Hyderabad: The UN since 1992 has been promoting International day of persons with disabilities which aims to promote understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for dignity, rights and well-being of the disabled.
Many NGOs also have been working to spread awareness on International day of disabilities to promote rights of
disabled.
In this Context, the Telangana Government announced that it will form guidelines to include acid-burn victims and autism and 14 other categories under the disabled category.
Previously only seven categories blindness, low vision, locomotive disability, hearing impairment, mental retardation, mental illness and leprosy were covered under disabled welfare. Now with the announcement the list is expanded to include other disabled people.
The benefits that disabled people will avail include pre and post-matric scholarships, economic rehabilitation scheme, marriage incentive schemes and pensions.
What is more noticeable is that, unlike other state governments which consider a person for the Person with disability (PwDs) pension only if he/she has more than 80% disability, the Telangana government has been giving pensions to all disabled people irrespective of their extent of the disability.