White canes will soon be passe. Now, visually impaired persons can depend on smart stick to guide them through hills and crowded roads. Fixed with sensors, it will alert the user about the lurking danger via vibrations and also inform about the size, shape and type of obstacles.

Developed by IIT-Delhi with the help of Delhi-based NGO Saksham, the first phase of week-long trials of smart cane for the hills involving six students, including three Class XI girls of local Portmore School, ended here on Friday.

The state government will provide a monthly scholarship of Rs 350 to the children of disabled persons, whose annual family income is below Rs 50,000. The post-matriculation scholarship will be given for 10 months in an academic year. But those already availing a state or central government scholarship are not eligible.

The University of Pune (UoP) is all set to improve accessibility for visually impaired students on its campus.

The department of education and extension, headed by prof Sanjeev Sonawane, is working on a project to install advanced sensors at various locations often accessed by students to help needy students navigate through the campus.

Department officials said the project, which took several months to develop, would take up to 3 months to implement.

With World Disability Day being observed Saturday, software major Micrsoft India introduced disabled-friendly tools for application in software of common use. It also announced special certification programmes for those with impairments.

"It is estimated that there are around 70 million people with disabilities in India. Ensuring that their needs are met with and that they have an equal opportunity is crucial to the process of inclusive growth in the country," Microsoft India Chairman Bhaskar Pramanik said.

Darwin Reader for Android

Darwin Reader app screenshot

Darwin Reader is the first accessible Android book reader designed specifically for blind, low vision, and print disabled users.  The app fully supports DAISY formatted audio and text books.

After winning five gold medals in as many races at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, Germany’s visually impaired biathlete and cross-country skier Verena Bentele has been named the Best Female Athlete for the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) Paralympic Sport Awards.

The award, proudly partnered by Allianz, the IPC’s international partner, was presented to Bentele during the Paralympic Awards Gala on 10 December in the Intercontinental Hotel ballroom in Beijing, China.

At least 15 children suffering from various disabilities narrated the problems faced by them in pursuing education in Delhi during a ‘jan sunvai' (people's hearing) organised by Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights and NGO Aarth Astha here recently. A number of parents and eminent people also spoke about the issue at large. The meeting lamented that “barriers for inclusive education exist at different levels and discrimination of children with disabilities is widespread among families, communities, education system and policies and programmes”.

“Saima is no more,” wrote Ammar Masood, husband of the visually-impaired activist for the blind people, on his Facebook page on Thursday.

Messages from across the globe poured in expressing condolence and sharing the pain with the bereaved family.

A large number of visually-impaired people, friends and admirers of Saima started turning up at her residence. Saima’s father Brig Niaz along with his father-in-law Anwar Masood, a famous Punjabi poet, was seen sharing their grief with the well-wishers.

The visually-challenged teachers in the state would soon grow out of the need for a helping hand to take them around in schools.
The 248 visually-impaired teachers are in the process of developing tactile maps, which provide them the layout of their school environment, enabling easy mobility.