Press Information Bureau English Releases
28-Dec-2012
The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment is entrusted with the empowerment
of the disadvantaged and marginalized sections of the society. The target
groups of the Ministry are: (i) scheduled Castes, (ii) Other Backward Classes,
(iii) Senior Citizens and (iv) Victims of Substance Abuse.
Enhancement in Plan Outlay of the MinistryThere was an unprecedented increase
of 136.60% in the plan outlay of the Ministry from Rs.2500 crore in 2009-10 to
Rs 5915 crore in 2012-13 which includes the Budget Estimate of Department of
Disability of Affairs. The plan Outlay allocated to Ministry of Social Justice
and Empowerment for 12th Five Year Plan has been enhanced to Rs 32684 crore
from Rs 13043 crore in the 11th Five Year Plan...Department of Disability
Affairs
Creation of a new Department of Disability Affairs
A new Department of Disability Affairs has been set up vide Cabinet
Secretariat’s notification dated 12.05.2012. The Department has been
allocated twenty five (25) subjects. Creation of a new Department would ensure
greater focus on policy matters to effectively address disability issues.
Having a separate budget would help in strengthening existing schemes,
formulation of new schemes as also promotion of technological innovation in the
sector. It would further boost greater coordination among stakeholders,
organizations, state governments and related central ministries.
New Draft Legislation on Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and
Full Participation) Act, 1995 (PwD Act) has been in force for over 15 years.
In view of the need to review it and harmonize its provision with United
Nations Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), the
Ministry constituted an experts committee, which submitted its report to the
Ministry on 30.06.2011. The draft bill was uploaded on the Ministry’s website
for comments. The Ministry also initiated consultations with 17 Central
Ministries and Departments on provisions of the draft Bill concerning them.
Based on the inputs received, a draft Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill,
2012 has been prepared and circulated in September, 2012 to all State
Governments/Union Territories for their comments. The Bill will be introduced
in the Parliament, after due consultations with the State Governments and other
Stakeholders.
Establishment of new District Disabled Rehabilitation Centres (DDRCs) and
Composite Regional Centres (CRCs)
District Disabled Rehabilitation Centres
To create infrastructure and capacity building at district level for providing
rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities, awareness generation,
training rehabilitation professionals etc, the Ministry provides assistance for
setting up of District Disabled Rehabilitation Centres (DDRCs) in un-served
districts of the country. Until March, 2010, 199 DDRCs have been sanctioned.
The Finance Minister had announced in his budget speech for 2010-11 that 100
new DDRCs would be opened during the remaining period of the XIth Five Year
Plan. Accordingly, 100 districts in 20 States were identified and the
concerned State Governments requested in June 2010 to send proposals for
setting up new DDRCs. In the year 2010-11 & 2011-12, sanctions were issued
for setting up of 33 new DDRCs. During the current year 2012-13, sanctions
have been issued for setting up of four new DDRCs namely (1) Mehboobnagar
(Andhra Pradesh) (2) Howrah (West Bengal) (3) Bankura (West Bengal) & (4)
Shivsagar (Assam).
Composite Regional Centres
The scheme of setting up of Composite Regional Centres is a part of overall
strategy to reach out to the Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) in the country
and to facilitate the creation of the required infrastructure and capacity
building at Central, State and District levels and below for awareness
generation, training of rehabilitation professionals, service delivery etc.
Centres are set up at locations where the existing infrastructure for providing
comprehensive services to disabled were inadequate and where such centres are
needed the most.
There were eight CRCs functioning at Sundernagar, Srinagar, Lucknow, Guwahati,
Patna, Bhopal, Ahmedabad and Kozhikode. The new CRC at Kozhikode has been
functional from February, 2012.
Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme for Students with DisabilitiesA new
Central Sector Scheme of Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for Students with
Disabilities for persons with disabilities has been launched in November, 2012
to increase opportunities to students with disabilities for pursuing higher
education leading to degrees such as M.Phil and Ph.D. The scheme caters to
requirements of the students with disabilities for pursuing research degree in
universities, research institutions and scientific institutions. The scheme
has been made effective from 01.04.2012.
The scheme caters total number of 200 Fellowships (Junior Research Fellows,
JRF) per year to students with disabilities. The scheme covers all
universities/institutions recognized by University Grants Commission (UGC) and
will be implemented by UGC itself. The rates of fellowship for JRF and SRF
will be at par with the UGC fellowship.
*****RTS/HSNhttp://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=91223
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