-The Hindu The government has approved a Rs. 4,038 crore programme to tackle the Japanese encephalitis and acute encephalitis syndrome in 60 priority districts With thousands of young lives being lost and an equal number of children rendered disabled for life, the government has prepared a comprehensive strategy to tackle Japanese encephalitis (JE) and acute encephalitis syndrome (AES). The dreaded disease has already spread to 17 States affecting 171 districts. With the Cabinet...

-Outlook Out in our streets, disabled people feel the pain everyday The Gaping Holes     India yet to get a cohesive, standardised sign language     Barrier-free infrastructure yet to be implemented in public areas like bus stations, railway stations, schools, cinema halls     Lack of basic, inclusive civic facilities: no audio-enabled traffic signals, pavements with ramps, few disability-friendly toilets, negligible penalties     Poor functional entertainment accessibility, like no subtitling on local language TV channels     Reservation...

-The Times of India Union law minister Salman Khurshid on Sunday fiercely quarreled with reporters of a TV channel, disputing their claim that his NGO Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust had embezzled public funds meant for the disabled. The minister countered the allegation that his trust made fake claims of having organized camps for distribution of equipment among the differently abled. A spirited Khurshid, with wife Louise by his side, attributed motives to...

-The Times of India LUCKNOW: Despite denials of wrongdoing in a trust for disabled people that Union law minister Salman Khurshid and his wife operate, it now appears that there was a letter with the forged signature of a senior UP government official that allowed the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to release the second tranche of funds in March 2011 — Rs 68 lakh — to the Zakir...

-The Hindu The Supreme Court’s unyielding criticism of the government for not eradicating the practice of manual scavenging was the springboard for the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to introduce the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012 in the Lok Sabha on September 3. Welcomed as a panacea for the historically iniquitous, caste-ordained practice of manually handling human waste, the new Bill indicates renewed commitment...