Day: May 17, 2012

Deepak Razdan
India has 2.2 crore persons with various types of disabilities as per Census 2001. The Government has taken several steps, including legislative measures, to integrate them fully with society. They are seen in all walks of life, discharging not only their normal responsibilities, but trying to do better than others. The Government is constantly undertaking initiatives which include the comprehensive Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, a draft of which is under consideration for introduction in Parliament.
Among the States with large populations of persons with disabilities, Uttar Pradesh tops with 34.53 lakh, Bihar and West Bengal have over 18 lakh each, Tamil Nadu over 16 lakh, Maharashtra over 15 lakh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan over 14 lakh each. According to 2001 Census, 49 per cent of the persons with disabilities in the country are literate and 34 per cent are employed. Over one crore persons have visual disability, 12.61 lakh hearing and over 61 lakh have locomotor disability in the country. According to the NSSO Survey of 2002, 75 per cent of persons with disabilities live in rural areas.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment which has the charge of looking after the welfare of the disadvantaged and marginalized sections of the society, including persons with disabilities, oversees a vast network of schemes for the empowerment and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. The Government plans to consolidate them into a composite Centrally-sponsored national programme called National Programme for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities in the 12th Plan (2012-2017), for their better administration. The trend is towards greater financial allocations and better monitoring.
In 2011-2012, the Disability Division of the Ministry was allocated Rs 480 crores. The schemes in operation aim to promote physical, psychological, social, educational and economic rehabilitation and development of the beneficiaries to enhance their quality of life and to enable them to lead their life with dignity.
Although the 12th Plan is yet to be ready, the Planning Commission has made allocations for some new schemes during the first year (2012-2013) of the Plan. These include Rs 33 crores for post-matric scholarships for students and Rs 12 crores for Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme for persons with disabilities (PwDs) for MPhil and PhD courses.
The Government announced the National Policy for Persons with Disabilities in 2006, recognizing them as valuable human source for the country who can lead a better quality of life if they have an effective access to rehabilitation measures. A Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities has been appointed in the Ministry to receive and act upon complaints of violations of rules and orders notified for the welfare of the beneficiaries. Seven national institutes have been established to work in the field of disabilities.
These institutes are engaged in human resource development in different field of disability, providing rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities and undertaking research and development. During the last financial year, Rs 34 crore were released to these institutes against the budgeted outlay of Rs 60 crores for the year.
Under the scheme of Assistance to the Disabled for Purchase or Fitting of Aids and Appliances (ADIP), approximately two lakh persons with disabilities are provided assistive devices every year. An allocation of Rs 100 crores was made for the scheme in 2011-2012 to help 2.80 lakh persons but only about Rs 28 crores was released till December, 2011, although a total expenditure during the year is now expected to be Rs 76 crores. The ADIP scheme is being revised during 2012-2013 to raise the income ceiling and ceiling of the assistive devices. Under the Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS), Rs 31.27 crores was sanctioned till December last year against the allocation of Rs 120 crores. The total expenditure is likely to cross Rs 86 crores.
The DDRS helps voluntary organizations to run special schools for children with hearing, visual and mental disability and vocational rehabilitation centres for persons with disabilities and for manpower development in the field of mental retardation and cerebral palsy.
The target of beneficiaries during the year was 2.50 lakh.
To facilitate creation of infrastructure at district level, the Central Government is encouraging the States in setting up of District Disability Rehabilitation Centres (DDRCs) since the ninth Plan. A hundred DDRCs were proposed to be set up in the last two years. A total of 215 DDRCs are functioning in the country at present. Twenty-one were set up in 2010-11 and Rs 1.20 crore were released in 2011-12 to set up six more in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar.
In 2009-10, the Government launched the Inclusive Education for Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS), replacing the earlier Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC) scheme. While inclusive education for disabled children at elementary level is being provided under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), this scheme provides 100 per cent Central assistance for inclusive education of disabled children studying in Classes IX-XII in mainstream government, local body and government-aided schools.
The objective is to facilitate continuation of education of children with special needs up to higher secondary level. The scheme provides for personal requirements of the children in the form of assistive devices, helpers, transport, hostel, learning material, and scholarship for the girl child up to Rs 3000 per disabled child per annum. In addition, assistance is also provided for salary of special teachers, capacity building of teachers, making schools barrier free, establishment of resource rooms, and awareness and orientation. A budget of Rs 100 crore was allocated for this scheme during 2011-12 and over 1.30 lakh disabled children were proposed to be covered in the year.
According to HRD Ministry, 35 per cent of children with disabilities remained out of school.On World Autism Day, the Government reiterated its commitment to help development of people with autism in the country. India has about 10 million people with autism in the country. There was need to create awareness on the brain disorder and the Government would support all awareness campaigns. The Government has stressed the need to remove the myths about autism like it was the result of bad parenting or “emotionally dysfunctional mothers.” The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the vehicle for the Right To Education, ensures support to children with autism, through resource teachers and teacher-aides.
In many States, students with autism get a one on one support with care-giver or aide in the classroom. The Rajya Sabha passed in the Budget Session a Bill to amend the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 to extend its benefits to children with cerebral palsy, mental retardation, autism and multiple disabilities. The children having these severe disabilities will have the option to receive education at home. There is some criticism of this provision as it is felt that it will keep the special needs children away from their peers and out of the mainstream education.
In a major step, the Government has given an “in-principle approval” for creating a separate Department of Disability Affairs. Informing Parliament, the Social Justice and Empowerment Minister, Shri Mukul Wasnik, said the new Department would be within the Ministry and the proposal to amend the necessary rules is under process. He said a need was felt to create a separate department under a Secretary-rank officer to address the issues of people with disability more effectively. At present, the issues related to empowerment of disabled people in the country are looked after by a division in the Ministry.
To ensure persons with disabilities travel by air with dignity and ease, the Government has constituted a Committee on the ‘Rights of Passengers with Disabilities and Reduced Mobility’.
There are Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) on “Carriage of passenger by air with disability and/or with reduced mobility” issued by the DGCA which are to be strictly adhered to by the airlines. The CAR is available on the DGCA website. Violation of the provisions of the CAR is punishable under the Schedule VI of the Aircraft Rules,1937. The Committee will look into the need for modifying the CAR in view of improved guidelines adopted in other countries and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(UNCRPD).
The Committee’s terms including examining the inconvenience faced by persons with disabilities right from the stage of booking of tickets; arrival at the airport; checking-in, issues related to location and design of facilities like toilets, wheel chairs, check-in counters, security checking, boarding, seating in aircraft, disembarking and collection of luggage.
Needless to say, the persons with disabilities require similar facilities at railway stations and inter-city bus terminals. The Railway Board has prepared a plan to enable differently abled people to book rail tickets online at the concessional rates they are entitled to. It is proposed to issue identity cards with specific numbers to each person, which will be built into the computerised passenger reservation system (PRS) across the country.
To make life easier for the differently abled, the Social Justice Ministry is encouraging development of suitable technologies. The Ministry has made its own website accessible to persons with disabilities and is giving incentives to other Government organisations to follow its example. An Online Braille Library has been established at Dehradun in January this year. Its books can be accessed in real time from any location in the country.
On helping the persons with disability get their rightful share in employment, Section 33 of the Persons with Disability (Equal Opportunity, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 provides for a three per cent reservation in government employment, including one per cent each for disabled persons suffering from (i) blindness or low vision; (ii) hearing impairment and (iii) loco motor disability or cerebral palsy. A special recruitment drive was initiated recently to fill up backlog vacancies for posts reserved for persons with disabilities. As per information from 69 Ministries and Departments, there were 11134 persons with disabilities in employment under the Central Government on the 1st January, 2008.
There are no directions to the private sector to create jobs for disabled persons. However, a new Scheme of Incentives to the Private Sector for Employment of Physically Challenged Persons has been launched from 1st April, 2008. Under this Scheme, the Government provides the employer’s contribution for Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees State Insurance (ESI) for three years, for physically challenged employees employed in the private sector on or after 1st April, 2008, with a monthly salary up to Rs. 25,000.
In spite of the increasing awareness about the welfare of the disadvantaged population, the 2012-13 plan allocation for the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry is Rs 5915 crores, which is just 1.512 per cent of the total plan allocation of Rs 3,91,027 crores for all Ministries and Departments of the Government of India. This year’s allocation of Rs 5915 crores is against the allocation of Rs 5375 crores, and the likely actual expenditure of Rs 5006 crores, during 2011-12.
Looking at the Ministry’s various responsibilities, the Planning Commission’s Working Group on empowerment of persons with disabilities has recommended an allocation of Rs one lakh crore as plan expenditure for the welfare of these persons during the 12th Plan, out of which Rs 24000 crores is be incurred through the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry, and the remaining Rs 76000 crores through other Ministries.
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2011, the proposed law that is to replace the existing Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, is a comprehensively drafted piece of legislation that will remove the existing gaps and take care of nearly all the possible situations and circumstances in which the beneficiary population may require legal and social cover to lead a normal life. India has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) and undertaken the obligation to ensure and promote the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all Persons with Disabilities without discrimination of any kind on the basis of disability. While the existing Act provided for an impairment-based exhaustive definition of disability, the UN Convention recognized that disability was an evolving concept. People with impairments, not expressly mentioned in the Act, were often denied the rights and entitlements recognized in the Act. The 1995 Act, among other provisions, required appropriate governments and local authorities to make public buildings and their campuses accessible to persons with disabilities. The facilities to be created include ramps, toilets for wheel-chair users, Braille signages, new elevators, auditory signals in existing elevators, and tactile tiles.
Accessibility for persons with disabilities was also one of the core provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which came into force in May, 2008. Expanding the scope and definition of physical impairments, the 2011 Bill recognizes the equality of persons with disabilities and prohibits direct or indirect discrimination on the basis of disability.
The draft law seeks to guarantee equality and non-discrimination to all persons with disabilities, and to recognize legal capacity of all persons with disabilities and make provision for support where required to exercise such legal capacity.
The Constitution of India includes persons with disabilities generically within the universal categories of person and citizen; it does not even mention disability specifically. Therefore the draft Bill attempts to lay down procedures by which the civil-political rights guaranteed in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Constitution of India can be realized for persons with disabilities. The rights guaranteed by the Constitution need adaptation to be of value for persons with disabilities. (PIB Features.)

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/disabled-get-social-justice/

Kalpana Palkhiwala
Growing uncertainties of weather and climate pose a major threat to food security of the country and thus warrant for farmers empowerment of informed decision in agricultural risk management. Besides the possible impacts of climate change also pose major challenges in agriculture sector in the country. The combination of long-term changes and the greater frequency of extreme weather events are also likely to have adverse impacts on the food production in the coming decades. India Meteorological Department has taken major initiative to implement innovative and state of art technologies which are essential to address the above mentioned issues of weather and climate on Indian agriculture and also to realize the present day needs of the farmers of the country and also to meet the demands of the poorer section of the country. India Meteorological Department (IMD) started Integrated Agro-Meteorological Advisory Service (IAAS) in the country for the benefits of farmers. Agro-meteorological service rendered by IMD, Ministry of Earth Sciences is an innovative step to contribute to weather information based crop/livestock management strategies and operations dedicated to enhancing crop production by providing real time crop and location specific agromet services with outreach to village level. This indeed has a potential to change the face of India in terms of food security and poverty alleviation.
The IAAS provides a very special kind of inputs to the farmer as advisory bulletin. It has made a tremendous difference to the agriculture production by taking the advantage of benevolent weather and minimizes the adverse impact of malevolent weather. IMD launched the scheme IAAS in the country in collaboration with different organisations/institutes/stakeholders from 1st April 2007 for weather wise farm management. Under IAAS, a mechanism was developed to integrate weather forecast, climatic and agro-meteorological information to prepare agro-advisories which contribute significantly to enhance farm productivity and trying to solve the food security in India.
Structure of IAAS
This project is implemented through five tier structure to set up different components of the service spectrum. It includes meteorological (weather observing & forecasting), agricultural (identifying weather sensitive stress & preparing suitable advisory using weather forecast), extension (two way communication with user) and information dissemination (Media, Information Technology, Telecom) agencies.
Weather Forecast –Seven Parametres
From 1 June, 2008 quantitative district level weather forecast up to 5 days is issued. The product comprises of quantitative forecasts for 7 weather parameters viz., rainfall, maximum and minimum temperatures, wind speed and direction, relative humidity and cloudiness. In addition, weekly cumulative rainfall forecast is also provided. IMD, New Delhi generates these products using Multi Model Ensemble technique based on forecast products available from number models of India and other countries.
The products were disseminated to Regional Meteorological Centres and Meteorological Centres of IMD located in different states.
These products after value addition using synoptic interpretation of model output are communicated to 130 Agro Met Field Units (AMFUs) co-located with State Agriculture Universities (SAUs), institutes of Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) etc., for preparation of district level agro-met advisories twice a week i.e. Tuesday and Friday.
AAS Bulletins at Different Level

The Agromet Advisory Bulletins are issued at district, state and national levels. The district level bulletins are issued by AMFUs and include crop specific advisories including field crops, horticultural crops and livestock. The State Level bulletin jointly prepared by State Meteorological Centre of IMD and AMFUs is a composite of district bulletins helping to identify the distressed districts of the state as well as plan the supply of appropriate farm inputs such as seeds, irrigation water, fertilizer, pesticides etc. It forms a significant input to the State level weekly Crop Weather Watch Group (CWWG) meeting and used by state government line function departments viz: Fertilizer industry, Pesticide industry, Irrigation Department, Seed Corporation, Transport and other organizations which provide inputs in agriculture. National Agromet Advisory Bulletins are prepared by National Agromet Advisory Service Centre, Division of Agriculture Meteorology, IMD, Pune, using inputs from various states. This bulletin helps identify stress on various crops for different regions of the country and suitably incorporate advisories.
Ministry of Agriculture is prime user of these bulletins, as important decisions are taken in weekly Crop Weather Watch Group meetings steered by Ministry of Agriculture at national level. The bulletins are also used by a large number of other agencies including fertilizer, pesticide industries. At present bulletins are being issued twice in a week i.e., Tuesday and Friday and reach 23 state and 560 district level centres.
District-specific medium-term forecast information and advisories help to maximize output and avert crop damage or loss. It also helps growers anticipate and plan for pesticide applications, irrigation scheduling, disease and pest outbreaks and many more weather related agriculture-specific operations. Such operations include cultivar selection, their dates of sowing/planting, dates of intercultural operations, dates of harvesting and also performing post harvest operations. Agromet advisories help increase profits by consistently delivering actionable weather information, analysis and decision support for farming situations such as: to manage pests through forecast of relative humidity, temperature and wind; manage irrigation through rainfall & temperature forecasts; protect crop from thermal stress through forecasting of extreme temperature etc.
A typical Agromet Advisory Bulletin enables farmers to reap benefits of benevolent weather and minimize or mitigate the impacts of adverse weather are:
District specific weather forecast, in quantitative terms, for next 5 days for weather parameters like rainfall, cloud, maximum/minimum temperature, wind speed/direction and relative humidity, including forewarning of hazardous weather events (cyclone, hailstorm, heat/cold waves, drought and flood etc) likely to cause stress on standing crop and suggestions to protect the crop from them.
Weather forecast based information on soil moisture status and guidance for application of irrigation, fertilizer and herbicides etc.
Advisories on dates of sowing/planting and suitability of carrying out intercultural operations covering the entire crop spectrum from pre-sowing to post harvest to guide farmer in his day–to-day cultural operations.
Weather forecast based forewarning system for major pests and diseases of principal crops and advises on plant protection measures.
Propagation of techniques for manipulation of crop’s microclimate e.g. shading, mulching, other surface modification, shelter belt, frost protection etc. to protect crops under stressed conditions.
Reducing contribution of agricultural production system to global warming and environment degradation through judicious management of land, water and farm inputs, particularly pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers.
Advisory for livestock on health, shelter and nutrition.
The support on above is rendered through preparing district specific agrometeorological advisory bulletins which are tailored to meet the farmers’ need and are made relevant to his decision making processes. The suggested advisories generally alter actions in a way that improves outcomes as it contains advice on farm management actions aiming to take advantage of good weather and mitigate the stress on crop/livestock. The bulletins are encoded in a format and language which is easy to comprehend by the farmer. The agrometeorologists first interpret the immediate past weather and the forecast for next 5 days and translate it into layman’s terms so that the farmers can understand it. They use state-of-art technology such as crop weather models, climatic risk management tools, GIS generated agromet products etc., for framing the advisory bulletins. Also, interaction between the AMFUs and farmers to identify the weather sensitive decisions is promoted under the service through participatory approach. This step fosters a relationship between the IMD, AMFUs, farmers and other stakeholders so that they can identify or diagnose the gaps in weather information and services available from the IMD. (PIB Feature.)

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/agromet-advisory-services-farmers-empowerment/

Archana Prasad
THE murder of Richard Loitam and the suicide of Dana Sangma have once again highlighted the social discrimination and profiling faced by residents of North Eastern origins in mega cities. The significance of the public outcry following these deaths has been exemplified in the light of the fact that more and more youths from North East are migrating to metropolitan cities in what they call the ‘Indian mainland’. A study of 2011 projected that 5,00,000 people were set to migrate from the North Eastern region for employment and education in the next five years. It also noted that the spate of this migration had increased in the first decade of the twenty first century and 78.16 per cent of those surveyed were migrating for educational purposes. Further, 86 per cent of those migrating to mega cities were facing some sort of discrimination on the basis of social profiling of the North Eastern communities. This context needs to be borne in mind while discussing the problems faced by North Eastern people outside their own region.
NATION AND NE
The historical discrimination of the North Eastern region and its people takes place at two different levels. First there is the discrimination against the region as a whole and this is reflected in the inadequate development of basic infrastructure development as well as the lack of educational and employment opportunities. Therefore the democratic movement has been demanding that such regional discrimination be addressed through a strategy for socially just and balanced development of North Eastern region through the intervention of the central government. It is also hoped that such development will stop the large scale migration from the region. However the problem of the North Eastern region and its relationship with the rest of India is only partly addressed by the problem of uneven economic development.
The second level of discrimination not addressed by this view concerns the way in which people of North Eastern origin are dealt with in the places where they migrate. Historically, the roots of this discrimination lie not only in the processes of uneven economic development but also in the way in which dominant ‘mainstream’ Indian society perceives the region. At the advent of Independence, the partition of the country placed the region in a unique geographical position. The region was politically cut off from East Bengal with which it was integrated socially and economically in the pre-partition period. The seemingly insurmountable difficulties of communication and geographical location were further translated into a social and cultural distance which articulated itself in uniquely political terms. Movements for separate states and autonomy reflected that the founders of the Indian nation had not incorporated the aspirations of the people of the region within the larger framework of nationhood. Images of the North East as projected in school textbooks and in popular culture also normalised the perception that the people of the region as unique and different. For example who can forget the stark scene from the popular film Chak De India where a Manipur player is welcomed into the hockey training camp saying “You are our guest.
Welcome to the training camp”. The player’s reply is obvious “How can one be a guest in one’s own country.
This perception of North Eastern people as ‘foreigners’ is perhaps a result of larger processes that have resulted in the resistance of North Eastern communities to imposition of dominant cultural values of mainstream caste Hindu ruling classes. This situation is in stark contrast to the acceptance of the tribal people of Central and Eastern India whose dominant classes have largely accepted the superiority of dominant culture of caste Hindu societies. The integration of these tribal people as subordinates within the larger system is in sharp contrast to the tribal aristocracy of the North East which has been asserting both its cultural and its legitimate right to the natural resources of the region. Thus the reproduction of the images of the North Eastern cultures as foreign and outside the realm of the mainstream society is part of a larger process to deny the North Eastern people their due place within the power structures of the larger Indian nation.
FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION
Given this fact, racial and other forms of discrimination against people of North Eastern origin are seen both in everyday life and the insensitivity of state level institutions. A survey done by the North Eastern Helpline in January and February recorded that 58.33 per cent of the cases of discrimination were crimes against women. According to the recorded cases of the Delhi Police, approximately two-thirds of the crimes against women were targeted against women from the North Eastern region. In other cases it is commonplace to find that North Eastern students find it difficult to find rooms on rent in comparison with students from other places. This has prompted institutions like Delhi University to designate one whole hostel for girls from the North Eastern region. While the initiative to provide space to girls from the region is welcome, one wonders whether such a separate hostel will serve the purpose of forging a spirit of living together and cultural tolerance within the larger student community.
At the same time the indifference and insensitivity of the state administration towards cases of discrimination is glaringly evident. In 2007 the Delhi Police came out with a set of guidelines for people from the North East. These guidelines prescribed dress codes and behaviour rules to North Eastern communities. Though the resultant outrage forced the authorities to withdraw the guidelines they reflected the conservative mindset of the law enforcement agency. Refusal to file FIRs in cases of discrimination is common in at least half of the cases of discrimination. It is therefore not surprising that the home minister is able to state in parliament that only seven cases of discrimination have been recorded in this year. This gross underestimation of the problem arises from the fact that there was no FIR in at least 63 per ent of the cases of discrimination, despite the victim approaching the police. Reluctance of law enforcing agencies is also seen from the fact that they themselves regard the people of North Eastern region as foreigners. This was reflected in the parliamentary debate in Rajya Sabha when a member from Assam reported that the Delhi Police was asking students and servicemen from the region for their passports and not identity cards or driving licenses during road checking. In this context it is not surprising that a maximum number of cases of discrimination are against people of Nagaland and Manipur: two states that are perceived as both rebellious and remote. Thus the home minister’s claim of zero tolerance of crime against people from the region seem hollow in the wake of the fact that the agencies responsible for dealing with cases of discrimination are themselves guilty of following social practices that target these communities.
In order to combat the problem of social profiling and discrimination, it is not only necessary to fight for the legitimate rights of the North Eastern region, but also have a larger movement to ensure the forging of a democratic and inclusive national culture. The assertion of dominant cultural values that subordinate the rights of ethnic minorities and the carriers of this culture should be combated at every level. While the democratic movement has been at the forefront of fighting for the legitimate economic and political rights of the North Eastern region, it needs to redouble its efforts to bring about a cultural and social movement that will challenge the deep rooted intolerance of culturally different people from this region. In meeting this challenge, the hegemonic role of education, films and media has to be recognised since they have acted as a tool of ruling classes’ embodying conservative cultural values. Hence the progressive movements must initiate a militant campaign to combat such hegemonic influences. This will be the first step towards forging a truly composite and inclusive national culture.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/north-east-and-the-cultural-dimensions-of-discrimination/