon realised that he was being excluded from this world of reading and writing that I had taken for granted. With most of the prescribed textbooks not available in Braille and none of the reference material in libraries accessible, he was dependent on volunteers and disability support organisations to audio-record the texts so that he could access them. His library was made of audio-cassettes scratched from over-use, which did not offer him the options of re-visiting, annotating, and close-reading. And when I wrote the exams for him, writing as he dictated, I was left humbled and inspired by his strong commitment to educating himself. The phone call I received when he got his English Literature degree, and our celebratory dinner, remain one of my happiest memories as an undergraduate student.

That experience made me realise, for the first time the exclusivity of the world of books and print. While print and paper industries have helped democratise knowledge and provided us access to store and retrieve knowledge through ages and time, they are also technologies of exclusion. Reading has been so naturalised in our everyday life, that we have almost forgotten that it is a visual medium. A book is not easily accessible to people who do not have the privilege or capacity to be literate. A book can also exclude with jargon and dense languages, which are the stronghold of an elite few. And more than anything else, it stays, if you will excuse the pun, a closed book, to people with visual impairment.

Like many who might have encountered second-person disability, I have never done much to change our society. I might have done some volunteer work, or signed petitions for better infrastructure, but the interventions have been minimal and almost non-existent. I think about this today, because on February 7, 2013, one of the strongest and most powerful voices that has been fighting apathetic government systems, moribund policies and indifferent social attitudes towards visually challenged people, Rahul Cherian, died due to ill-health. Cherian, who was the co-founder of the Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability Law and Policy and a fellow at the Centre for Internet and Society, where I work, was a disability policy activist who realised the potential of the digital world, to make information and knowledge accessible to those who were previously discriminated against.

Cherian firmly believed that the digital interfaces would provide new access to information and knowledge to those who live with visual disability. If we implement global standards to ensure that the text on the internet can be read out loud by text-to-speech devices, we would have a new democratisation of information that allows people to engage with the Web. His spirit and enthusiasm was infectious as he resolutely worked at persuading technology developers and holding governments responsible for implementing accessibility protocols to make information in the digital age open.

He was committed to digitising printed resources in formats which allowed deeper engagement and manipulation of text through voice and keyboard-based controls. He fought against intellectual property right regimes which disallow books to be converted into formats that can be accessible to open source and free screen readers and text-to-speech engines. Cherian worked at collectively harnessing the powers of the digital towards building a just and inclusive society that made me recognise how deep-seated our blind spots are, when we look at the mainstream and the popular. His work made me understand that the battles for open knowledge and open access are not only economic in nature. That the digital book projects offer new inroads for those previously excluded, into the world of knowledge and information. I feel honoured to have shared conversations and working spaces with him, and know that his passing will leave a large hole, in the lives of those who knew him, as well as the political movement that demands better access for inclusion of people with disability.

Today, I want to take this moment of loss, to remind myself of something that sometimes gets forgotten — the digital technologies that we take for granted and often use just for fun, have a strong potential for social and political change. While it is great that the digital world has offered new spaces for content generation, information sharing, cultural production and social connection, it also has the potential to build safe, just and inclusive information societies. I don't know if we should buy into the rhetoric that the next global war is going to be around information, but we should remember that information is definitely worth fighting for and making accessible to all.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/indian-express-feb-17-2013-nishant-shah-one-for-all

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

Manojna Yeluri — 2013-03-05T05:09:13Z

The Centre for Internet & Society and the Hans Foundation are pleased to bring you its research on the state of laws, policies and programmes for persons with disabilities in the state of Bihar.

Note: The chapter is an early draft and will undergo subsequent modifications. We welcome comments and feedback from our readers.

Summary

The Department of Social Welfare became an independent department on the subject of Women and Child Development on April 1, 2007. The key mandate of the Department is the protection of the interests and rights of women, children, older persons and persons with disabilities, with focus on the marginalised sections of society. The state of Bihar is in the process of formulating a comprehensive state policy on disability. The Bihar State Policy on Disability is an extension of the National Policy for Persons with Disabilities and is currently in a draft form awaiting Government approval and notification.

Click to download the full chapter.

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

A Lightness of Spirit

lawrence — 2013-02-11T06:28:43Z

Disability activist Rahul Cherian leaves a legacy of thinking about human rights as rights for the maximum enjoyment of life.

The op-ed by Lawrence Liang was published in the Hindu on February 9, 2013

The word spirit travels to us via Latin where spiritus literally means breath but is more accurately a description of the vigour and vitality of a being. It is therefore appropriate that while breath marks the line between life and death, an infectious spirit vitalises everyone with their being regardless of the presence or absence of their breath. Rahul Cherian — intrepid spirit and tireless activist for disability rights — passed away on February 7 after a sudden illness.

While many of us feel cheated by the death of someone so young, let us not be mistaken: it was always Rahul who cheated death all along, and Robin Hood-like, generously distributed his infectious enthusiasm, laughing his way out of the bank of life. Diagnosed at a very early age with a spinal tumour, hospitals and surgeries were no strangers to him; they were mere playmates from whom he learnt the value of not taking illness too seriously.

Impact on Verma report

After a surgery in his 30s in which he lost partial mobility of his legs, Rahul became involved with the rights of disabled people and started “Inclusive Planet,” an organisation that works on all aspects of disability rights — from accessibility policies of the government, to reform in copyright law to enable persons with visual disabilities the right to read. He was instrumental in the drafting of the Treaty for the Visually Impaired, currently being debated at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), as well as the amendment to the Indian Copyright Act to enable exceptions for persons with disabilities.

Most recently, “Inclusive Planet” made a set of submissions to the Justice J.S. Verma Committee on the reform of sexual assault laws from the perspective of disabled victims, many of which were incorporated into the final report.

In articulating an innovative jurisprudence of disability rights, it was clear that his sense of play and a belief that emancipation comes from a sense of joy, not of sorrow, always informed whatever he did. Thus even as he fought in all fora for equal citizenship of disabled people, he also included a dating service for them and a section on disability and humour on “inclusiveplanet.com”. A telling sign of his joie de vivre was an “Inclusive Planet” T-shirt that had an alien with crutches pointing at you saying, “You are not alone.”

I remember being in a meeting with him and various representatives of organisations fighting for the rights of the visually impaired to discuss with the government the Copyright Amendment Bill. As the negotiations seemed to head towards a frustrating bureaucratic wall, he turned to me in exasperation and said, “Things better start improving or I will be forced to hit someone with my crutches and that will be terrible for the image of the disability movement.”

In an interview in Geneva, Rahul enthusiastically demonstrated his new foldable scooter with which he said he could “go on his own and buy his wife Anjana a present.” He added: “I used to call myself a disability activist but now I consider myself a freedom fighter because I am actually fighting for freedom to access the city. Coming from the land of Mahatma Gandhi, I am proud to say I am a freedom fighter and let’s see what kind of freedom we can win for disabled people.”

Rahul leaves behind an important legacy in terms of his work, but a far more important one on how we understand the very idea of a free spirit. His singularity, while irreplaceable, provides us with a vocabulary of thinking of human rights struggles as really a right to the maximum enjoyment of life and doing it with a sense of lightness.

Enumerating lightness as one of the desirable attitudes to cultivate, Italian writer Italo Calvino urged us to recall Perseus’s refusal of Medusa’s stone-heavy stare. To slay Medusa without himself being turned to stone, Perseus supports himself on the lightest of things — the winds and the clouds — and “fixes his gaze upon what can be revealed only by indirect vision — an image caught in a mirror.” Calvino reminds us that Perseus’s strength lay in his refusal to look directly, but not in a refusal of the reality in which he is fated to live. Sleep well Rahul — you have taught us well that laughter and lightness are our greatest weapons against adversity.

(Lawrence Liang is a lawyer at the Bangalore-based Alternative Law Forum.)

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/the-hindu-op-ed-lawrence-liang-feb-9-a-lightness-of-spirit

Rahul Cherian passes away

praskrishna — 2013-02-10T04:27:13Z

Rahul Cherian, an expert and policy activist in disability law, intellectual property (IP) law and technology law passed away on Thursday. He was 39.

This was published in the Hindu on February 8, 2013.

Rahul passed away while on a family holiday in Goa. The 1998 National Law University Bangalore graduate succumbed to an infection after several days in intensive care. Together with fellow Law alumnus Sachin Malhan, had Cherian co-founded Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability and Policy in October 2009, as an NGO supporting stakeholders and public bodies about laws and policies affecting persons with disabilities.

Rahul Cherian was also a fellow at the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), a legal expert on the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s panel on disability laws, and an advisor to several government initiatives related to the disability sector.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/the-hindu-february-8-2013-rahul-cherian-passes-away

Rahul Cherian, founder of NGO Inclusive Planet, passes away

praskrishna — 2013-03-09T06:57:15Z

Rahul Cherian, who worked extensively on disability law and rights in India, and other issues like intellectual property (IP) law and technology law passed away on Thursday while on on a family holiday in Goa according to this report in the Hindu.

The article was published in FirstPost on February 8, 2013. See the report in the Hindu.

Rahul’s death was caused to a severe infection, according to the report.

Cherian, a graduate of National Law School of India University (NLSIU) Bangalore had co-founded the Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability and Policy in October 2009 along. The NGO seeks to provide help to public bodies and others groups that are working on laws and policies for persons with disabilities.

Rahul also founded inclusiveplanet.com the world’s largest social network for persons with visual impairment, and he was also a fellow of the Centre for Internet and Society in Bangalore.

His untimely death has seen many friends come out on Twitter and Facebook to remember him.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/first-post-feb-8-2013-rahul-cherian-founder-of-ngo-inclusive-planet-passes-away

Inclusive Planet co-founder, Disability Law activist, and Cancer Survivor, Rahul Cherian passes away

praskrishna — 2013-02-11T09:23:16Z

Rahul Cherian, the co-founder of Inclusive Planet and an expert on Intellectual Property and disability law, passed away on February 7, 2013 in Goa due to sudden illness.

Published by the Bar & Bench News Network on February 8, 2013.

Along with being Managing Partner at IP firm, Indo Juris, Cherian worked with the Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability and Policy, an organisation which sought amongst other things, to be a medium between the government and the disability sector.

Cherian, a cancer survivor who underwent reconstructive surgery in 2005, was also a Fellow at the Centre for Internet and Society.

Cherian, a graduate of National Law School of India University, Bangalore was deeply involved in the drafting of the Treaty for the Improved Access for Blind, Visually Impaired and other Reading Disabled Persons, a treaty which was designed to grant visually impaired individuals “greater access to copyrighted materials.” The Treaty is currently being debated at WIPO.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/bar-and-bench-feb-8-2013-inclusive-planet-co-founder-disability-law-activist-and-cancer-survivor-rahul-cherian-passes-away

RIP: Rahul Cherian, human rights activist, Inclusive Planet co-founder

praskrishna — 2013-03-09T07:13:41Z

RIPRahul Cherian, an expert and policy activist in disability law, intellectual property (IP) law and technology law passed away today at the age of 39, while on a family holiday in Goa.

The blog post was published in Legally India on February 7, 2013

The 1998 NLSIU Bangalore graduate is understood to have succumbed to an infection after several days in intensive care.

Together with fellow NLSIU alumnus Sachin Malhan, Cherian had co-founded Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability and Policy in October 2009, as a non-governmental organisation supporting stakeholders and public bodies about laws and policies affecting persons with disabilities.

As head of policy initiatives at Inclusive Planet, he was involved in drafting the Treaty for the Visually Impaired currently being agreed upon by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva, aiming to make copyrighted, printed materials more easily available to the visually impaired and others with print disabilities.

Cherian was also a fellow at the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), a legal expert on the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s panel on disability laws, and an advisor to a plethora of government initiatives related to the disability sector.

He was also a partner at IndoJuris Law Offices in Chennai, having acted as managing partner of the firm between 2003 and 2008.

Cherian is survived by his wife Anjana, his parents and his brother and sister.

According to Cherian’s colleague Amba Salelkar, a remembrance meeting will be held on Sunday at 11.00 am at Vidya Sagar, No.1, Ranjith Road, Kotturpuram, Chennai.

Reactions:

@mumbaicentral, who worked with Cherian at Inclusive Planet, tweeted: “He was in Goa for the weekend and he was hospitalized with high grade fever, diagnosed as septicemia. Rahul took the foremost steps to recognition of the rights of this disabled in Indian Policy and legislation. Latest achievement being framing the recommendations on access for the disabled to the Justice Verma Committee. Which have been incorporated in the ordinance too. He will also be remembered for his efforts in amending the copyright act to gain the "right to read" for persons with disabilities.

@latelyontime: “Rahul Cherian, colleague, fellow-writer and role model, inspiration. You shall be missed.”

@juditrius: “Rahul Cherian, disability activist, co-founder of Inclusive Planet & exceptional human being just passed away. He will be very much missed.”

@DaHammerstein: “Premature death of Rahul Cherian, Indian dir. Inclusive Planet , fighter for digital, disability rights, loss for human rights community.”

@SivaThambisetty: “A very dear friend died today. Rahul Cherian @inclusive planet, clever incorrigible #Disability rts in #India have lost a campaign leader.”

@sauravdatta29 tweeted: “Rahul Cherian, one of those lawyers with an abiding commitment to social justice.”

@mtonykurian: “this awesome article by rahul cherian of #disability and #sexuality http://t.co/9S5SeSFc" [Indian Express] and “i lost a mentor, disabled of india lost an expert. sad.”

@chaosbogey: “I met Rahul Cherian maybe five times? but I was a little more in love with him each time...”

@sunilchandy: “Rahul Cherian, a music nut, an enabler, an encourager, a great guy :(“

Government of Madhya Pradesh initiates ICT Accessibility in Public Communication

nirmita — 2013-01-31T10:17:13Z

The Centre for Internet and Society, joined hands with Daisy Forum of India member Arushi in Bhopal to submit a request for a notification mandating that all communication by the Government of Madhya Pradesh should be accessible to persons with disabilities.

Specifically, it was requested that the government ensure that all websites are WCAG 2.0 compliant, that Unicode font is used for all regional language content and that content should be in accessible formats such as Daisy and E-pub. The submission can be found by clicking here.

In January 2013, the Government of Madhya Pradesh issued a notification in Hindi (scanned PDF version of the notification here) requesting all departments to comply with WCAG 2.0 and use Unicode font. The five page notification goes into detail regarding the need for these standards. We welcome this move by the Government of Madhya Pradesh and appreciate the efforts of Arushi in taking up this issue. We are happy to be associated with this initiative.

Click to read the original notification received from the Government of Madhya Pradesh (Image files in Zip folder, size 5.3 MB).

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/govt-of-mp-initiates-ict-accessibility-in-public

January 2013 Bulletin

praskrishna — 2013-06-11T11:56:35Z

We at the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) wish you all a great year ahead and welcome you to the first issue of our newsletter for the year 2013. This issue brings you an overview of our research programs, events organised and participated, news and media coverage, and videos of recent events.

Jobs

CIS is seeking applications for the posts of Programme Officer (Access to Knowledge — Indic Language Initiatives), Developer (NVDA Project), Programme Officer (Access to Knowledge and Openness), and Programme Officer (Internet Governance). To apply send your resume to sunil@cis-india.org and pranesh@cis-india.org. For our Privacy project, we are seeking applications for the post of Researcher, Technology/Security Expert, Graphic Designer as well as for internships. To apply for these posts, please send in your resume to Elonnai Hickok (elonnai@cis-india.org).

Accessibility

CIS is carrying out two projects in partnership with the Hans Foundation. The first one is to create a national resource kit of state-wise laws, policies and programmes on issues relating to persons with disabilities in India and the second one is for developing a screen reader and text to speech synthesizer for Indian languages. We are also working with the World Blind Union to develop the Treaty for Improved Access for Blind, Visually Impaired and other Reading Disabled Persons, and assisting in the negotiations at WIPO:

National Resource Kit for Persons with Disabilities

Anandhi Viswanathan from CIS and Manojna Yeluri from the Centre for Law and Policy Research are working in this project. Shruti Ramakrishnan has left the project. Draft chapters have been published. Feedback and comments are invited from readers for the chapter on Haryana:

The Haryana Chapter (by Anandi Viswanathan, January 31, 2012): The state implements the provisions under the central laws, particularly the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995 and the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act 1999.

Submission / Notification

Making Public Libraries Accessible to People with Disabilities (by Rahul Cherian, January 23, 2013): CIS was one of the 20 disability rights groups that wrote to the Ministry of Culture.
Government of Madhya Pradesh initiates ICT Accessibility in Public Communication (by Nirmita Narasimhan, January 31, 2013): CIS with Daisy Forum of India member Arushi in Bhopal submitted a request for a notification mandating that all communication by the Government of Madhya Pradesh should be accessible to persons with disabilities.

Report

Accessible Broadcasting in India (by Srividya Vaidyanathan, January 11, 2013): The abridged version of ITU’s report "Making Television Accessible" which was initially put up for comments last year has been updated once again.

Blog Entry

Linking Commercial Availability and Exceptions in the Treaty for Visually Impaired/Persons with Disabilities (by Rahul Cherian, January 23, 2013).

Access to Knowledge

In partnership with the International Development Research Centre we are doing a project on Pervasive Technologies examining the relationship between production of pervasive technologies and intellectual property. The Wikimedia Foundation’s India Program to support and develop free knowledge in India is now being executed by us. We are also supporting the Iraq government in developing an eGovernment Interoperability Framework:

Wikipedia

Beginning from September 1, 2012, Wikimedia Foundation has awarded CIS a two-year grant of INR 26,000,000 to support and develop free knowledge in India. The A2K team consists of four members based in Delhi: T. Vishnu Vardhan, Nitika Tandon, Subhashish Panigrahi and Noopur Raval.

New Project Director

T. Vishnu Vardhan is the new Programme Director-Access to Knowledge at CIS. Vishnu has over the last 11 years worked in various capacities as researcher, grant manager, teacher, project consultant, information architect and translator. Vishnu managed the Art, Crafts and Culture portfolio of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and also worked as Research Coordinator at the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society.

New Distinguished Fellow at CIS

Tejaswini Niranjana, a Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society (CSCS), Bangalore, and Visiting Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai is joining our team as an Adviser to the 'Access to Knowledge' project. She will guide the A2K team in expanding the Indian language Wikipedias and in increasing the number of active editors through strategic partnerships with Higher Education institutions across India.

Reports

Access to Knowledge Report — September to December 2012 (by Noopur Raval, January 31, 2013): The report covers an overview of the activities done by the Access to Knowledge team under the grant provided by the Wikimedia Foundation from September 2012 to December 2012.
Indic Language Wikipedias — Statistical Report — 2012 (by Shiju Alex, January 21, 2013): A statistical update of the Indic language Wikipedias for the year 2012 providing perspectives on the health of various Indic language communities as well as the state of various Indic language wikipedias.

Wiki Event Reports
CIS organised a series of Wiki workshops in Goa in the month of December 2012, we bring you the reports from those events.

Note: The workshops were held in the month of December 2012 but the reports were published only in the month of January.

Two-day Wiki Workshop in Goa University: An Introduction (by Nitika Tandon, January 15, 2013).
Wikipedia in St. Xavier's College, Mapusa, Goa (by Nitika Tandon, January 19, 2013).
Bringing Konkani Encyclopedia in Public Domain (by Nitika Tandon, January 22, 2013).
Promoting GLAM in Goa (by Nitika Tandon, January 24, 2013).
Konkani in Wikipedia Incubator — Taking it to the Next Level (by Nitika Tandon, January 25, 2013).

CIS also organised a Wiki workshop in Ghaziabad:

A Wiki Workshop at Raj Kumar Goel Institute of Technology, Ghaziabad (RKGIT, Ghaziabad, January 17, 2013).

Wiki Event Participated

Celebrating the success of Wikipedia in Wikipedia Summit Pune 2013 (organized by Wikipedia Club, Pune, January 12 – 13, 2013). Subhashish Panigrahi participated in the event.

Wikipedia News Coverage

First Odia Wikipedia Education Program concludes at IIMC, Dhenkanal (Odisha Diary Bureau, Dhenkanal, January 27, 2013).
Odia Wikipedia's 9th Anniversary and Workshop on Application of Odia in Media (Sambad, January 30, 2013).

Wiki Events Organised

Odia Education Program (Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal, Orissa, January 26, 2013).
Odia Wikipedia 9th Anniversary Celebration (Academy of Media Learning, Samantha Vihar, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, January 29, 2013).

Pervasive Technologies

The Pervasive Technologies project carries out research on the intellectual property implicated in the hardware, software and content available in low-cost mobile devices.The long-term outcome of this project is to create a legitimate, legal space for these technologies to exist on the Indian market.

Events Participated

Pervasive Technologies: Access to Knowledge in the Market Place — A Presentation by Sunil Abraham (FGV Law School, Rio de Janeiro, December 15, 2012).
Fifth International IPR Conference (GIPC 2013) (organised by ITAG Business Solutions, Hotel Lalit Ashok, Bangalore, January 30, 2013): Snehashish Ghosh made a presentation on the Pervasive Technologies Project.

Other Openness Updates

Blog Posts / Columns

The Violence of Knowledge Cartels (by Nishant Shah, Hybrid Publishing Lab, January 17, 2013).
Remembering Aaron Swartz, Taking Up the Fight (by Nishant Shah, DML Central, January 24, 2013).

Interview

Aaron Swartz: The First Martyr of the Free Information Movement: Prabir Purkayastha interviewed Lawrence Liang on Newsclick, January 19, 2013. The video is published.

Media Coverage

Bangalore hackers write code as tribute to Aaron Swartz (by Deepa Kurup, Hindu, January 21, 2013. Sunil Abraham is quoted.

HasGeek
HasGeek creates discussion spaces for geeks and has organised conferences like the Fifth Elephant, Droidcon India 2011, Android Camp, etc. HasGeek is supported by CIS and works out from CIS office in Bengaluru.
Event Organized Aaron Swartz Memorial Hacknight (CIS, Bangalore, January 19 – 20, 2013): Aaron’s collaborators such as Anand Chitipothu and A S L Devi participated in the event.

Internet Governance

With Privacy International, London we signed an agreement to facilitate the implementation of activities related to surveillance and freedom of speech and expression. In this month we have blog posts on data retention, international principles of surveillance and human rights and comparitive analysis of Indian legislation vis-à-vis draft of the International Principles on Surveillance of Communications by Ellonai Hickok, and columns by Sunil Abraham and Nishant Shah:

Privacy Research

Data Retention in India (by Elonnai Hickok, January 30, 2013): The post provides an insight into the data retention mandates from the Government of India and data retention practices by service providers.
Draft International Principles on Communications Surveillance and Human Rights (by Elonnai Hickok, January 16, 2013): These principles were developed by Privacy International and the Electronic Frontier Foundation and seek to define an international standard for the surveillance of communications.
A Comparison of Indian Legislation to Draft International Principles on Surveillance of Communications (by Elonnai Hickok, January 31, 2013): The principles, first drafted in October 2012 and developed subsequently seek to establish an international standard for surveillance of communications in the context of human rights. CIS is contributing feedback to the drafting of the principles.

Columns/Op-eds

Web of Sameness (by Nishant Shah, Indian Express, January 18, 2013).
TV versus Social Media: The Rights and Wrongs (by Sunil Abraham, The Tribune, January 20, 2013).

Statement

Statement of Solidarity on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Internet Users in Bangladesh (by Pranesh Prakash, January 15, 2013): This is a statement on the violent attack on blogger Asif Mohiuddin by the participants to the Third South Asian Meeting on the Internet and Freedom of Expression.

Blog Entries

No Civil Society Members in the Cyber Regulations Advisory Committee (by Pranesh Prakash, January 10, 2013).
Five Frequently Asked Questions about the Amended ITRs (by Chinmayi Arun, January 28, 2013): The author discusses the five major questions that have been the subject of debate after the World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012 (WCIT).

Upcoming Event

DML Conference 2013 (co-organised by CIS and Digital Media & Learning Research Hub Central, Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers - Chicago, Illinois, March 14 – 16, 2013).

Event Organized

An Introduction to Bitfilm and Bitcoin – A Discussion by Aaron Koenig (CIS, Bangalore, January 23, 2013): Aaron Koenig, Managing Director, Bitfilm Networks of Hamburg, Germany gave a talk.

Events Participated

Panel Discussion on E-Commerce at NLSIU (organised by National Law School of India University, Bangalore, January 7, 2013). Pranesh Prakash was a panelist.
Mobile Broadband: Leveraging for Business Transformation (Chancery Pavilion, Bangalore, January 9, 2013): Sunil Abraham was a panelist in this event.
Third South Asian Meeting on the Internet and Freedom of Expression (organized by Internet Democracy Project, Voices for Interactive Choice & Empowerment and Global Partners & Associates, Dhaka, January 14 – 15, 2013): Pranesh Prakash moderated the session on "Understanding cyber security and surveillance in South Asia”.
Is Freedom of Expression under Threat in the Digital Age? (organized by Editors Guild of India, Index on Censorship and Sage, India International Centre, New Delhi, January 15, 2013): Sunil Abraham was a panelist at this event.
7th India Digital Summit 2013 (organised by Internet and Mobile Association of India, Lalit Hotel, New Delhi, January 16 – 17, 2013): Sunil Abraham was the moderator for Plenary Session 3: Discussion on Social Media – Freedom, Moderation or Regulation.

Upcoming Event

9th International Asian Conference (organised by ITechLaw, February 14 – 15, 2013): Sunil Abraham will be participating as a panelist in the session on “Censorship of Online Content”.

Media Coverage

2012 in Review: Biometric ID Systems Grew Internationally...and So Did Concerns about Privacy (by Rebecca Bowe, Right Side News, January 1, 2013)
Cool Jobs | Parmesh Shahani, Head, Godrej India Culture Lab (LiveMint, January 4, 2013).
Clash of the cyberworlds (by Latha Jishnu, Dinsa Sachan and Moyna, Down to Earth, January 15, 2013 issue). Pranesh Prakash is quoted.
Is freedom of expression under threat in digital age? (originally published by Indo Asian News Service, January 16, 2013 and also covered in the Business Standard, Vancouver Desi, DNA, and Tech2). Sunil Abraham is quoted.
Is freedom of expression under threat in the digital age? (by Mahima Kaul, Index on Censorship, January 18, 2013).
Internet Freedom in India – Open to Debate (by Kirsty Hughes, Index on Censorship, January 22, 2013). CIS research on censorship is quoted.
Cyber security, surveillance and the right to privacy: country perspectives (by Richa Kaul Padte, Internet Democracy Project).
Surveillance Camp: Privatized State Surveillance (by Katitza Rodriguez, Electronic Frontier Foundation, January 28, 2013). Elonnai Hickok is quoted.
An innovative concept comes to the fore (Deccan Herald, January 29, 2013).

Internet Access – Knowledge Repository
In partnership with Ford Foundation, CIS was tasked to produce and disseminate modules on various aspects of telecommunications including policy, regulations, infrastructure and market. However, as on November 9, 2012 there was a change in the mandate of the project. Currently, we are working on building a knowledge repository on “Internet Access”. This new repository will cover the history of the internet, technologies involved, principle and values of internet access, broadband market and universal access. It will also touch upon various polices and regulations which has an impact on internet access and bodies and mechanism which are responsible for such policy formulation. For this purpose we will be hosting a new website: www.internet-institute.in.
We are also organizing an “Institute on Internet and Society” in collaboration with the Ford Foundation India, which is to be held from June 8, 2013 to June 14, 2013. Call for registrations and relevant details will be soon announced on our website.

Telecom

While the potential for growth and returns exist for telecommunications in India, a range of issues need to be addressed. One aspect is more extensive rural coverage and the other is a countrywide access to broadband which is low. Both require effective and efficient use of networks and resources, including spectrum.:

Column by Shyam Ponappa

What's Needed Is User-Centric Design, Not Good Intentions (by Shyam Ponappa, Business Standard, January 3, 2013 and Organizing India Blogpost, January 6, 2013).

Event(s) Participated

21^st Convergence Conference Conference India 2013 (organized by Exhibitions India Group, January 16 – 17, 2013, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi). Snehashish Ghosh participated in the event.

Digital Humanities

From 2012 to 2015, the Researchers At Work series is focusing on building research clusters in the field of Digital Humanities. We organised the first Habits of Living workshops in Bangalore last year. The next workshop is being held in Brown University:

Habits of Living Workshop

Habits of Living: Networked Affects, Glocal Effects (organised by CIS and Brown University, March 21 – 23, 2013, Brown University, Rhode Island). Nishant Shah will be speaking at this event.

About CIS
CIS was registered as a society in Bangalore in 2008. As an independent, non-profit research organisation, it runs different policy research programmes such as Accessibility, Access to Knowledge, Openness, Internet Governance, and Telecom. The policy research programmes have resulted in outputs such as the e-Accessibility Policy Handbook for Persons with Disabilities with ITU and G3ict, and Digital Alternatives with a Cause?, Thinkathon Position Papers and the Digital Natives with a Cause? Report with Hivos, etc. We have conducted policy research for the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, etc., on WIPO Treaties, Copyright Bill, NIA Bill, etc.
CIS is accredited as an observer at WIPO. CIS staff participates in the Standing Committee for Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) meetings regularly held in Geneva, and participate in the discussions and comments on them from a public interest perspective. Our Policy Director, Nirmita Narasimhan won the National Award for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities from the Government of India and also received the NIVH Excellence Award.

Follow us elsewhere

Get short, timely messages from us on Twitter
Join the CIS group on Facebook
Visit us at http://cis-india.org

Support Us

Please help us defend consumer / 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, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to collaboratively engage with Internet and society and improve our understanding of this new field. To discuss the research collaborations, write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at sunil@cis-india.org or Nishant Shah, Director – Research, at nishant@cis-india.org

CIS is grateful to its donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation and the Kusuma Trust which was founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and support for most of its projects.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/january-2013-bulletin

Making Public Libraries Accessible to People with Disabilities

Rahul Cherian — 2013-01-24T11:10:18Z

The Centre for Internet & Society was one of the 20 disability rights groups that wrote to the Ministry of Culture on January 23, 2013 seeking remedial action on the barriers faced by persons with disabilities in accessing public libraries in India.

To,
Hon’ble Ministers of Culture, HRD, Social Welfare
Secretaries of the above Ministries/Departments
January 23, 2013

Dear Sir/Madam

Sub: Making Public Libraries Accessible for Persons with Disabilities

We, the organizations representing persons with disabilities listed at the end of this document would like to bring to your attention for your urgent remedial action on the barriers faced by persons with disabilities in accessing public libraries in the country.

As you are aware, India has approximately 150 million persons with disabilities[1]who have the inalienable fundamental right to life as enshrined in the Constitution including the right to seek knowledge and education. Public libraries play a critical role in creating an enabling environment for citizens to gain knowledge, information and education. This is particularly true in the case of persons with disabilities who have limited access to purchase books through mainstream shops due to various barriers including lack of physical access to shops, lack of availability of books in accessible formats like Braille, etc. India has signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and therefore India is required to "to take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute discrimination against persons with disabilities[2], "to develop, promulgate and monitor the implementation of minimum standards and guidelines for the accessibility of facilities and services open or provided to the public[3]” and take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy access to libraries[4]

The recent copyright amendments enabling libraries to convert their collections into accessible formats free of cost for the benefit of persons with disabilities coupled with technological developments in the form of cost effective screen reading software have created an unprecedented opportunity to make libraries accessible to persons with visual impairment and dyslexia. Additionally increased clarity on standards for physical access also now enables libraries to be made physically accessible without expensive modifications to enable wheelchair users and those with limited mobility access the libraries.

We understand that the Ministry of Culture has constituted a high powered committee as part of the National Mission on Libraries to look into revamping the library system in the country. We urge that the issue relating to making public libraries accessible to persons with disabilities is taken up by the government on a fast track basis, a separate budget is allocated for this exercise and libraries are made accessible on a priority basis. Please find attached a brief note on the steps to be taken to make libraries accessible to persons with disabilities.

We recommend that regional consultations are conducted through which additional data can be gathered on regional/language/types of communication/availability of power and related issues. We also urge you take steps to extend library services to rural areas across the country. We are happy to assist the government in this initiative. Do let us know how we can contribute to this effort.

Thank you and best regards,

Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability Law and Policy (www.inclusiveplanet.org.in)
Rahul Cherian
+91 98403 57991
rahul.cherian@inclusiveplanet.org.in
AccessAbility (www.accessability.co.in)
Shivani Gupta+91 93102 45743
shewany@gmail.com
Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged (www.xrcvc.org)
Sam Taraporevala
+91 99670 28769
sam@xrcvc.org
Saksham Charitable Trust (www.saksham.org)
Dipendra Manocha
+91 98180 94781
dipendra.manocha@gmail.com
National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled
Murali Alathur
+91 98687 68543
nprd.in@gmail.com
National Institute of Speech and Hearing (www.nish.ac.in)
Samuel Mathew
+91 99615 68443
snm@nish.ac.in
Centre for Internet and Society (www.cis-india.org)
Nirmita Narasimhan
+91 98458 68078
nirmita@cis-india.org
Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy (www.iicpindia.org)
Jeeja Ghosh
+91 94330 45340
jeeja.ankur@gmail.com
National Centre for Autism (www.autism-india.org)
Merry Barua
+91 98102 25923
merry.barua@gmail.com
Ability Foundation (www.abilityfoundation.org)
Janaki Pillai
ability@abilityfoundation.org
Nilesh Singit, Disability Rights Activist
+9199205 58867
contact@nileshsingit.org
Andhjan Kalyan Trust (www.aktrust.org)
Praful Vyas
+9194282 61878
aktrust.drj@gmail.com
AccessIndia
Harish Kotian
hpkotian@rbi.org.in
Blind Graduates Forum of India
Harish Kotian
hpkotian@rbi.org.in
Tamilnadu Handicapped Federation Charitable Trust
T.M.N Deepak
+91 98406 46953
deepaknathan@gmail.com
Human Rights Law Network AP Unit
M.A. Shakeel
mashakeel2000@gmail.com
Global Ability in Disability
Sai Padma
+91 9052627070
saipadma@gmail.com
Mitra Jyothi
Madhu Singhal
mj.tblibrary@gmail.com
Vaishnavi Jayakumar, Human Rights Activist
jayakumar.vaishnavi@gmail.com
Swadhikaar
Pavan Muntha
pavanmuntha@gmail.com
Samarthyam (www.samarthyam.org)
Anjlee Agarwal
+91 98105 58321
samarthyaindia@yahoo.com

With inputs from:

Stephen M. Shore, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor of Special Education, Adelphi University
International consultant, presenter, and author
Person on the autism spectrum
USA
Tania Meinyczuk
Director, Autistic Strategies Network
Autistic Consultant
South Africa
Shellique Carby
Self-Advocate
South Africa
Fazli Azeem
South Asian Self-Advocate for the Autism Spectrum
Fulbright Scholar @ MassArt Boston, USA
www.fazliazeem.com
Pakistan
Michael Vestergaard Drejer
IT Consultant
Denmark

Making Public Libraries Inclusive For Persons With Disabilities – An Overview

Problem Statement

It is estimated that India has approximately 150 million persons with disabilities[5] (“PWDs”). Depending on their disability, PWDs have varying degrees of problems in accessing libraries and the material available at libraries. PWDs cannot access the premises of libraries since the buildings themselves are not accessible. People who are blind or have low vision cannot access reading material in libraries since the reading materials are not in formats that are accessible. It is estimated that less than 0.5% of books are available in formats that are accessible by people who are blind or have low vision. It is therefore critical that libraries in India are made inclusive so as to become accessible by PWDs.

Suggestions For Improvement

Given below are suggestions to make the public library system inclusive to PWDs based on internationally recognized best practices:

Accessibility
Structural modifications must be made to the library to ensure that PWDs can use the library building easily and safely, without any barriers or obstructions. Some of the modifications required include accessible parking, clear paths of travel to and throughout the facility, entrances with adequate, clear openings or automatic doors, handrails, ramps and elevators, accessible tables and public service desks, and accessible public conveniences such as toilets, and drinking fountains. Other reasonable modifications may include visible alarms in toilets and general usage areas and signs that have Braille and easily visible character size, font, contrast and finish.
For further information see Annexure 1 and http://socialjustice.nic.in/glinecpwd.php
Accessible Formats and Library as a Distribution Centre
People, who are blind, have low vision, dyslexia and other print disabilities cannot access reading materials in printed formats. They require reading material in “accessible formats” such as Braille, large print, audio recordings and electronic formats including digital talking books. In addition, people with some disabilities may find it difficult to come to the library. Under the recently amended Copyright Act libraries can convert books into the accessible formats specified above free of cost and without requiring permission from publishers and can distribute them in physical form and in electronic form including over the Internet to persons with disabilities.

Libraries now have the unprecedented opportunity to create an extensive collection of reading material in the accessible formats mentioned above in English and all Indian languages and make them available at the library in the form of physical copies, on CDs and other media, as well as over the Internet. The catalog of the collection must be in accessible formats. For digitization of books State Level Focal Points to be created for this purpose possibly at State level libraries. For further information on the standards to be adhered to when the library undertakes digitization see Annexure 2. State Level Focal Points will get production done through outsourcing or with some inhouse facilities for production of digital content. A National Level Focal point with full time staff will be required for standardization and networking between the State Level Focal Points and maintaining the central server as mentioned below. The central server will have a database containing digital copies of works in accessible formats created by the State Focal Points and other organizations that undertake the conversion of material into accessible formats such as the National Federation of the Blind[6], All India Confederation of the Blind[7], Daisy Forum of India[8] and the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy.[9] Requests for books in accessible formats can be sent to these organizations as well. The central server will also be connected to the Braille presses. Each public library at the district level will act as a distribution point for accessible formats and will be connected to the central server so that requests for books at each of the libraries can be sourced from the database on the central server. This is advantageous as the list of books available at each library will be constantly updated once they are added to the database. In addition, persons with disabilities must be able to download books in accessible formats from the database without coming to the library.

The website of each library must contain the catalog of material available in accessible formats and the services provided for persons with disabilities. The website of the libraries and the centralized database must adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 as outlined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) so that persons with print disabilities can access the websites and the database. Each library must take orders for accessible books from library users over the internet and over the telephone and source the books from other libraries. Libraries must work together to enable interlibrary exchange of books in accessible formats including hard copy Braille books.

All existing books published in India must be digitized over a period 7 years and all new books must be digitized within 60 days of their first publication in India. Special efforts must be made to provide accessible formats in Indian languages as these are extremely limited. An advisory committee consisting of specialist representatives from disability organizations, among others, may be constituted to oversee the implementation of this project. The expert committee will be associated with both the National Level Focal Points and the State Level Focal Points.
Assistive Aids and Equipment
PWDs require certain assistive aids and equipment to be able to fully utilize the services of the library and the information available therein. Some forms of accessible formats specified above can only be accessed using assistive aids. Libraries must provide the assistive aids/equipment specified in Annexure 3.
Training and sensitization
Adequate training and sensitization must be given to library staff to ensure that they are able to interact with PWDs. This training can be in the nature of a short refresher course and the training and sensitization programs must be evolved in consultation with the disability sector and must be conducted with the assistance of experts in the disability space.
Specialized personnel and services
The library should have a dedicated person to interact with persons with disabilities. This person should have a background in disability, highly motivated, familiar with sign language and also be responsible for providing specific assistance required by persons with disabilities such as guiding them to print out books in Braille, procuring books from the online database etc. The library should offer specialized services to PWDs including a telephonic help line and home delivery of books ordered online or over the phone and reading service at designated times at the library. It is pertinent to note that literature for the blind has no postal fees. Each library must have a specific section on disability related reading material. It is also essential to cooperate with other libraries around the world to share learning.

Annexure 1[10]

Accessibility

a. Outside the library

The main gate of the entrance of the library must be made accessible in accordance with applicable accessibility standards. If the main entrance cannot be made accessible, a secondary accessible entrance should be provided.
At least covered three parking spaces marked with the international symbol of Accessibility (wheelchair symbol) close to the library entrance must be provided.
Clear and easy to read signposting must be provided.
Unobstructed and well lit access paths from the main gate to the entrance of the library must be provided. All steps must be replaced/complimented with ramps having less than 5% gradient, with railings on both sides.
Smooth and non-slip surface must be used throughout.

b. Getting into the library

A person using any kinds of support such as wheelchair, crutches or walker, cane, or guide dog, should be able to enter through the door and pass through security check points, if any, without encountering obstacles.
All mobility aids and assistive devices including wheelchairs, walkers, communicators among others must be able to pass through security checkpoints, if any.
Applicable accessibility standards must be adhered to.
Sufficient space must be provided in front of the door to allow a wheelchair to turn around.
Entrance door should be wide enough to allow a wheelchair to enter.
Non-automatic doors should be operable using one hand.
Glass doors, if any, must be highlighted with contrast colour band at eye level to prevent persons with low vision banging into these.
Stairs and steps edges must be marked with a contrasting color band.
Pictogram signs must be provided for services and amenities such as toilets, elevators, stairways.
Elevators, if any, must be well lit with buttons and signs in Braille and synthetic speech.
Elevator buttons reachable from a wheelchair.
At least 5 wheelchairs (preferably motorized) or mobility scooters must be made available for use by persons with physical disabilities

c. Inside the library

All parts of the library should be accessible.
The catalogs must be available in accessible formats.
Clear and easy-to-read signs with pictograms must be provided.
Service desks should be located close to the entrance.
A certain number of tables and computer workstations should be adapted for persons in wheelchairs.
Shelves must ideally be reachable from a wheelchair
Chairs with sturdy armrests must be provided
Unobstructed aisles between bookcases must be provided and wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs and one person not on a wheelchair.
Visible and audible fire alarms must be provided.
Non-fluorescent lighting. In case fluorescent lighting is used there must be an area free of visual clutter and sharp light contrasts, with plain walls and cubicles.
Printers must be kept in areas away from reading areas to reduce sound in the reading areas.
Suitable sound insulation to be used to minimize sound in the reading areas.
Stack area should have clear aisle space for wheelchair and bi-lateral crutch users (3ft. min.). Where book stacking is in shelves and areas beyond reach of persons with disabilities using mobility aids, human assistance should be available to access books.
Plants inside the space can help with air filtering, which can make a huge difference to the level of comfort.

d. Toilets

The library should have at least one toilet for PWDs, equipped with the following:

Clear signs with pictogram indicating the location of the toilets
Door wide enough for a wheelchair to enter and sufficient space for a wheelchair to turn around
Room enough for a wheelchair to pull up next to the toilet seat
Toilet with handles and flushing lever reachable for persons in wheelchairs
Alarm button reachable for persons in a wheelchairs
Washbasin, mirror at the appropriate height

e. Information Desk and Circulation desk

The desks must be of adjustable height to enable persons in wheelchair to be able access the desk
Chairs must be provided at the desk
Induction loop system for hearing impaired persons

Annexure 2

Standards for material converted into digital formats by libraries

Master Digital Documents of converted material must be maintained in DAISY XML format.
All Master Digital Documents in Indic Languages must be encoded in Unicode [UTF8/16] and formatted using a royalty-free Open Type Font.
All Master Digital Documents must be tagged according to DAISY standards to capture semantic information for parts, units, chapter headings, subsections, pagination, ordered and un-ordered list, tables, images along with their alternative text, math equations, title, author, footnote, end-note, text box, abbreviation, acronym, etc.
Metadata information about the publication as prescribed in the DAISY Standards must be added to all Master Digital Documents.
Distribution of digital copies of the Master Digital Documents through web sites or otherwise must be done in epub format.
If other standards are used for different target populations those standards must be compliant with the National Open Standards Policy and the Interoperability Framework for E-Governance in India.
DAISY audio format for Indic languages.

Annexure 3

Assistance Aids/Equipment

For assisting persons with Visual Impairment or blindness or autism spectrum disorders:

Persons with vision impairments or blindness or autism spectrum disorders would benefit from software and hardware for enlarging displays on the monitor or reading material through a speech synthesizer.

Some of the most common assistive aids/equipment are:

For magnification

Screen-magnification software. This program allows people with low vision to access computer information by enlarging the screen display or tailoring the display to accommodate their disability.

Large magnification devices such as closed-circuit television magnifiers (CCTV). This system employs a video camera lens to enlarge text from three to thirty times normal text size

Handheld magnifiers

For Screen reading

Screen reader software programs enables individuals who are blind or visually impaired to access the information on a computer screen through voice output. Some examples are NVDA (an open source software) or Dolphin or Jaws (proprietary software). Screen reading software with Indian language support must be provided. Scanning and reading software helps those with low or no vision. Scans printed text and verbalizes the text via synthetic speech using optical character recognition technology.

At least one computer must face outward and not against the wall since people with autism spectrum disorders find it disturbing to have people walking behind them.

For Braille support -

Braille Translating Software - To produce correctly formatted and coded Braille one needs a Braille Translation Software. A document prepared by a word processing program is loaded into the translation software. The final document may be printed in Braille by a Braille embosser.
Braille Embosser - Braille embossers print Braille output from a computer by punching dots onto paper and enable users to make hard copies of documents.
Refreshable Braille displays and DAISY players.

All multimedia content to have audio descriptions

For Assisting people with Hearing Impairment or Deafness

Users with deafness or have hearing impairments do not have problems using the computer except problems will arise from programs and websites that have audio cues.

Sound Sentry This option directs the operating system to display a visual signal when a sound is generated by a Windows application. Sound sentry in built into Windows and Apple operating systems.
All multimedia content to have captions

For Assisting people with Learning Disabilities

Specialized software programs and hardware for people who have learning differences will display print as well as provide auditory reading of the text simultaneously.

For Assisting people with Physical Disabilities

Persons with physical disabilities may need assistance in using the computer apart from having physical accessibility. The following items increase computer usability and safety:

Special input devices such as trackballs, joysticks, switches, touch pads, and augmented keyboards (micro keyboards or oversize keyboards with enlarged keys)
A computer camera/tracker allows users to manipulate the cursor through head movement.
Software utilities that replaces the functionality of a standard keyboard with a full-featured, onscreen keyboard.
Speech to text software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking
Motorized wheelchairs to be used by physically impaired users especially motorized chairs whose seat can raise so that users can reach books on higher shelves on the rack.
Availability of reachers to access books that may be placed too low or too high on the book rack.
Page turners

Useful Links

American Library Association: http://www.ala.org/ascla/asclaissues/libraryservices
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions: http://archive.ifla.org/VII/s9/nd1/iflapr-89e.pdf
World Wide Web Consortium: http://www.w3.org/WAI/

[1]. The World Health Organization estimates that 15% of the population is disabled. http://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/factsheet.pdf
[2]. Article 4.1 (b) of the UNCRPD
[3]. Article 9.2 (a) of the UNCRPD
[4]. Article 30. 1 (c) of the UNCRPD
[5]. The World Health Organization estimates that 15% of every population is disabled. http://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/factsheet.pdf
[6]. For more information see www.nabindia.org
[7]. For more information see www.aicb.org.in
[8]. For more information see www.daisyindia.org
[9]. For more information see www.iicpindia.org
[10]. Based on checklist prepared by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions available at http://archive.ifla.org/VII/s9/nd1/iflapr-89e.pdf. These should be over above the guidelines prescribed here http://socialjustice.nic.in/glinecpwd.php

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/making-public-libraries-accessible-to-people-with-disabilities

Linking Commercial Availability and Exceptions in the Treaty for Visually Impaired/Persons with Disabilities

Rahul Cherian — 2013-01-23T08:30:29Z

After the landmark WIPO General Assembly meeting in December 2012 that decided to convene a diplomatic conference in June 2013 on the Treaty for Visually Impaired Persons/Persons with Print Disabilities, the Special Session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights starting on February 18, 2013 is critical, says Rahul Cherian.

It is probably the last chance to sort out the major outstanding issues in the text of the document before the diplomatic conference and if some of these issues are not resolved soon, the diplomatic conference could end without a fruitful conclusion.

One of the most critical issues that remain outstanding is the desire that some government negotiators have to link the use of the treaty provisions or copyright exceptions to commercial unavailability of the work in accessible formats.

The publishing lobby, and consequently the European Union most notably, insist that the exceptions should kick in only when the works in accessible formats are not commercially available at reasonable prices. The definition of "reasonable price for developing countries" as it stands now "means that the accessible format copy of the work is available at prices that are affordable in that market, taking into account the needs and income disparities of persons who have limited vision and those with print disabilities". The definition of "reasonable price for developed countries" as it stands now "means that the accessible format copy of the work is available at a similar or lower price than the price of the work available to persons without print disabilities in that market." It is be noted that there are a few suggestions for changes of wording of the definition but in effect what this wording means is that exceptions should apply only when the accessible format copies are not available at a reasonable price.

At first glance this seems a perfectly sound proposition. I mean, if sighted people have to buy a book, then why shouldn’t beneficiaries under the Treaty also buy a book in an accessible format if it is available at a reasonable price?

The problems with this crop up if you look deeper. The linkage between commercial availability and the exceptions appear at two places in the Treaty. In Article C which deals with national exceptions the following is proposed: "A Member State/Contracting Party may confine limitations or exceptions under this Article to published works which, in the particular accessible format, cannot be obtained commercially under reasonable terms for beneficiary persons in that market".

In Article D which deals with exceptions for export of accessible format copies the following two alternatives are proposed:

Alternative A: [The Member State/Contracting Party may limit said distribution or making available of published works which, in the applicable accessible format, cannot be otherwise obtained within a reasonable time and at a reasonable price, in the country of importation].

Alternative B: [A Member State/Contracting Party should/shall(/may) prohibit said distribution or making available to published works where the exporting authorized entity, prior to making available or distribution, knew or should have known that a copy in the particular accessible format could have been obtained through the distribution channels customary to the beneficiary persons, (under reasonable terms, including) at prices that take account of the needs and incomes of beneficiary persons in the country of importation, (as well as the cost of producing and distributing the work)].

Concerns with linking commercial availability and exceptions

Impossibility of verifying commercial availability with any degree of certainty
Imagine that the recently introduced Indian copyright exceptions for persons with disabilities stated that the exceptions are not available to published works which, in the particular accessible format, can be obtained commercially under reasonable terms (luckily this is not the case currently). What would this mean practically? It would mean that every person with disability who benefits from the exception and every NGO working for the person with disability would firstly have to conduct an in-depth due diligence to see whether the book can be purchased firstly anywhere in the country in an accessible format.

Secondly, if the due diligence reveals that a book in the relevant accessible format can be purchased the question will be whether the price of the accessible format copy is "affordable in India, taking into account the needs and income disparities of persons who have limited vision and those with print disabilities". As you can see these are impossible mountains to climb for persons with disabilities and largely underfunded NGOs who provide services to persons with disabilities.

The situation gets much more complicated when it comes to exceptions relating to cross border exchange. Imagine that the United Kingdom introduces a provision in their copyright law allowing the Royal National Institute of Blind People to export accessible format copies to people with visual impairment in Chennai but only after verifying that the accessible format copy cannot be otherwise obtained within a reasonable time and at a reasonable price. Remember that "reasonable price" in India means that the accessible format copy of the work is available at prices that are affordable in that market, taking into account the needs and income disparities of persons who have limited vision and those with print disabilities. How can the RNIB based in the UK even begin to undertake this exercise, which would require it to:

Check whether the accessible format copy is available in India; then
Understand the needs and income disparities of those with limited vision and print disabilities; and then
Check the cost of the accessible format copy and determine whether the cost of the accessible format copy is reasonable based on the above point.

It will be impossible for RNIB to do this.

In addition to the above there is the added concern that linking commercial availability and exceptions as mentioned in Article C (national exceptions) will lead to countries such as India being put under pressure from the European Union and the United States to amend our Copyright Act and linking our exceptions to commercial availability. The same applies to countries that want to introduce copyright exceptions after the Treaty.

As you can see, the linking of commercial available and exceptions while in theory is sound, in practice it will be impossible to comply with thereby killing all effectiveness of the Treaty.

Watch this space for more updates on the Treaty as they happen.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/linking-commercial-availability-and-exceptions-in-tvi

Accessible Broadcasting in India

srividya — 2013-01-28T05:28:38Z

The abridged version of International Telecommunication Union's "Making Television Accessible" Report which we published last year has been broadened in scope and is now called "Accessible Broadcasting in India" report.

This is an updated version of the draft that was first put up for comments on October 8, 2012. Read the full report published by ITU.

Executive Summary

Television and Radio are mediums to inform, educate and entertain. Sitting down at the end of the day and turning on the TV or radio is a rather involuntary task for many. They have become part of the fabric of almost every Indian’s life. However, there are a significant number of people in India who are unable to enjoy TV or Radio.

Television and Radio technologies have advanced at a rapid pace but accessibility of TV and Radio in India has been a persistent problem. Being mediums that are consumed through sight and sound, those with impairments in these two areas have found TV viewing and radio listening difficult or impossible. Not much progress has been made in the area of Accessible Broadcasting since the introduction of the TV “Weekly News Bulletin for the hearing impaired” in 1987.

The purpose of this report is to provide information to Indian policymakers about various TV and Radio Accessibility options available, best practices followed internationally and suggest recommendations for a brighter future in the area of Accessible Broadcasting.

This report is based on ITU’s “Making Television Accessible Report” (November 2011) by Peter Olaf Looms, Chairman ITU-T Focus Group on Audiovisual Media Accessibility. It has been adapted especially to cater to the needs and interests of India. We’d like to thank ITU for the use of this report and Peter Olaf Looms for his inputs to this abridged version.

This abridged report specifically covers:

TV Accessibility Options
Costs Involved & Bandwidth Requirements
Best Practices followed internationally
Radio Accessibility Options
Recommendations.

Download the abridged report

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/accessible-broadcasting-in-india

National Resource Kit: The Andhra Chapter (Revised)

anandi — 2014-02-12T05:21:41Z

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 Andhra Pradesh.

This chapter was revised based on the comments and feedback received from our readers.

The Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens is responsible for the welfare of persons with disabilities in Andhra Pradesh. The state has an estimated population of 13,64,981[1] persons with disabilities of the total population of 84,655,533[2] people. The state has issued three notifications under General Entitlements, one notification under Women & Children with Disabilities, four notifications under Education, ten notifications under Skill Development and Employment, ten notifications under Social Security, Health &Rehabilitation and Recreation, three notifications under Accessibility and has identified and notified medical boards for disability certification.

1. General Entitlements

1.1 Persons with disabilities with 40% or more disability may apply for the benefits under the schemes implemented by government / NGOs.
1.2 Dwarf persons are included in the category of locomotor disabled.
1.3 AP Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act 1987 exempts persons with disabilities from payment of professional tax.

Sr. No.	Issuing Authority	Notification No.	Details
1	Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens	G.O.MS.No. 27, dated: 09.08.2000	People with at least 40% disability may apply for Govt / NGOs schemes
2	Revenue Department	G.O.MS.No. 1063 Dated: 02.08.2007	Exemption from professional tax

2. Women & Children with Disabilities

2.1 Girls with 80% or more disability are eligible for benefits under GCPS.[3]

Sr. No.	Issuing Authority	Notification No.	Details
1	Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens	Memo No. 7861/JJ/A1/2004, Dated 11.06.2008	Girls with 80% or more disability eligible for GCPS Annual family income not more than Rs. 1,00,000 Single child / both children girls conditions are not applicable Girls with one / two brothers also eligible

3. Education

3.1 Post matric scholarship / fee reimbursements provided to disabled students in govt / university colleges / institutions and Category A convenor quota students in private colleges.

3.2 Exemption from 2nd and 3rd languages to students with hearing impairment at SSC level.

3.3 Concessions in evaluation, scribe, language exemption and extra time provided to students appearing for Class 7 and Class 10 public examination.

3.4 Disabled students whose annual family income does not exceed Rs. 1,00,000 are eligible to apply for scholarships / fee reimbursements.

S.No.	Issuing Authority	Notification No.	Details
1	Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens	G.O.MS.No. 21 Dated: 3.07.2008	Post matric Scholarship & fee reimbursement for govt / university colleges / institutions All eligible applicants entitled for reimbursement Fees directly reimbursed to institutions No fees to be collected during admission
2	Education (Exams) Department	G.O.Rt.No.1161 Edn. Dated:24.06.1992	Exemption from 2nd & 3rd language for hearing impaired students at SSC level Divisions awarded based on performance in other papers
3	Education (Exams) Department	G.O.Ms.No. 33 Dated: 19.03.2001	Concessions to students appearing for Class 7 and Class 10 exams Minimum marks required for passing is 20 Jumbling system for evaluation abolished and only trained teachers engaged Scribe provided to visually impaired students is of Class 10 Exemption from 2nd and 3rd languages and fees is applicable to all disabled students Half hour extra time during exams provided to all disabled students from classes 7th to 10th
4	Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens	G.O.MS.No. 9 Dated: 10.4.2008	Scholarship for students with annual family income not exceeding Rs. 1,00,000 Books / instruments – ITI / Polytechnic students Musical instruments – Professional music students Scholarships – Students with mental disabilities & research scholars Typewriting / Short hand / Examination coaching – Professional examinations

4. Skill Development & Employment

4.1 Reservation of 3% in all state government positions for persons with disabilities. Preference given for those with higher degree of disability.

4.2 Reservation for identified posts will be carried forward for three consecutive years for recruitment of suitable candidate. If candidate with right disability for the reserved post is not identified, the post will be filled by interchanging among the three categories. Disabled women given 33% reservation within the 3%reservation on a rotational basis between the three categories.

4.3 3% reservation for promotion of persons with disabilities applicable to all the services of the state government with cadre strength more than five. Candidates must be fully qualified and eligible under existing rules and guidelines.

4.4 Persons with disabilities are allowed age relaxation of ten years on upper age limit for recruitment to government employment and exempted from the application fee for applying to the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission.

4.5 The rural development scheme with standard schedule rates for persons with disabilities employed for wages in rural development provides that wage rates for persons with disabilities would be operated at 30 per cent extra over the rural standard schedule rates on items of labour component only.

4.6 Persons with disabilities are given three per cent reservation in the allotment of fair price shops.

4.7 Three per cent of the shops and stalls constructed by the municipality will be leased to persons with disabilities for a payment of Rs. 2.50 per square feet or 50 per cent of the rent being paid by the neighbouring shop considering whichever is lower without the regular channel of public auction.

4.8 Persons with visual impairment who completed SSC / higher education directly without qualifying Class 7 are eligible for posts of attender / Group 4 posts in the Andhra Pradesh Last Grade Services.

4.9 Persons with disabilities who completed graduation / post graduation directly without completing Intermediate are eligible to apply for Group 4 posts in AP Ministerial Services / other services except at the office of the Head of Department where Intermediate is prescribed as minimum qualification.

4.10 Persons with disabilities given three per cent reservation in all coaching / training facilities and programmes of welfare departments for attempting competitive examinations.

S.No.	Issuing Authority	Notification Number	Details
1	Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens	G.O.MS. NO. 56 Dated: 02.12.2003	3% reservation in employment, preference for those with greater disability
2	Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens	G.O.Ms.No. 23 Dated: 26.05.2011	Carrying forward of reservation, interchanging among categories and reservation for women with disabilities
3	Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens	G.O.MS.No. 42 Dated: 19.10.2011	3% reservation for promotion in government employment
4	Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens	G.O.MS. No. 22 Dated: 25.05.2011	10 years relaxation in age limit and exemption from application fees for applying for government jobs
5	Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Department	G.O.MS.No. 146 Dated: 24.4.2007	Wages for persons with disabilities employed in rural development Applicable only if all persons in the group are disabled.
6	Food, Civil Supplies and consumer Affairs Department	G.O.Ms.No.99 Dated: - 22-10-1998	3% reservation in allotment of fair price shops
7	Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department	G.O.Ms.No. 63 M.A Dated: 14.02.1996	3% reservation in allotment of municipal shops and stalls
8	General Administration Department	G.O.Ms.No. 34 Dated:17-05-2003	Eligibility of VI persons without Class 7 qualification to apply for Group 4 posts In case of non availability of visually impaired candidates with the basic educational qualification prescribed for the posts in Service Rules.
9	General Administration Department	G.O Ms.NO.33 Dated:03-02-2003	Eligibility to apply for Group 4 posts for disabled persons without the qualification of intermediate Posts such as junior assistants/ junior typists / junior stenographers / junior accountant
10	Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens	G.O.Ms.No. 32 Dated: 13.07.2011	3% reservation in coaching and training facilities in welfare departments for competitive exams

5. Social Security, Health & Rehabilitation, and Recreation

5.1 Persons with disabilities are awarded a pension of Rs. 500 per month. In case of minor children, the pension will be given to the parents of the child.

5.2 Three percent of housing sites are reserved for persons with disabilities with annual income not exceeding Rs. 11,000 and will be allotted free of cost.

Adult, unmarried persons with disabilities also are eligible for allotment of houses / flats under the Housing Department as separate units / families. The ground floor of all the houses under the Indira MMS scheme are reserved for persons with disabilities and the flats / houses are designed to be disability friendly. In case of persons with mental disabilities, the house / flat is allotted to the guardian in the name of the person with the disability.

5.3 Persons with disabilities are eligible to receive at least three per cent reservation in physical or financial coverage in the poverty alleviation schemes of the state departments and local authorities.

5.4 Marriage grant of Rs. 10,000 is provided to couples for marriage between person with disabilities and person without disabilities.

5.5 Persons with disabilities may enjoy benefits under multiple schemes irrespective of the nature of the benefit to them provided that each benefit / scheme gives a different type of support or rehabilitative support to them.

5.6 Students with 80% or more disabilities pursuing higher education / professional education are given direct loans from the government for procuring improved prosthetic aids or motorised vehicles from the funds given to the Managing Director, Andhra Pradesh Vikalangula Co-operative Corporation.

5.7 State government employees with disabilities are eligible for conveyance allowance at 10% of their basic pay to a maximum of Rs. 650 per month. Vehicle maintenance allowance is provided to persons with disabilities at the rates mentioned in the table below.

Sr. No.	Issuing Authority	Notification No.	Details
1	Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Department	G.O.MS.No. 454 Dated: 14.11.2008	Rs. 500 disability pension per month
2	Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Department	G.O.MS.No. 117 Dated: 29.03.2007	Disability pension provided to all. In case of disabled children, parents given the pension
3	Social Welfare Department	G.O.Ms.No.133 Dated: 17.09.1997	3% housing sites allotted free of cost to persons with disabilities with annual income less than 11,000
4	Housing Department	G.O.RT.No. 106 Dated: 27.3.2008	Persons with disabilities allotted houses / flats under Housing Board Ground floor of apartments reserved for persons with disabilities Guardians of mentally disabled are allotted houses / flats in the name of the beneficiary
5	Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens	G.O.MS.No. 1 Dated: 9.01.2002	3% reservation in Coverage in poverty alleviation schemes
6	Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens	G.O.MS.No. 18 Dated: 19.6.2008	Marriage grant of Rs. 10,000 for marriage between disabled and non-disabled persons
7	Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens	G.O.MS.No. 19, Dated: 25.6.2008	Granting enjoyment of multiple schemes like scholarship / pension / economic support at the same time as long as each scheme provides a different support
8	Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens	G.O.RT.No. 194 Dated: 30.06.2008	Government loans for procuring prosthetic aids and motorised vehicles Rs. 5000 given as incentive / subsidy Remaining amount not exceeding Rs. 60,000 – loan to be recovered in three years
9	Finance Department	G.O.Ms.No. 197 Dated:06-07-2006	Conveyance allowance to state government employees at 10% of basic pay not exceeding Rs. 650 p.m.
10	Finance Department	G.O.MS.No. 276 Dated: 15.10.2005	Vehicle maintenance allowance to persons with disabilities Cycles – Rs. 125 per month Motorised vehicles – Rs. 700 per month.

6. Accessibility

6.1 All departments / local authorities / agencies are required to provide barrier free environment in all new buildings and public utilities for easy access of persons with disabilities.

6.2 Teachers and lecturers with visual impairment are given readers allowance for engaging readers to access printed material.

6.3 Committee constituted to prescribe JAWS software knowledge and practical ability instead of or along with typewriting for visually impaired candidates for the posts of typists, stenographers and data entry operators.

Sr. No.	Issuing Authority	Notification No.	Details
1	Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens	G.O.MS.No. 30 Dated: 17.6.2002	Barrier free access to all new buildings and public utilities
2	Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens	G.O.MS.No. 34 Dated: 16.07.2010	Reader’s allowance for visually impaired teachers and lecturers Secondary grade teachers (including craft instructors) – Rs. 400 per month School assistants – Rs. 500 per month Junior lecturers and above – Rs. 600 per month
3	Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens	G.O. MS. No. 36 Dated: 03.08.2011	Committee for prescribing use of JAWS software for visually impaired typists / stenographers / data entry operators

7. Certification

7.1 All hospitals / government teaching hospitals in district head quarters are notified as district medical boards authorised to give certificates for persons with disabilities.

In case of loss of certificate, the person may apply to the board with FIR and the non-traceable certification from the police and a new certificate will be issued within 20 days of application.

Sr. No.	Issuing Authority	Notification No.	Details
1	Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens	G.O.MS.No. 31 Dated: 1.12.2009	All govt hospitals / govt teaching hospitals in district headquarters can issue disability certificates If original certificate is lost, application for duplicate should be made with FIR and police non traceable report Duplicate is issued within 20 days of application Disability-wise Appellate Boards: Orthopedically DISABLED / locomotor disability / dwarfs / hunchback / muscular dystrophy / leprosy-cured Osmania General Hospital, Hyderabad & Gandhi Hospital, Hyderabad Blindness / Low vision – Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital, Hyderabad Mental Retardation – Institute for Mental Health, HYDERABAD & National Institute for Mentally Handicapped Mental Illness – State Institute for Mental Health, Hyderabad Hearing Impairment – Government ENT Hospital, Koti, Hyderabad

8. Schemes & Grants for Organisations & Individuals for Disabilities

8.1 There are no specific grants or schemes for organisations or individuals operating in the field of disabilities.

9. Disability Authorities

Andhra Pradesh has two authorities responsible for the welfare of persons with disabilities:

Department for Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens
Commissioner for Disabilities.

[1].http://socialjustice.nic.in/statewisedisabled.php

[2].http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andhra_Pradesh

[3]. Girl Child Protection Scheme

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/national-resource-kit-andhra-pradesh-revised

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

anandi — 2013-11-07T06:20:04Z

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 Kerala.

Note: The chapter is an early draft and will undergo subsequent modifications. We welcome comments and feedback from our readers.

Statistics

Capital: Tiruvananthapuram
HDI Rank: 1^st

Literacy: 1^st in India with a literacy of 93.91 per cent

Population:33,387,677
Population of Persons with Disability: 2.7 per cent. The district of Malappuram has the highest number of persons with disabilities, followed by Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam.[1]

Ministries and Departments

Department of Social Welfare – responsible for protection of rights of persons with disabilities.
Directorate of Social Welfare (under Department of Social Welfare) – nodal authority that implements central and state government programmes in Kerala.

Government run Organisations

The Kerala State Handicapped Persons Welfare Corporation
The Commissionerate of Persons with Disabilities
The National Institute of Speech and Hearing
The Central Social Welfare Board

Legal Provisions

Kerala does not have a legislation specifically for persons with disabilities in the state but implements the central legislation – the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995. The state also issues various schemes, policies and notifications for persons with disabilities. The Department of Social Welfare has implemented some central and state schemes for persons with disabilities in the state,[2] while some schemes are being implemented by the Kerala State Handicapped Persons Welfare Corporation (KSHPWC).[3] These are listed below under various categories as:

Accessibility
The Department of Local Self Governance vide G.O. (MS) No.41/11/LSGD, Thiruvananthapuram, dated 14/02/2011 have issued rules for housing which also include special provisions for accommodation of the requirements of persons with disabilities. These include provision of ramps, lifts, convenient parking slots and removal of architectural barriers.
Personal mobility

Persons with disabilities with a regular and reasonable income and having to travel regularly on work are given a subsidy of Rs. 2000 linked with bank loan for procuring motorised tricycles / vehicles.[4]

KSHPWC supplies aids and appliances every three years to Persons with Disabilities with annual income less than Rs. 60,000 (see note 3). These include: artificial limbs, tricycles, wheelchairs, callipers, crutches, hearing aids, white canes, colostomy bags, etc. The beneficiaries are selected at medical camps held at district, block and panchayat levels.
Subsidy of Rs.10,000 is provided by KSHPWC to each self-employed young disabled person for procuring motorized tricycle upon applying in the proper format with attested copies of original bill, registration and insurance documents, and photographs (see note 3).
Education
Through the Kerala Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2010, the government provides free and compulsory education for children with disabilities until the age of 18. The rules also provide for inclusive education, special schools for severely disabled children, learning aids and appliances, training for special teachers and vocational training for children with disabilities.
Three seats are reserved for persons with disabilities in arts and science colleges and engineering colleges, nine seats are reserved in polytechnic colleges, five seats are reserved in ITIs, five per cent seats are reserved in junior technical colleges and 25 per cent seats are reserved for teachers in special schools (see note 4).

Scholarships are given to children with disabilities where annual income of parents is less than Rs. 24,000 at Rs. 30 per month for children in classes I – IV and Rs. 45 per month for children in classes V – VIII. For students in higher classes, scholarships are provided for day scholars and residential students with special allowance for readers. In addition to the scholarships, students with orthopaedic impairment are given Rs. 25 per month for maintenance of prosthetic / orthopaedic aids (at the recommendation of the head of the institution) and Rs. 50 per month as transportation allowance (see note 4).
Children with mental disabilities where the annual income of parents is less than Rs. 24,000 are given scholarships upto the age of 21 at the scale of Rs. 60 per month with dress allowance of Rs. 40 and school requisite allowance (see note 4).
The government runs two vocational training centres for persons with disabilities at Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode (see note 4).
Students with Disabilities who top their districts in the categories of Orthopaedic disability, speech and hearing impairment, visual impairment and mental retardation; in the SSLC and Higher Secondary exams are awarded Rs. 2,500 each. Awards of Rs. 5000 are given to state rank holders in the above categories (see note 3).
Health: Details of policies / schemes for health unavailable.
Rehabilitation: The state runs community based rehabilitation programmes and vocational training centres for persons with disabilities (see note 2).
Employment: The state provides three per cent reservation in classes I, II (videG.O. (RT) No. 291/2012/SWD dated, Thiruvananthapuram 20^th June 2012), III and IV (vide G.O. (P)No.20/98/P&ARd dated, Thiruvananthapuram, 14 July, 1998) of state government jobs and PSUs. Three per cent reservation is also provided on part-time contingency posts and one per cent worker class vacancies in the government, corporations and companies are reserved for persons with disabilities (see note 4).

An age relaxation of ten years on the upper age limit is provided to persons with disabilities for applying to government jobs. Upto 10 grace marks can be given to persons with disabilities at the discretion of the Public Service Commission for direct recruitment to various posts except those that are specifically excluded (see note 4).
Persons with disabilities are allowed a special casual leave of 15 days for treating an illness that is directly connected with their disability vide G.O. (P) 249/84/Fin. Dated 9–5–84.
Loans for self employment are being given to persons with disabilities by banks through KSHPWC for setting up self employment programmes. A subsidy of Rs. 2000 linked with the bank loan is given to each beneficiary (see note 4).
KSHPWC channelizes loans from the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation to Persons with Disabilities at low interest rates for self-employment. Applicants must have at least 40 per cent disability and their family income should not exceed Rs. 3,00,000 for rural and Rs. 5,00,000 for urban applicants (see note 3).
KSHPWC runs the following commercial units to provide employment to persons with disabilities (see note 4): Sowbhagya Department Store – Thiruvananthapuram, Sowbhagya Department Store – Kozhikode, Sowbhagya Extension Counter, MLA Quarters – Thiruvananthapuram, Photocopier Unit, MLA Quarters – Thiruvananthapuram, and Envelope Making Unit – Thiruvananthapuram.
KSHPWC together with the Kerala State Lotteries Department implements the scheme through which disabled persons are identified throughout the state for undertaking agency for Lottery tickets and are given financial assistance of Rs. 5,000 for purchase and sale of lottery tickets.

Social Protection

Persons with disabilities in the categories of vision impaired, hearing impaired and orthopaedically disabled whose annual family income does not exceed Rs.3,600 are given a disability pension of Rs.85 per month.
Conveyance allowance of Rs.100 for vision impaired and locomotor disabled employees of aided schools and government departments and Rs.50 for part time employees are given vide G.O.(P) No. 521/87/Fin, dated 15.6.87.
Free travel facility is provided to the vision impaired on buses and boats and for the locomotor disabled on buses. Persons with 50 per cent or more locomotor disabilities are given 70 per cent concession on private buses to travel upto 40 kilometres (see note 4).
A distress relief fund has been created for persons with disabilities vide G.O. (MS) No. 4/95/SWD dated 24/1/95. A maximum amount of Rs. 2000 can be given for a case in a financial year and the amount can be extended to Rs. 8000 in exceptional cases. Persons with disabilities whose annual income does not exceed Rs. 12,000 can claim financial assistance for the following reasons (see note 4): for medical treatment including surgery, disability incurred due to an accident, any other purposes not covered by existing schemes for persons with disabilities, grant by the government under the grant-in-aid to persons with disabilities under the Deendayal Disabled Scheme (see note 2).
Under the Rajiv One Million Housing Scheme (see note 4), one per cent of the houses constructed for the economically backward class have been reserved for persons with disabilities.
KSHPWC operates a scheme for children who are below 8 years of age and have 60 per cent or more disability and whose parent’s have an annual income of less than Rs.60,000, the corporation deposits an amount of Rs. 15,000 for boys and Rs.20,000 for girls. The fund under this scheme is released after the child attains the age of 18 years for self-employment or marriage or as per requests after assessing the case. (see note 3).
A scheme run by the state offers marriage assistance to women with disabilities and to daughters of Persons with Disabilities (see note 2).
KSHPWC runs an old-age home for persons with disabilities at Parassala (see note 3).

Miscellaneous

State awards of Rs. 3000 per head are given to outstanding and efficient employees among persons with disabilities (see note 4)
Persons with disabilities are exempted from professional tax and road tax. They are given an additional income tax exemption of Rs. 5000 (see note 4).
The state also gives grant-in-aid for voluntary organisations running homes for the disabled and financial assistance for advocates with orthopaedic or visual impairment (see note 2).

Government Orders

Category	Headline	Issuing Authority	Number & Date	Briefs
Employment	Public Services Reservations for Physically Handicapped Persons – three per cent reservation for Class III and Class IV posts	Personnel and Administrative Reforms (Advice) Department	G.O. (P)No.20/98/P&ARD Dated, Thiruvananthapuram, 14 July, 1998	Orders issued for a maximum of 50 appointments each in the categories of subordinate service, last grade service and part-time contingent service being set apart every year for the appointment of persons with disabilities to the public services.
Employment	Reservation of three per cent vacancies in Class I and II posts in Public Services for appointment of physically disabled persons – post of Assistant Engineer (Civil), Public Works Department – eligibility for full participation in the selection process and appointment in respect of certain categories of physically disabled persons – clarified orders	Social Welfare Department	G.O. (RT) No. 291/2012/SWD. Dated, Thiruvananthapuram 20^th June 2012	This order has been issued in clarification to earlier orders issued for identification of posts for Persons with Disabilities.
Building construction	Kerala Panchayat Building Rules 2011	Local Self Governance Department	G.O. (MS) No.41/11/LSGD Dated, Thiruvananthapuram 14/02/2011.	Notification has been issued to regulate building construction. Provides for accessibility and elimination of architectural barriers.

Special Schools and Vocational Training Centres

Centre for Training and Rehabilitation of the Mentally Retarded, Thiruvananthapuram
Adarsha Rehabilitation Institute for Spastics and Neurologically Impaired, Kochi
Asha Niketan, Kozhikode
Jagathy Government School for the Blind, Thiruvananthapuram
Jagathy Government BHSS for the Deaf, Thiruvananthapuram
Kunnamkulam GS for the Blind, Kunnamkulam, Thrissur
Kunnamkulam GS for the Deaf, Kunnamkulam, Thrissur

Non Governmental Organisations for Persons with Disabilities

National Association of the Blind, Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala Federation of the Blind, Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala Institution of the Blind, Thrissur
All Kerala Association of the Deaf, Thrissur
Kerala Government Deaf Employees Union
Association for the Welfare of the Handicapped, Kozhikode
Kerala State Physically Handicapped Employees Association

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

Centre for Internet and Society

Indian Users’ Perspective On WIPO Negotiations On Treaty For Visually Impaired

One For All

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

Summary

A Lightness of Spirit

Impact on Verma report

Rahul Cherian passes away

Rahul Cherian, founder of NGO Inclusive Planet, passes away

Inclusive Planet co-founder, Disability Law activist, and Cancer Survivor, Rahul Cherian passes away

RIP: Rahul Cherian, human rights activist, Inclusive Planet co-founder

Further reading:

Government of Madhya Pradesh initiates ICT Accessibility in Public Communication

January 2013 Bulletin

Accessibility

National Resource Kit for Persons with Disabilities

Access to Knowledge

Wikipedia

Pervasive Technologies

Other Openness Updates

HasGeek

Internet Governance

Internet Access – Knowledge Repository

Telecom

Digital Humanities

About CIS

Follow us elsewhere

Support Us

Request for Collaboration

Making Public Libraries Accessible to People with Disabilities

Making Public Libraries Inclusive For Persons With Disabilities – An Overview

Problem Statement

Suggestions For Improvement

Annexure 1[10]

Annexure 2

Annexure 3

Assistance Aids/Equipment

For Assisting people with Hearing Impairment or Deafness

For Assisting people with Learning Disabilities

For Assisting people with Physical Disabilities

Linking Commercial Availability and Exceptions in the Treaty for Visually Impaired/Persons with Disabilities

Concerns with linking commercial availability and exceptions

Accessible Broadcasting in India

Executive Summary

National Resource Kit: The Andhra Chapter (Revised)

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

Statistics

Ministries and Departments

Government run Organisations

Legal Provisions

Government Orders

Special Schools and Vocational Training Centres

Non Governmental Organisations for Persons with Disabilities