Tag: braille

GST on Disability: The Opportunity Cost

Blogs

By Koshy Mathew

In July this year, India saw the advent of a new tax regime aimed at unifying the sprawling markets as disparate and diverse as the people of the country itself. Citizens responded with mixed emotions of welcome and disapproval.

While Goods and Services Tax (GST) is not new to the global markets, it took the Indian market by surprise. It is also ironic that GST which in concept is simpler to surmount is more confusing to the Indian market and society than the former multi-layered indirect tax regime. GST subsumes as many as 17 indirect taxes (Central and State) and around 22 types of Cess into one single tax. This is a revolutionary move in the history of Indian taxation.  Read more

Catching up

Our Impact

In 2010 when Madan (name changed) completed his 12th standard, unlike his classmates, he did not apply for higher studies as he lost his eyesight. Unaware of the plethora of avenues that are available to visually impaired students, he was confined to his home. In April he got to know of Eyeway and decided to get in touch. He shared with the counselor his desire to learn Braille. He was keen to find a way to get his life back on track, blindness had held him back for too long. Our counselors advised him to begin by getting a Disability Certificate made in order to avail the various public sector schemes and programmes for persons with disabilities. They also shared with him the contact details of Lucknow based NGO Jayanti Bhartam, that provides education and rehabilitation to adult persons with disabilities, and told him that they would be in a position to guide him and provide him with the necessary skills and knowledge for him to get his life back on track and be able to study and work in the future.

Hospital to Hospit-able: How hospitals can overcome inaccessibility

Blogs

By Anoushka Mathews

Most government hospitals in Delhi, despite being spaces for diagnosis and recovery, are teeming with lines, unending paper work, and tired patients. The wait is long for those who do not have an uncle or cousin working at the hospital. However, for those who are visually impaired, even basic access to hospital services and facilities is possible only through dependence or great strife.

Imagine being visually impaired and visiting the hospital alone. The obstacle course begins even before entering the hospital. The only way to locate the main gate is to rely on a helpful passerby. On arriving at the main entrance, again, the only way to proceed further is to depend on directions from a guard or a fellow patient. Many are not trained to provide such assistance, and may provide instructions that might not make much sense to a person who is blind or visually impaired. Read more