Centre pledges to ensure dignity and equality for Visually impaired on World Braille Day
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): On World Braille Day the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment reiterated India’s commitment to ensuring that people with visual impairment live with dignity independence and equality. World Braille Day, celebrated annually on January 4, marks the birthday of Louis Braille the visionary who created the tactile script that revolutionized communication for blind and partially sighted individuals in the 19th century. Since 2019 the day has been observed globally to highlight the significance of Braille in empowering the visually impaired. Braille enables blind and partially sighted individuals to read the same books and periodicals as those printed in visual fonts using a system of six dots to represent letters numbers and even symbols from music, mathematics and science. “As we celebrate the achievements of Louis Braille and all those who continue to champion accessibility let us pledge to create a society where everyone has the opportunity to thrive regardless of their abilities,” stated the Ministry.
According to the 2011 Census there are over 5 million people with visual impairment in India. The Ministry highlighted various initiatives undertaken by the government to support the empowerment of visually impaired individuals focusing on their rights education employment and overall well-being. The government has collaborated with the National Association for the Blind to make around 10,000 pages of documents including government schemes and legal resources, accessible to those with visual disabilities. Additionally MoUs have been signed with organizations like Inclusive Science and Mission Accessibility to improve mobile application accessibility through AI technology. In 2023-24 the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Impairment (NIEPVD) benefitted over 2.9 lakh individuals through education, training and rehabilitation programs. The government has also established a Model School for the Visually Handicapped, offering free education, boarding, and related services to children with visual impairment. In 2023-24, the school provided education to 243 students.The Braille Development Unit under the Department of Special Education and Research has contributed to the creation of Braille codes in multiple Indian languages and is working on a "Manual on Bharti Braille" to standardize Braille literacy across the country. Furthermore, the NIEPVD hosts a National Accessible Library, offering over 1.5 lakh Braille volumes, 20,000 print books, and thousands of audio titles. The online Braille Library, Sugamya Pustkalaya, holds over 6.7 lakh titles.
These initiatives reflect India’s ongoing efforts to ensure that visually impaired individuals can lead lives of dignity, independence, and equality.
