12-04-2004, 05:33 PM
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_...t_id=75821
News
Children of a lesser god are still waiting...
Our Bureau
New Delhi, Dec 2 In India, the chances that a disabled person will find a job are virtually nil though the number of disabled here is more than the total population of some big countries like the UK, Canada and Australia.
In contrast, a disabled person in the US has a 77% chance of finding a job compared to an 82% chance for a non-disabled person, according to the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP).
December 3 is observed as World Disability Day every year and the focus this time is on creating a caring society, which allows ‘inclusion’ of disabled people into mainstream society.
NCPEDP feels that parents of disabled children would also like the focus to be on lack of manpower in India to provide care to those who can afford it.
The loss of productivity of parents who struggle alone to provide care 24 hours a day needs to be recognised.
It says, in the last 40 years, only one lakh disabled persons have got any kind of employment. Less than 2% of children with disabilities have received education of any kind; they are mostly confined to their homes due to inaccessible environments - lack of ramps for wheelchairs, for instance.
As Aloka Guha of National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities says, “The need of the hour is creating multi-sectoral linkages and genuine convergence of existing facilities.” In isolation, she says, those working in the disability sector cannot function optimally.
It’s not as if there is a shortage of welfare schemes: the ministry of rural development is supposed to fulfill the housing requirement of rural persons with disabilities living below the poverty line and it has a scheme of income generating programmes through self-help groups. A scheme of the ministry of urban employment and poverty alleviation reserves 3% allocation for persons with disabilities.
The finance ministry offers tax exemptions under sections 80U and 80DD of the IT Act to disabled persons.
In the last budget, finance minister P Chidambaram had extended these benefits to those suffering from autism, cerebral palsy and mental retardation.
In fact, on the eve of World Disability Day, Mr Chidambaram took an hour off his busy schedule — packed with parliamentary engagements and work at the North block — to honour a number of disabled people with awards for their achievements.
He also gave away awards to three corporates — JW Marriott hotel, Kinetic Engineering and NTPC — for taking the initiative in creating gainful employment opportunities for the disabled.
“What the disabled expect is not concessions or subsidies but opportunities,” he said at a function organised here by NCPEDP and Shell India.
News
Children of a lesser god are still waiting...
Our Bureau
New Delhi, Dec 2 In India, the chances that a disabled person will find a job are virtually nil though the number of disabled here is more than the total population of some big countries like the UK, Canada and Australia.
In contrast, a disabled person in the US has a 77% chance of finding a job compared to an 82% chance for a non-disabled person, according to the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP).
December 3 is observed as World Disability Day every year and the focus this time is on creating a caring society, which allows ‘inclusion’ of disabled people into mainstream society.
NCPEDP feels that parents of disabled children would also like the focus to be on lack of manpower in India to provide care to those who can afford it.
The loss of productivity of parents who struggle alone to provide care 24 hours a day needs to be recognised.
It says, in the last 40 years, only one lakh disabled persons have got any kind of employment. Less than 2% of children with disabilities have received education of any kind; they are mostly confined to their homes due to inaccessible environments - lack of ramps for wheelchairs, for instance.
As Aloka Guha of National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities says, “The need of the hour is creating multi-sectoral linkages and genuine convergence of existing facilities.” In isolation, she says, those working in the disability sector cannot function optimally.
It’s not as if there is a shortage of welfare schemes: the ministry of rural development is supposed to fulfill the housing requirement of rural persons with disabilities living below the poverty line and it has a scheme of income generating programmes through self-help groups. A scheme of the ministry of urban employment and poverty alleviation reserves 3% allocation for persons with disabilities.
The finance ministry offers tax exemptions under sections 80U and 80DD of the IT Act to disabled persons.
In the last budget, finance minister P Chidambaram had extended these benefits to those suffering from autism, cerebral palsy and mental retardation.
In fact, on the eve of World Disability Day, Mr Chidambaram took an hour off his busy schedule — packed with parliamentary engagements and work at the North block — to honour a number of disabled people with awards for their achievements.
He also gave away awards to three corporates — JW Marriott hotel, Kinetic Engineering and NTPC — for taking the initiative in creating gainful employment opportunities for the disabled.
“What the disabled expect is not concessions or subsidies but opportunities,” he said at a function organised here by NCPEDP and Shell India.