The National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities, located in Dehradun, is under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. It has a state-of-the-art Braille press that provides a Braille version of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann ki Baat program. The institute will continue to convert various materials into Braille script. M I Ahmad, in charge of the Braille press, shared this information. The press also creates Braille versions of voter list cards for the differently abled. Its purpose is to uplift disabled individuals, improve their education, and support their social, economic, and mental development. Additionally, the press translates religious scriptures, academic books, and works by various authors into Braille script, making them accessible to institutions and visually impaired people across the country.
In addition to publishing books for the visually impaired, this institute focuses on comprehensive education for their overall growth. However, when a disabled person is assigned a teacher, it also places increased responsibility on the parents. Children between the ages of 4 and 12, accompanied by their parents, attend the cross-disability early intervention center at the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disability. Teachers instruct these students daily in the presence of their parents. Teaching young handicapped and blind students is a challenging task, as visually impaired children struggle with proper eyesight.
The National Institute for the Empowerment of Divyangjan offers modern courses, including artificial intelligence (AI), to students. Starting this year, preparations have been made to introduce AI courses for young learners. The institute aims to enhance the students’ performance in the IT sector by leveraging modern technology. Special arrangements, such as AI machines, computer systems, expert systems, speech recognition, and equipment for the visually impaired, have been made to support their development in specific AI applications.
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