The developments that took place in the Nineties in the area of ICT have certainly enabled a section of persons with disabilities, to lead a more enriched life than ever before. Today, people with disabilities are carrying out electronic banking, online shopping, e-mailing etc. In the office setting via electronic document processing, visually impaired and blind employees have access to vital information equal in some cases to their sighted colleagues. Similarly, telecommunication services have enabled hearing impaired persons to communicate in their preferred linguistic mode. The speech recognition systems have afforded greater freedom of communication to those with severe arms restrictions.
Introduction of Information Technology not only revolutionized design and planning approach in building, town, automobile, and aeronautic design, but also the whole concept of town and transport underwent a sea change. The interfacing of ICT in disciplines like architecture and engineering has given birth to the cities and systems which we use today.
Audio traffic signals have been installed near institutes for the persons with disabilities to facilitate movement of visually challenged persons. Similarly speech has been added to the visual display in the lifts of some of the major Governmental buildings to announce floor position. Talking ATMs and ATMs with touch screen have also been installed at one or two places so that PWDs can use it with comfort. Delhi Metro has used latest technology to provide all round accessibility for PWDs. But much more remains to be done.
The ICT environment has generated new demands and opportunities for the society. ICT literacy and awareness of its potentials are some of the common ICT oriented new expectations. The world of work, education and even cultural and social interactions cannot move without the knowledge of ICT and ability to communicate with electronic and digital systems. The non-disabled persons to a large extent could co-op with the expectations of information society as a wide range of opportunities for learning and training are available.
PWDs have now started using computers for their daily living use and several Governmental as well as Non-Governmental Organisations are giving computer training to persons with disabilities whether it may be visual, hearing, spastic, autistic. Or others.
The Computer Training Unit of the National Association for the Blind is the perfect example of collaboration between a NGO with a Corporate where the infrastructure of the NGO is used to train visually impaired persons with the funding from corporate sector. Case Study of NAB-Delhi
Kartik Sawhney and Diwakar Sharma student of class 2 has a desktop on the classroom bench to take down their notes and do their regular work in the Delhi Public School (DPS) at East of Kailash-New Delhi. Both of them are very conversant in using computer and have also been selected from India to participate in the International Abilympics in the junior category of "Computer Speed and Accuracy" to be held in November, 2003.
Many projects have been taken by Government of India and also by private companies for developing aids and devices for persons with disabilities.
WEBEL has taken up the project to develop indigenously Braille embosser to cater small needs and to emboss regional languages.
IIT Chennai had also developed a local language editor with speech in it having option of 15 Indian languages along with English.
IIIT Hyderabad recently came out with software, which could read web pages written in Hindi or Telgu.
NAB Delhi is now working to develop a special e-text library where books of various topic such as literature, novels, text of universities and schools, material for competitive exams etc will be kept for PWDs. It would be first of this kind in India and will have more than 1500 titles to start with. The material kept will be in such a format that anyone can read the text with the help of a screen reader or can directly emboss the text in Braille.
They are also working on a screen reader named screen access for all SAFA which is an open source initiative to develop a screen reading software for the vision impaired persons to read and write in their language of choice. The software is an alternative to the already available commercial screen readers which are very expensive, proprietary and serve only to users of English and other Western European languages. This software will be multi lingual software targeting Indian and other Asian languages. Initially SAFA will work on windows family and the later versions of the software might as well be available on Linux, Unix, and other operating systems. The programming language used will be c++ while java will also be explored due to the advantage it offers regarding cross platform implementation.
Features
the web sites of Government of India are accessible apart from a few who use macromedia in their web sites which makes them inaccessible with a screen reader. National Informatics Centre (NIC) is the agency, which creates web sites for majority of Government Departments, and if they understand the necessity of accessibility in the web sites then major sites may become fully accessible. The web sites of Non-Governmental Organisations are also accessible to great extent and provide descriptive information. While those of Corporate are also accessible and if not are willing to do so if made aware of it. The major task is to make each and every designer and department aware about the accessibility and make necessary amendments in the law for accessibility.
PROLOGIXThe web site of prologix was inaccessible and after making them aware of it they tried to make it it accessible to some extent. It is a private company which has developed a text to speech (tts) for Hindi-most commonly used language in India.
The forum was created in December 2002 and is a self-help group of persons with visual impairment. The objective of this group is to follow-up on the ICT related recommendations adapted by the BIWAKO framework document for the extended decade of PWDs by the UNESCAP.
Budget 2003-2004 states that there will be a nominal custom duty of 5% on the goods used buy PWDs. On the other hand if an individual wants to import an item for his/her own use then he/she doesn't have to pay any custom duty on that product. An organization of/for disabled it imports goods for the rehabilitation and education for the PWDs then they also are exempted from custom duty.
The main objective would be
The effect of ICT in the lives of persons with disabilities (PWDs), so far, has been mixed-positive for those who are able to now use communications and information system independently and in their preferred medium and with flexibility of operations. However, the uneven development has increased the disparity between ICT haves and the have-nots. The accessible ICT products and services available to PWDs has, on the one hand, demonstrated the enormous potential to overcome barriers to equal participation but on the other, it has widened the digital divide as vast majority of the disabled can not access these. Rapid ICT, development has opened unanticipated avenues of employment, education and socialization for the PWDs. The voluntary initiatives of public education and dissemination of gained knowledge across the sectors have certainly enabled the disabled to benefit from ICT boom.
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