The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu has launched Deen Dayal Divyangjan Sahajya Scheme to coincide with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, in Guwahati, Assam.
According to United Nations, a disability is a condition or function judged to be significantly impaired relative to the usual standard of an individual of their group. The impairment could be physical, sensory, cognitive, intellectual, mental illness and could relate to any of the various types of chronic diseases.
The Vice President complimented the Government of Assam for its proposal to provide Rs.5,000 for medical treatment as a one-time grant-in-aid for each of the 4,50,000 Divyangs in the State under Deen Dayal Divyangjan Sahajya Achani and for allocating Rs.250 crore for the scheme.
The Government of Assam has introduced a new Act, called “Assam Employees PRANAM Act, 2017”, under which each government employee is compelled to contribute 10 per cent of his/her salary towards taking care of his/her parents, including persons with disabilities.
It is estimated that more than one billion or around 15 per cent of the world’s population have some form of disability and 80 per cent of them live in developing countries.
According to 2011 census, around 2.21 per cent of the Indian population suffers from some form of disability.
Government of India has extended the coverage of disability from seven to 21 types of disabilities and also launched a unique ID card for people with disability.