Amid bias concern, Centre to provide high-quality assistive devices to employees with disabilities

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New Delhi, Oct 8 (PTI) Amid concern over bias against employees with disabilities, the Centre has decided to provide them with high-quality assistive devices to ensure they are engaged in a productive manner.

The move follows observations that some departments hesitate to assign significant responsibilities to persons with disabilities (PwDs) due to apprehensions about reduced productivity.

In a new directive, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment said that "PwD employees, if given proper assistive devices, can be productive and valuable".

It added that to do justice to the expenditure made on their remuneration, such employees "need to be engaged in a productive manner".

The directive urged all Central ministries, departments, and public sector enterprises to provide high-quality, technology-based aids and assistive devices to employees with disabilities so that they can perform their duties effectively and on par with others.

Citing the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the DEPwD reminded the ministries that the provision for such devices should be guided by the principle of reasonable accommodation, which ensures necessary and appropriate modifications to enable employees with disabilities to work equally without imposing a disproportionate burden on the employer.

The circular drew from the Supreme Court's handbook concerning PwDs, which clarified that reasonable accommodations may involve additional effort or expense but cannot be refused unless they result in an undue burden.

The departments have been asked to evaluate such needs on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the employee concerned.

The memorandum directed that ministries and their affiliated offices assist the PwD employees by providing modern devices such as motorised wheelchairs, high-quality hearing aids, low-vision software, and adaptive computer hardware.

It also listed software solutions such as JAWS (job access with speech), NVDA (non-visual desktop access), and magnification tools for employees with visual impairments, and text-to-speech applications for those with learning disabilities.

The departments may either reimburse the cost or directly purchase the required devices, with a ceiling of Rs 10 lakh every three years per employee.

Requests exceeding this limit, or replacements before three years, are to be referred to the DEPwD for approval.

To ensure proper implementation, the ministries have been asked to consult national institutes under the DEPwD such as the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities in Chennai, the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for Speech and Hearing Disabilities in Mumbai, and the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities in Dehradun for guidance based on specific needs.

Emphasising that there can be "no one-size-fits-all" approach, the directive said that good-quality assistive devices, when provided in consultation with the employees, can enable persons with disabilities to reach their full potential and contribute meaningfully to the government system. PTI UZM ARI