Seeking financial security

26 year old Krishna (name changed) is totally blind since birth. Originally a resident of Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, Krishna moved to Nasik to pursue his education. He finished his schooling from a government blind school and enrolled in a regular college where he completed his graduation. Krishna used braille and audio recorded books to aid him in his studies. He also took the help of his sighted friends for reading and writing.

Krishna is married and his wife who is also blind is currently studying. For the past one year, he has been working as a financial advisor for SWS Financial Solutions Pvt. Ltd. But unsure of what the future has in store for both him and his wife, Krishna felt that a private job may not provide them with as much security as compared to a government job.  He thought working in a government bank would be a safer bet given the reservation and provisions available for candidates with blindness and low vision.

He contacted Eyeway to seek help in taking the IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection) exam. Our counselor provided him with all the necessary details including date of the exam and other application details. While filing his application, he hit a road block. He was unable to proceed with the online form because of an inaccessible ‘captcha’. He shared with the counselor how he had faced similar difficulty at several other occasions in his job. The Eyeway counselor then informed Krishna about ‘Webvisum’, a plug-in that enhances web accessibility and reads out the captcha to those who are visually impaired. Applying the solution provided, Krishan was able to submit his application for the exam.

While he works as a financial advisor to several sighted clients, Krishna was facing problems with his personal banking. Bank of Maharashtra refused to issue him a chequebook because he used thumb impression instead of signature. Our counselor apprised him of his rights and gave him the IBA circular which clarifies that blind people can use thumb print on chequebook in the presence of Bank officials. Following up the same with his Bank, Krishna managed to get a chequebook issued in his name. He had a similar query regarding mutual fund, whether his thumb impression would be legit to make an investment. The counselor again shared the relevant document and guidelines that will help him resolve the matter.