Lok Sabha Question No. 1190 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-30
Subject: Aging People and Divyangjans
Ministry: SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
Asked by: Shri Raju Bista

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT DEPARTMENT OF EMPOWERMENT OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1190

TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.07.2024

## AGING PEOPLE AND DIVYANGJANS

1190. SHRI RAJU BISTA: Will the Minister of SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT सामािजक  Ɋाय  और  अिधकाįरता मंũी be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has taken any steps to ensure that senior citizens and divyangjans have access to essential services, financial support and protective measures, if so, the details thereof; (b)  the  extent  to  which  the  Government  addresses  the  unique  challenges  and  needs  of  the  aging population and divyangjans; (c) whether the Government is making education and employment more accessible for people with disabilities; (d)  if so, the details of schemes for making education and employment more accessible for people with disabilties; and (e) the steps taken by the Government to raise awareness about disability rights?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT

(SHRI B L VERMA)

- (a)  &  (b):    Department  of  Social  Justice  and  Empowerment  is  implementing  Atal  Vayo Abhyuday Yojana for welfare of Senior Citizens with the following components:
- i.  Integrated  Programme  for  Senior  Citizens  under  which  Grant  in  aid  is  provided  to  NonGovernmental/  Voluntary  Organisations  for  running  and  maintenance  of  senior  citizen  homes (old  age  homes),  continuous  care  homes,  etc.  Facilities  like  shelter,  nutrition,  medicare  and entertainments are provided free of cost to indigent senior citizens.

ii. State Action Plan for Senior Citizens under which Grant in aid is provided to States/ UTs for activities like awareness generation, sensitization, cataract surgeries and State specific activities. iii.  RashtriyaVayoshri  Yojana  under  which  senior  citizens,  belonging  to  BPL  category  or  the senior citizen with the monthly income not more than Rs. 15000/- and suffering from age related disabilities/ infirmities are provided with such physical aids and assisted living devices which can restore near normalcy in their bodily functions.

iv.  Elderline-  National  Helpline  for  Senior  Citizens  under  which  registration  of  grievances, redressal of Grievances and Monitoring of the performance of States /UTs are done through the website of Elderline for Senior citizens (elderline.dosje.gov.in).

v.  Senior-care  Ageing  Growth  Engine  under  which  innovative  start-  ups  are  identified  and encouraged for developing products, processes and services for the welfare of the elderly.

Further,  for  empowerment  of  Divyangjans,  the  Government  enacted  RPwD  Act,  2016  which came  into  force  on  19.04.2017.  Section  45  (2)  of  the  RPwD  Act  mandates  the  appropriate Government  and  the  local  authorities  to  formulate  an  action  plan  based  on  prioritisation,  for providing accessibility in all their buildings and spaces providing essential services such as all primary health centres, civil hospitals, schools, railway stations and bus stops. Section 24 of the said Act mandates the appropriate Government, within the limit of economic capacity, to provide disability  pension  subject  to  income  ceiling.  Section  6  and  7  of  the  said  Act  provides  for measures to protect persons  with  disabilities  from  cruelty,  inhuman  treatment,  abuse,  violence and inhuman treatment.

Furthermore, though relief to the disabled is a State subject by virtue of entry 9 of the State List of  the  Constitution  of  India,  the  Central  Government  supplements  the  efforts  of  the  State Governments  through  various  schemes  and  programmes.  Some  of  the  major  schemes  are  as follows:

i.  'Assistance to Persons with Disabilities for Purchase/Fitting of Aids and Appliances (ADIP)' under which funds are released to various implementing agencies to assist the eligible PwDs in procuring  durable,  sophisticated  and  scientifically  manufactured,  modern,  standard  aids  and appliances that can promote their physical, social and psychological rehabilitation by  reducing the effects of disabilities and enhancing their economic potential throughout the country.

ii. Scheme for Implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (SIPDA) an umbrella scheme, under which assistance is provided to State Governments and to autonomous organizations/Institutions  under  Central  or  State  Governments,  for various  activities  relating  to implementation  of  the  RPwD  Act,  2016,  particularly  for  creation  of  barrier  free  environment, accessible india campaign and skill development of PwDs.

iii. Deendayal Divyangjan Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) under which grant-in-aid is provided to  Non-Governmental  Organizations  (NGOs)      for  projects  relating  to  rehabilitation  of  PwDs aimed at enabling persons with disabilities to reach and maintain their optimal, physical, sensory, intellectual, psychiatric or social functional levels.

iv.  Scholarship  Scheme  under  which  Government  provides  scholarships  to  students  with disabilities.

(c)  &  (d):  To  make  education  more  accessible,  the  Accessibility  Guidelines  and  Standards  for Higher Education Institutions and Universities and Accessibility Code for Educational Institutions  formulated  by  the  Department  of  Higher  Education  and  Accessibility  Code  for Educational  Institutions  by  Dept.  of  School  Education  and  Literacy,  Ministry  of  Education respectively have been notified under the RPwD Rules, 2017.

Further, Department of School Education & Literacy has launched an overarching programme for the  school  education  sector-  Samagra  Shiksha  Scheme.  Under  Samagra  Siksha,  there  is  a dedicated component for Inclusive Education for Children with Special Needs (IE for CwSN), to ensure  full  equity  and  inclusion  such  that  all  children  with  special  needs  are  able  to  fully participate in schools. The scheme aims to look at education for CwSN in a contimum from preschool to class XII. The scheme covers all CwSN with one or more disabilities as mentioned in the Schedule of disabilities of the Right of the Person with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016. The Samagra Shiksha Scheme is being implemented through State Goverments/ UT administrations and the Central Government provides necessary financial support for the same.

Through the inclusive education for CwSN component, various provisions are made available for CwSN such as identification and assessment camps (at block level), student specific interventions @ Rs. 3500/- per CwSN per annum for support, such as provision of aids, appliances, assistive devices, teaching-learning material, Braille books, large print with severe & multiple disabilities who  are  unable  to  attend  school.  The  focus  of  Samagra  Siksha  is  on  providing  inclusive education to CwSN, wherein children regardless of their abilities/disabilities participate and learn together  in  the  same  class,  thus  creating  an  equitable  enabling  educational  environment  for all students.

Further,  Section  16(ii)  of  the  Rights  of  Persons  with  Disabilities  Act,  2016  mandates  the appropriate  Government  and  local  authorities  to  make  building,  campus  and  various  facilities accessible for the purpose of providing inclusive education to children with disabilities. Section

17(i) of the said Act provides for making suitable modification in the curriculum and examination system, by way of provisioning extra time for completion of examination paper and exemption from second and third language courses to meet the needs of students with disabilities. In view of this, CBSE  being  sensitive to the needs of students with disabilities provides several exemptions/concessions to CwSN including deaf and dumb as defined in RPwD Act, 2016 such as issuing authority of medical certificate, facility of scribe and compensatory time, appointment of  scribe  and  related  instructions,  fee  and  special  exemptions  for  class  X  like  exemption  from third language, flexibility in choosing subjects, alternate questions/separate questions and special exemptions  for  class  XII  like  flexibility  in  choosing  subjects,  separate  question  paper  and questions in lieu of practical component.

Furthermore,  Department  of  Empowerment  of  Persons  with  Disabilities  (DEPwD)  implements 'National Action Plan (NAP) for Skill Development of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs)' which was  launched  in  March,  2015.NAP  is  implemented  under  the  umbrella  scheme-'Scheme  for Implementation of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 (SIPDA)'. Under NAP, funds are released as per Common Norms Guidelines issued and subsequent amendments from time to time by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship for imparting skill training to persons with disabilities in the age group of 15 to 59 years. This Department recently launched PM-DAKSH-DEPwD Portal. The link of the portal is available on https://pmdaksh.depwd.gov.in/login. Under this portal, there are two modules:- i. Divyangjan  Kaushal  Vikas:-  Skill  training  is  conducted  for  PwDs  through  the  portal across the country.

ii. Divyangjan  Rozgar  Setu:-  The  platform  aims  to  act  as  a  bridge  between  PwDs  and employers  having  jobs  for  PwDs.  The  platform  provides  geo-tagged  based  information  on employment/earning opportunities within private companies as well as PwDs across India.

(e): The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) is implementing "Awareness  Generation  &  Publicity  Scheme"  as  one  of  the  component  under  SIPDA  Scheme across the country. The main objective of the scheme is creation of general awareness about the schemes and programmes of the Government for the welfare of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and to train  and  sensitize  key  functionaries  of the Central/State  Government/Local  Bodies  and other service providers on a regular basis on disability related matters through State/District/Block level workshops with the aim to raise awareness among employees and peer groups about capabilities of PwDs.