Introduction

• One of the largest minority groups in India, who have suffered long years of neglect, deprivation, segregation and exclusion are persons with disability (PwD).
• In India disabled persons are still oppressed, marginalised and denied from living a reasonable quality of life because of society’s stereotypical and prejudiced perception of them as inferior, incapable, inadequate, and a burden on the family resources and society.
• We still have much to do to ensure an inclusive, barrier-free and rights based society for persons with disabilities through empowering them.

Government Initiatives

• A separate Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities was carved out of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• One of the main objectives of this department is rehabilitation at various aspects including social empowerment.
• Technology Development Projects in Mission Mode With a view to provide suitable and cost effective aids and appliances through the application of technology, the above scheme was started during 1990-91. Suitable R&D projects are identified and funded for developing aids and appliances.
• Inclusive Education for the Disabled at Secondary Stage. The scheme supports children with disabilities aged 14 or above for completing their secondary education from class 9 to class 12 in government, local body and government aided schools.
• Accessible India Campaign
  o It was launched for creating universal accessibility for PwDs in built environment, transport, information and communication (ICT) ecosystem.
• Implementation of Persons with Disabilities Act (SIPDA)
  o Financial assistance is given for skill development, creation of barrier free environment, running some institutions in the field and other related activities relating to the
  implementation of the act.
• Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS)
  o Financial assistance is provided to NGOs for projects relating to rehabilitation of PwDs.
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
  o A mobile app will be launched to provide information on disabled-friendly utilities in a city.
  o Sign languages will be introduced in more than 25% of programmes, starting with
• Doordarshan to make television more disabled-friendly.
• Awareness Generation and Publicity
  o Providing wide publicity through electronic, print, film media, multimedia to the schemes and programmes being run by the central governments and state governments for the welfare of persons with disabilities.

Inclusion for people with Disabilities.
It must be carefully planned, provided with adequate resources and implemented with vision:

• Sensitization/Awareness programmes for different stakeholders about different types of disabilities, their needs, their capabilities.
• In service training for different stakeholders to increase the knowledge about disability, to develop skills while working with them and to change their attitude towards disability and people with disabilities.
• Need to focus on strength, perspectives and abilities of people with disabilities and encourage them to empower themselves.
• Need to make compulsory, course on disability and pedagogy of teaching for children having different types of disabilities to B.Ed and M.Ed teachers training curriculum.
• The people with disabilities must have access to opportunities to contribute to the society supported by both specialist and mainstream policy.
• People with disabilities’ needs should be actively incorporated early on within all mainstream policy design and delivery, alongside other citizens.
• People with disabilities’ experience of government support and services needs to change. There is aneed to develop adequate dialogue between them.
• Need to adopt universal design for barrier free and inclusion environment.
   

Conclusion

• Social empowerment is both a continuous process as well as a result. It is typically implemented as the four following levels: individual level, family level, community level and social policies level.
• Thus social policies and facilities can become effective tools to encourage people with disabilities to acquire social empowerment.