National Awards for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities-2013 The Government as well as public and private sectors should work hand in hand to improve the skill-levels of PwDs with a view to enhance their employability says the President

The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the National Awards for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities-2013 at a function organized by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment here today. Congratulating the awardees the President said that this important day gives us an opportunity to reflect on our collective endeavours to create an inclusive society in which all members, including the differently abled, enjoy equal opportunities and have the right to realize their full development potential. The President said that with a positive and humane attitude, the society, NGOs and individuals should extend support and guidance to the differently-abled and their families to ensure their socio-psychological and emotional integration into the mainstream of society.             In September, 2013, the United Nations General Assembly convened a High-level Meeting of all nations to highlight the close linkage between development and disability, the President said that since, it was felt the development of a nation is not possible if the needs and capacities of PwDs are not recognized, all nations resolved to seriously consider disability concerns in all their developmental activities. This is a remarkable step taken internationally for improving the quality of lives of persons with disabilities. India has fully endorsed this stand. The President said that the Government is at an advanced stage of bringing in a new and comprehensive law in consonance with the provisions of the UN Convention. This holistic piece of legislation would entail major responsibilities not merely on the Central Government, but also on State Governments, local bodies, and even private service providers. The President stressed that specific schemes, programmes and facilities must be formulated particularly for the empowerment of children, women, and senior citizens with disabilities as they need special consideration. Education can equip the differently-abled to be strong enough to face the world. Children with disabilities should adequate opportunities to pursue their education which can enable them to get gainful employment. The President said that economic empowerment of persons with disabilities is key to their well-being and can enable them to lead a life with dignity. We have provisions for reservation in employment in establishments in the Government sector for Persons with Disabilities. However, concerted efforts are required to fill up the backlog of the reserved vacancies. The Government as well as public and private sectors should work hand in hand to improve the skill-levels with a view to enhance their employability. Extending a warm welcome to the President, the Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment KumariSelja said that the National Awards will spur the awardees to make even greater efforts and reach greater heights of success and achievement in future and they will be a source of inspiration to others. The Minister further said that the theme selected by the United Nations for this day is: “Break barriers, open doors: for an inclusive society and development for all” as Persons with disabilities face barriers in participation in all aspects of society, which are not just physical but also attitudinal, communicational, cultural, economic, environmental, institutional, political, religious, social or structural barriers which hamper their full and effective participation. The Minister said that over one billion people, or approximately 15 per cent of the world’s population, live with some form of disability and face barriers which exclude them from participating as equal members of society. They are disproportionately represented among the world’s poorest, and lack equal access to basic resources, services and also have a higher mortality rate. The Minister added that the celebration of this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities provides an opportunity to further raise awareness of disability and accessibility, as a cross cutting development issue and further our efforts to promote accessibility and remove all types of barriers; to realize our goal of full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in society. The Ministry is fully committed to removing barriers, physical or otherwise for the empowerment of persons with disabilities. The Government is actively endeavoring to bring in a new Act in place of the existing PwD Act of 1995. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2013 is at an advanced stage of finalization. The new Bill envisages more rights and entitlements to all categories of persons with disabilities and would also provide for strong implementation mechanisms. All States and Central Ministries have supported the Bill and have also given valuable suggestions. The Minister was pleased to inform that during the last three years, a sum of Rs. 95 crore was released to various State Governments and other bodies for making their premises/buildings and websites accessible to persons with disabilities. The Central Ministries/Departments have been requested to earmark 3% of their total budget for including PwDs. State Governments have also been requested to have a State Policy to give sufficient attention to the problems of PwDs and especially to ensure speedy issue of disability certificates. Gainful employment is essential for the empowerment of PwDs. The Ministry issued an important notification in July, 2013 regarding identification of posts in the Central Government for persons with disabilities. The Corporate Affairs Ministry has also been requested to urge the corporates to adopt a policy for employment ofPwDs. The Ministry is also undertaking an ambitious plan of upskilling PwDs with vocational skills to increase their employability. The Minister was happy to inform that the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme has been approved. UGC have selected 396 scholars and the Ministry is in the process of distribution an amount of Rs 15 crores to them. Present on the occasion were Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Minister of MNRE, Shri Manikrao Hodlya Gavit, Minister of State for Social Justice, Ms. Stuti Kacker, Secretary, Department of Disability Affairs, , Shri SudhirBhargava, Secretary, Ministry of SJE,  Smt. Poonam Natarajan, Chairperson, National Trust, Maj. Gen. IanCardozo, Chairman, Rehabilitation Council of India and Shri Prasanna Kumar Pincha, Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities. List of Awardees I. Best Employee/ Self Employed with Disabilities No. Sub-category 1.               Blindness Male Sh. Sanjay HariharGaonkar, Maisha Nagar, Kalwa, Thane, Dighe, Navi Mumbai. Female Ms. PreetiMonga, 164-B Pocket- A MayurVihar  PH-II, Delhi-110091 2.               Low Vision Male Sh. GhenkarMarotiBabarao, ‘Mangalmurti’, BangarNagar, Hingoli, Tq. District- Hingoli-431513. Female   ----- 3.               Leprosy Cured Male   ----- Female   ------ 4.               Hearing Impairment Male Sh. PuneetSubhash Bhardwaj, 2, Sugam Enclave, Opposite Ramada Hotel, Prahladnagar, Ahmadabad. Female   ------ 5.               LocomotorDisability Male Sh. ManojDawar, E-24, Lajpat Nagar – 1, New Delhi-110024 Female Ms. Ranjita Singh, B-38, NIRD, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad  Andhra Pradesh 6.               Cerebral Palsy Male Sh. AshwinKarthik  S. N., 161, 5th CrossPoornapragna Layout, Near Katriguppa Water Tank, BSJ 3rd Stage, Bengaluru - 85 Female Smt. Vidhina Bhatia, A-57, Shahpura, Near ManishaMarket, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh – 462039 7.               Mental Retardation Male Sh. Neeraj Sharma, K-73, Shyam Nagar, New Delhi-18 Female   ------ 8.               Mental illness Male   ------ Female   ------ 9.               Autism Male   ------ Female   ------ 10.           Multiple Disabilities Male   ------ Female   ------ II Award for Best Employers and Placement Officer/ Agency No. Sub-category 1.               Best Employer (i)        Government organization    ------ (ii)      Public Sector Undertaking/ Autonomous / Local Government Body   ------- (iii)     Private/ Non Governmental Organization Designmate (I) Pvt. Ltd. Horizon, Swati Society Road, NearDarpan circle, Navrangpura, Ahmadabad, Gujarat. 2. Best Placement Officer/ Agency (i)        Autonomous Government Organization/ Public Sector Undertaking Shri D.R. Sharma, Secretary, Indian Red Cross Society, District Branch, Red CrossBhawan, Sector-12, Faridabad, Haryana-121007. (ii)      Private/ Non-Governmental Organization/ Office Mrs. Anubhuti M. Bhattacharaya , ANUBHUTI-HR Consultants D3-3071, VasantKunj, New Delhi- 110 70 III. Award for Best Individual & Institution Working for the Cause of Persons with Disabilities No. Sub-category No. of awards Nature of awards 1. Best Individual Professional Dr. ShanthaRadhakrishna, SriGanapathySachidananda (SGS), VagdeviCentre for the Rehabilitation of Communication Impaired, 3rd  C Main, 7thCross, Girinagar II Phase, Bengaluru- 560085 Non Professional Sh. Swami Biswanathanda, VivekanadMission Asram, Vivek Nagar, P. O-Chaitanyapur (Haldia) P.S. & Block-Sutahata, Dist- PurbaMedinipur, West Bengal – 721645. 2. Best Institution (i)     An organization providing holistic comprehensive services to the persons with disabilities in a comprehensive manner Jointly to Asha Bhavan Centre, KathilaBanitabal,Uluberia, Howrah-711316, West Bengal   & Vasavi Club International, “PREM” 1-1-385/32, Beside-Mutyalamma Temple, Gandhi Nagar, Hyderabad- 500080, Andhra Pradesh. (ii)   An organization promoting inclusive education to the children/persons with disabilities National Institute  of Technical  Teachers Training and Research , Chandigarh, NITTR, Sector-26, Chandigarh-160019. IV Role Model Awards No. Sub-category 1. Blindness/ low vision Male Dr. RajdeepManwani, Shri DurgaKunj No. 149, Laxmi Road, 8th Cross, Shanti  Nagar,Bengaluru-560027 Female Ms. NupurJain , 1910, Sobha Mayflower,Ballunder Village, Bengaluru, Karnataka-560103. 2. Leprosy cured Male Mr. Suresh RamkrushnaDhondge, The Leprosy Mission Trust India KotharaCommunity Hospital, PO Paratwada, Dist- Amravati-444805. Female No application was received. 3. Hearing impairment Male Sh. Dilip Kumar Bhattacharyya, 48,Bediadanga 2nd lane, New Ballygunge, Kolkata-700039. Female Ms. VujjiniJanaki, H. No-16-11-16/165,Sripuramcolony, Moosarambagh, Malakpet, Hyderabad, 36-Andhra Pradesh. 4. LocomotorDisability / Cerebral Palsy Male Prof. (Dr.) Ajit Kumar GorakhanathPatil, 2,Shanta Ashish, Vile Parle (West) Mumbai-400 056. Female Dr.  Yasmin Sultana, C-6, Above Nagina,Noor Nagar, Jamia Nagar, Okhla, New Delhi-110025. 5. Mental Retardation/ Mental Illness / Autism Male No application was received. Female Ms. Rini Das, 3/27, Vivek Nagar, Jadavpur, Kolkatta-70075, P. O.-Santoshpur, West Bengal. Additional awards given on account of non-receipt of applications in the sub-categories 2 and 5 above. 6. LocomotorDisability Female Ms. DarshitaBabubhai Shah, 252,Manekbaug Society, Gate No.11, Ambawadi,Ahmedabad- 380015, Gujarat. 7. Hearing Impairment (Female) Female Ms. VanithaBalasubramanian, B-404Suryakiran, Sector-V, Plot : 12 & 13, Ghansoli,Navi Mumbai- 400070. V Awards for Best Applied Research/ Innovation/ Product Development Aimed at Improving the life of Persons with Disabilities No. Sub-category Awardee 1. Best Applied Research/ Technological Innovation Aimed at Improving the life of Persons with Disabilities. Shri JyotiranjanSahoo, Qtr. No-2RB-17, Delta “C” Colony Unit-8,Bhubaneswar, Odisha. 2. Development of new Cost-effective product for manufacture Aimed at Improving the life of Persons with Disabilities. Shri R. S. Hiremath, 1234, 22A, Main, 11A, Cross, Sector-1, HSR Layout, Bengaluru-560102. S/Shri K. Ramesh & P. Sammaiah, Rehabilitation Center  NIMH,Manovikas Nagar, Secunderabad VI. Award for the Outstanding Work in the Creation of Barrier-Free Environment for the Persons with Disabilities No. Sub-category Awardee 1. GovernmentDepartment/ Offices/ PSUs / Autonomous Bodies ------- 2. Local Bodies ------- 3. Private Sector/NGOs Jointly to Howrah  South Point, Social Welfare & Community Development Centre,  15 P M Basti, 3rd Bye Lane, Post Office-Shidpur, Howrah- 7111402. & Arushi Society, 1, Shivaji Nagar, Near M.P.E.P. Office, Bhopal, M.P. VII. Award for the Best District in Providing Rehabilitation Service Cuttack, Odisha. VIII. Best StateChannelizingAgency of National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation. Meghalaya Cooperative Apex Bank Ltd., Kacheri Road, Shillong, EastKhasi Hills District, Meghalaya - 793001 IX Award for the Outstanding Creative Adult Persons with Disabilities Male Sh. Ved Prakash Verma,   Punjab, D-233, III Floor, Wellington Estate, P.O. Dhakoli, Zirakpur, DistrictMohali, Punjab. Female Ms. BabliGambhir,  20, Pratap Nagar, Piploda Road,Jaora (RTM),  M.P. X Award for the Best Creative Child with Disabilities Boy Master TuhinDey, Village - Chandipur, P.O. RaksnaJungle (Malancha), District – PaschimMedinapur  - 721301  Girl Ms. AishnaVashishth, 3004, Sector 40-D,Chandigarh. XI Best Braille Press Indian Association for the Blind, Sundarajanpery, Alagrkoil, Main Road, Arumbanoor,  Post, Madurai, Tamilnadu - 625104 XII Best Accessible Website No. Sub-category Awardee 1. Govt. Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Shastri Bhavan, New Delhi 2. PSU/LB National Handicapped Finance & Development Corporation, Red Cross Bhavan, Sector-12,  Faridabad, Haryana - 121007 3. Pvt. Sector WIPRO Ltd., Doddakannelli, Sarjapur Road, Bangalore - 560035 XIII Best State in promoting empowerment of persons with disabilities Tamil Nadu XIV Best sports person with disability Male Shri J. Ranjith Kumar, Tamil Nadu, No.16,MeenachiIllam, Lurdhu Nagar, 4th Street, K. Pudhur,Madurai – 625007, Tamilnadu Female Ms. Soma Kundu, Milanpally, Government Housing Quarter No.M/1, S.F. Road, P.O. Siliguri Bazar, District- Darjeeling, West Bengal- 734005 ***** RTS/HSN (Release ID :101012)