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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday insisted that physically challenged people should be made equal partners in the development process. The Prime Minister has recommended that the educational, healthcare institutions and government offices should become more accessible for disabled people.
Manmohan Singh said, "We should give them every possible opportunity to do so. They need equal opportunities as equal citizens with special needs”.
The Prime Minister added, "We propose to amend the Persons with Disabilities Act in consultation with states so as to bring it in line with the UN Convention (on Rights of Persons with Disabilities)”.
The Prime Minister urged that educational and healthcare institutions should be more user friendly for disabled persons.
"I would urge that our educational and healthcare institutions, our government offices, our banks and other places with public dealings ought to be made more user friendly and accessible to the disadvantaged persons. Small steps like building ramps or designating officers to facilitate their work can go a long way in this direction”, he said.
The Prime Minister also added that the Ministry of Communications and information technology should develop accessible software in all Indian languages and urged India Inc to ‘respond handsomely’ to promote employment of disabled people in the private sector.
