Indian government focussing on comprehensive law for persons with disabilities: Minister
Government is focusing on enactment of a comprehensive law for PwDs to fulfill India's international obligations following the ratification of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), said Union Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot.
Speaking at the second session of the Working Group on the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022, the Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government are fully committed to empowerment of persons with disability.
"We are presently focusing on enactment of a new comprehensive law to fulfill our international obligations following ratification of UNCRPD," he said.
Technology will be used to deliver low cost home-based education through e-learning, providing identity cards to all persons with disabilities so that they can avail government benefits, ensuring access to public facilities, buildings and transport and developing income generation models to ensure economic independence are among the measures envisaged, he said.
He also made an apparent reference to Right of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014, and said the legislation related to the rights of disabled is already under the consideration of Parliament.
Earlier in his speech, the Minister also said that the government has chalked out a road map with specific time frame to implement the Incheon strategy, which focuses on ten goals to build a better future for persons with disabilities.
