1-Mar-2019: National Conference on Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme
A National Conference on “Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS)”was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot. The Conference was organised by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
The objective of the conference was to sensitize the stakeholders of the scheme i.e. Programme Implementing Agencies (PIAs), District level officers & State Government officers. Earlier the DEPwD organized three Regional Conferences at Secunderabad on 22.12.2018, Mumbai on 17.01.2019 and Kolkata on 18.02.2019 covering the Southern, Western, Central, Eastern and North-Eastern regions of the country.
The “7th Guinness Book of World Record” has been created by DEPwD at Bharuch, Gujarat where ‘Modern Artificial Limbs (Legs)’ were implanted on 260 Divyangjans within eight hours. DEPwD has already created Six World Records in other categories. It is a very proud moment for the DEPwD as well as for all Divyangjans of our country.
ISLRTC under DEPwD has recently prepared a Directory comprising 6000 words for the hearing impaired Divyangjans and more than 1700 hearing impaired children have been treated with Cochlear Implant Surgery and almost all of them are now leading a normal life. DEPwD has also provided ‘Motorized Tricycles’ to the Divyangjans nationwide for their smooth movement and Department of Transport is helping them. He announced that so far, 28 States have provided ‘Universal ID Cards’ to around 13 Lakh Divyangjans and very soon it will be provided to all Divyangjans of the country. He dwelt upon many new initiatives and achievements of the DEPwD and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for betterment and welfare of Divyangjans and downtrodden people of our country.
The NGOs and Self Help Groups play a very important role in the proper implementation of the government schemes. When government’s welfare schemes get decentralized, these schemes succeed more. The recommendations of such conferences are sent to the Policy Planning authorities of the government to frame the important policies. He informed the audience that now the official procedures regarding Divyangjan’s certifications and sanctioning of grants have been simplified very much so that Divyangjans and NGOs working for them may not suffer anymore.
The conference was to disseminate the provisions of the revised scheme and to sensitize various stake holders about it. This conference provided a unique opportunity for interactions amongst all stakeholders to ensure exchange of cross-sectoral views on the aspects of the efficacy of the scheme as well as the scope of improvements in it. It had a profound impact on the implementation of the DDRS for the welfare of Divyangjans. It sensitized the PIAs about the major changes brought about in the revised scheme and created awareness among major stakeholders, viz. State Government and District Level Officers and NGOs in popularizing the scheme further, thereby promoting the well-being of Divyangjans (Persons with Disabilities).
Under the Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme, every year more than 600 NGOs are provided with financial assistance for running their projects for the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities such as Special school, pre-school and early intervention, Half-way Homes and Community Based Rehabilitation etc. The NGOs being funded are providing the rehabilitative services to more than 35000 to 40000 beneficiaries every year. In the implementation process of the scheme, the role of State Government is very crucial. The recommendation from the District Social Welfare Officer and State Government is important in release of grant-in-aid. The budget allocation for the year 2018-19 is Rs. 70.00 crores.
Although the DDRS Scheme was in existence from 1999, yet a major revamp has been carried out in its provisions with effect from 01.04.2018. The scheme has been revised for making it more impactful for rehabilitation of PwDs. Improvements made in the scheme include increase of honorarium and other cost norms by 2.5 times, streamlining the process of application and processing of proposals, rationalising the number of model projects from 18 to 9, etc.
The list of model projects includes:
- Pre-Schools, Early Intervention and Training
- Special Schools for Children with Intellectual Disabilities
- Hearing and Speech Disabilities and
- Visual Disabilities
- Project for Cerebral Palsied children
- Rehabilitation of Leprosy cured persons
- Half Way Home for psycho-Social Rehabilitation of treated and controlled Mentally ill persons
- Home Based Rehabilitation
- Community Based Rehabilitation Programme (CBR)
- Low Vision Centres and
- Human Resource Development.
17-Jan-2019: Regional Conference on “Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS)”
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities implements a scheme titled ‘Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS)’. A Regional Conference for the scheme was organized on 17th January, 2019 at Nehru Centre, Mumbai covering Programme Implementing Agencies (PIAs) from the Western Region of the country. This is the second of a series of Regional Conferences to be held across the country and the exercise will culminate in a National Conference in New Delhi.
NGOs, State Government representatives from four Western States, namely, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Goa were present at the conference. Under DDRS, Grant-in-Aid is released to about 600 NGOs every year. About 10% of total NGOs under DDRS, 10% of total grant and 10% of Special School for Children with Intellectual Disabilities are from Western Indian States
DDRS is a Central Sector Scheme of Government of India which is being implemented since 1999 for providing financial assistance to NGOs working for education and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. This scheme was revised in 2018 and the revised scheme is being implemented since 1st April 2018. This Regional Conference was organized in order to disseminate the provisions of the revised scheme and bring the Department closer to implementing agencies. This conference provided a wonderful opportunity for interactions with all stakeholders from Central Government to implementing agencies. An in-depth understanding of scheme would enable better outreach in terms of better facilities to end beneficiaries, i.e. persons with disabilities.
In his address, Dr. Prabodh Seth, described NGOs of DDRS as partners in the mission of empowerment of persons with disabilities and highlighted the need for creation of inclusive society that accepts and respects persons with disabilities without discrimination. He encouraged those present at the conference to continue their laudable work in this sector and presented the vision. He made an elaborate presentation highlighting the provisions of new scheme such as increase in the cost norms by 2.5 times, streamlining the procedure of application, increase the funding of projects from 75% to 90% of their total cost, extending special benefits to special areas such as Left Wing Affected Districts, removal of limit in increase of number of beneficiaries, etc. This was appreciated by all the audience.
During her speech Smt. T. C. A. Kalyani said that the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities has been making tireless efforts for holistic empowerment of Divyangjan. She emphasized the need of exercising financial prudence to ensure that the Government fund is utilized for the purpose it is meant for.
The conference was also addressed by Shri Dinesh Waghmare, Principle Secretary (Welfare), Government of Maharashtra who shared his views and said that the new Act on disability promulgated by Govt. of India shall ensure rights of the persons with disabilities in the society. Govt. of Maharashtra is making the rules under RPwD Act 2016 for its effective implementation in the State.
Shri Vikash Prasad, Director, also gave a presentation on detailed procedure for implementing the scheme. There was an interactive question and answer session with NGOs after both the presentations where many doubts were cleared.
During the day long deliberation on DDRS scheme of Govt. of India in which the representatives of various agencies shared their views on how the scheme can be implemented better so that the benefits reach the targeted beneficiaries till the last person in the queue. The conference was an effective step towards good governance where the functionaries of the Central Govt. Ministries are reaching various parts of the country for creating awareness among the public. It leads to the ultimate objective towards ensuring welfare of Divyangjan and the dignity they deserve.