India campaign'New Delhi, Oct 24 (PTI) Around 7.5 lakh people have beenissued cochlear implant (hearing aid) through 5,500 camps heldacross the country under the accessible India campaign, Unionminister Krishan Pal Gurjar said today.
Speaking at an inauguration of two-day nationalconference at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU),the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowermentlisted out various government initiatives aimed at benefittingpersons with disability.
"Five-year-old children with disability shall besponsored with Rs 6 lakh for cochlear implants by thegovernment," Gurjar said in a statement.
He said that elderly BPL family members with disabilitywill be taken care of for their every needs. "12-13 camps inIndia have been established in this regard," he said.
"The government has now increased the reservation from 3to 4 per cent in central government services and to 5 per centin education for them," he said.
The seminar on topic - Vocational Rehabilitation andEconomic Inclusion of PwD in India - was jointly organised byIGNOU's National Centre for Disability Studies (NCDS) andNational Handicap Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC).
IGNOU Vice Chancellor Ravindra Kumar said, "Thegovernment has provided Rs 77 crore worth scholarships to13,140 students of NHFDC who underwent 3-6 months trainingcourse along with a stipend of Rs 2,000 per month." PTI CPBTIR.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.