Unique exhibition at the National Museum makes culture accessible for visually-impaired

Taken from The Hindu.
It was a heart-warming sight to see the visually-impaired follow a tactile path that was smooth in some places and rough at others where they had to stop, at an exhibition in the National Museum on Friday.

Restaurants join the dots

Taken from Times of India.

Chennai's Kalakkal café not only has Braille menus but also pictorial menus, tactile walls and even some eating aids.  Two years ago when visually impaired Bharatnatyam dancer, Gangamma, 22, visited the US for a performance series, she was amazed at how aware people were about visual impairment.

E-books accessible to visually impaired, courtesy EPUB

Taken from Deccan Herald.
There is nothing different in the way 37-year-old Avneesh Singh uses his iPhone 5S.
Whenever he wants to read an article, he whips out the device from his shirt pocket and slides his fingers on the screen; only that, in Avneesh’s case, the phone’s voice software begins to read the content aloud.

Uber must face charges it discriminates against blind passengers

Taken from PC World.
A court case that alleges Uber discriminates against blind passengers will be allowed to proceed despite an attempt by Uber to have it thrown out, a California judge ruled late Friday.

Visually-impaired protest lack of jobs

Taken from Asian Age.
Alleging government “apathy” towards job reservations, visually-impaired people protested against the lack of jobs on Thursday and urged the government to speed up recruitment to complete the backlog of vacancies through a special recruitment drive.

Blind candidates to get extra 20 minutes per hour in HPSC exams

Taken from Hindustan Times.
Coming to the aid of a blind candidate, the state commissioner for persons with disabilities has directed the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) to give additional 20 minutes per hour to blind candidates appearing in competitive examinations conducted by the Commission.

State to appoint administrator for ‘mismanaged’ blind school in Jogeshwari

Taken from Times of India.
MUMBAI: The state government has decided to appoint an administrator and order an inquiry into the alleged mismanagement of M N Banajee Industrial Home for Blind in Jogeshwari following an agitation by MNS workers.

Call to Upgrade Blind School, Give Leg-up to Skilling

Taken from New Indian Express.
VELLORE: The Alumni Association (Association) of the Vellore Blind School, which met on Tuesday, to commemorate the 42nd death anniversary of its founder, T Peters, highlighted the need to upgrade the school to the Plus Two level.

24 fake certificates of disability surface

Taken from Telegraph India.
Bhubaneswar, April 12: Twenty four cases of fake disability certificate holders have surfaced and their admissions into a teachers training programme have been cancelled by the director of teachers education and state council of educational research and training (TE & SCERT).

Mandi IIT develops software to convert text into speech

Taken from Tribune India.
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) here has developed a software to convert written text into speech.Pulkit Sharma, a PhD scholar, said the software, Text-To-Speech (TTS) systems, would be a revolutionary step for visually challenged people.

The thriving disability racket

Taken from The Hindu.
On March 4, a process to cleanse the system took its first toll. A village rehabilitation worker in Hassan was suspended after it was determined by a medical board that he had faked disability for a certificate.

Turning vision into a reality

Taken from The Hindu.
We seldom spare a thought for the simplest of things that could be within our reach but remain out of our mind.

For instance, how many of us knew that the annual cost of educating a visually challenged student at an Indian University (including lodging and boarding at the University hostel) is same as the cheapest iPad 3.

‘Lechal’ shoe to guide visually impaired to destination

Taken from Times of India.
KANPUR: To help visually impaired in navigating the ways, special footwears named 'Lechal' (Lechal meaning take me along in Hindi) was the centre of attraction at the Techkriti-2015, the annual technical and entrepreneurial festival of IIT-K. The GPS enabled sneakers are capable of giving directions to those who cannot see.

Guard stops train in time, saves blind duo fallen on tracks

Taken from Times of India.
MUMBAI: A Western Railway guard's presence of mind saved the lives of two visually challenged persons—a man and a woman—who had fallen off a platform on to the tracks at Churchgate station on Monday.

Blind at 13, his vision leads him to top of IT firm

Taken from Tribune India.
“I don’t like recalling my adversity, but if you insist I will…,” Charudutta Jadhav told the audience at the First National Consultation on Skilling the Disabled on Saturday.His was an inspiring narration — he had lost sight when he was 13.

He can’t see, yet his voice guides travellers

Taken from www.iamin.in
At the New Delhi Railway station, countless numbers of passengers wait for the announcement of the arrival and departure of trains from the 16 platforms in one of the country’s busiest railway stations.

First seat on bus for blind, disabled

Taken from Times of India.
NEW DELHI: The first seat on DTC buses will now be reserved for disabled or blind passengers. On Wednesday, transport minister Gopal Rai chaired a public hearing at the regional transport office in Burari. After the hearing, Rai announced a slew of measures to "upgrade" the functioning of the RTO there.

Fight for Rights of Visually Impaired Hots Up

Taken from New Indian Express.
CHENNAI: What began as a hunger-strike by seven differently-abled persons on Monday to press for equal rights for visually impaired turned into a full-fledged protest on Tuesday with over 250 members of the College Students and Graduates Association for the Blind (CSGAB) joining the stir.

Trio click with life, job, set eyes on future

Taken from Times of India.
PUNE: In many ways, Pratibha Sanap is like any other 22-year-old, upbeat with her new full-time job with a city-based software major. On weekdays, Sanap tests the software designed by her company for the visually impaired and on weekends, she surfs social networking sites, cooks a sumptuous lunch for herself and her two friends,

Visually-impaired couple find no Aasara in Hyderabad

Taken from Times of India.
HYDERABAD: Fresh guidelines issued by the Telangana government for beneficiaries to claim pension under Aasara scheme have virtually left a visually-impaired couple floundering in the dark.