Twelve people under three different categories who have helped further employment opportunities for the differently abled were celebrated at the NCPEDP-Mindtree Helen Keller Awards on Sunday.
Speaking at the event, held at the India International Centre, Minister of State for Human Resource Development Satya Pal Singh said, “There are 12 million differently abled children in this country but only 1% go to schools.”
5% reservation
Mr. Singh said the Ministry recently announced 5% reservation for the differently abled in all kinds of educational institutions to address this.
The Minister said a directive has been sent to all State governments that expenditure on books, uniforms and transport will be reimbursed by the government and girls will receive ₹200 per month.
“This is one of the top priorities for the Prime Minister and the present government” he said.
Applications received
NCPEDP executive director Arman Ali said, “It is heartening to see the kind of applications we received this year. Typically, most applications received are from the IT industry. This year, it was refreshing to see that most applications were from organisations and people working in the retail sector.”