Why in News?

• For the overall empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangajan), a “Regional Conference on Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS”) is being organized by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India at Kolkata.

Highlights:

• It will cover 13 States of Eastern & North Eastern region namely West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim & Tripura.
• The stakeholders i.e. the NGOs receiving grant under DDRS, State Government Officers & District level officers will be participating.
• The objectives of the Conference are to disseminate the provisions of the revised scheme and to sensitize various stakeholders about it.
• This conference also provides a unique opportunity for interactions amongst all stakeholders.
• The conference would ensure exchange of cross-sectoral views on the aspects of the efficacy of the scheme as well as the scope of improvements in it.

Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme:

Objective:

• To create an enabling environment to ensure equal opportunities, equity, social justice and empowerment of persons with disabilities.
• To encourage voluntary action for ensuring effective implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

Approach:

• The approach of this Scheme is to provide financial assistance to voluntary organizations to make available the whole range of services necessary for rehabilitation of persons with disabilities including early intervention, development of daily living skills, education, skill-development oriented towards employability, training and awareness generation. With a view to inclusion of persons with disabilities in the mainstream of society and actualizing their potential, the thrust would be on education and training programmes.