Niti Aayog seeks urgent measures for benefit of transgender, disabled and senior citizens

NEW DELHI: The NITI Aayog’s strategy paper dwells on "inclusion" drawing attention to need for urgent measures for people with disabilities, transgender community and senior citizens. NITI Aayog has emphasised the importance of providing identification to transgender persons by creating a separate column for third gender in all government and non-government organisations.

“Determine the number of transgender persons and map their socio-economic status to design customised policy interventions. Mandate the provision of housing and community services to accommodate at least 50% of transgender persons and formulate and implement a scheme for establishing residential schools in all districts for transgender persons,” it is stated in the document which also emphasises on the need to launch a centrally sponsored scheme to provide pension to transgender persons above 60 years of age.

As per Census 2011, India had 4.87 lakh transgender persons. The strategy paper also lists the constraints on the way. It is pointed that Parliament is yet to pass the Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2016 and that the implementation of the “Scheme for Transgender Persons” is suboptimal.

In order to empower the disabled it recommended that “Accessible India Campaign be made into a mass movement with the involvement of citizens and civil society”. “Incorporate universal design and accessibility standards in engineering, architecture and computer science studies”, it stated. The strategy paper calls for the need to introduce the requirement of an accessibility certificate for all future commercial enterprises above a specified size in order to be awarded a completion certificate.

Recognising the needs of the fast growing elderly population and the rapid emergence of the nuclear family where parents and children live separately, the NITI Aayog recommended a review of the National Policy for Older Persons. “The policy should cover housing, income security, pension, and access to healthcare. It should also emphasise the concept of ‘ageing in place’ or ‘ageing in own home,” it is stated in the strategy paper.