Government Launches first of its kind Six- Month CBID Program on Rehabilitation of Divyangjan

Shri Gehlot added that due to the pandemic situation, the requirement of a first-hand counselor/guide for Divyangjan has become further relevant and there is a need to roll out this program as early as possible

Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Dr. Thaawarchand Gehlot virtually launched a 6- month Community Based Inclusive Development (CBID) Program on rehabilitation of Divyangjan today in the presence of Union Minister of State, SJ&E, Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar; Australian High Commissioner to India, Mr. Barry O’Farrell;  High Commissioner of India to Australia, Shri Manpreet Vohra; Secretary DEPwD, GoI, Ms. Anjali Bhawra; and Vice-Chancellor of Melbourne University Professor  Duncan Maskell. JS, DEPwD, Sh Prabodh Seth, and Dr. Nathan Gills of Melbourne University were also among those present at the launch event.

Addressing on the occasion, Dr. Thaawarchand Gehlot said that persons with disabilities have always been and would remain the priority of the Narendra Modi Government. The Central Government has enacted the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PWD) Act, 2016 which envisions a society inclusive of persons with disabilities. The Minister reiterated that PwDs is an important human resource and if appropriate facilities/opportunities are given, they can excel in any field be it education, sports performing/fine arts.

It is with this in mind that the course has been developed in collaboration with Melbourne University. This would enable our country to develop trained manpower for the rehabilitation and development of Divyangjan to ensure their empowerment and inclusiveness in the society, the Minister explained.

Shri Gehlot added that due to the pandemic situation, the requirement of a first-hand counselor/guide for Divyangjan has become further relevant and there is a need to roll out this program as early as possible.

Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar said that the motto of our Government is ‘Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas’, which implies ‘development for all and with all. This reflects the spirit of inclusiveness in our policies and programs. Thus Divyangjan continues to be at the forefront of our policies to ensure their inclusion and full participation in society. This program will be the first of its kind which will create trained manpower in identifying risk cases, apprising the parents/guardians about the nearest early intervention centers, and guiding them for availing Government benefits for Divyangjan.

Shri Gurhar added that our Government is open to sharing best practices with other countries and the MoU signed with the Government of Australia for cooperation in the disability sector is a step in this direction.

Secretary, DEPwD Ms. Anjali Bhawra welcomed the experts from Australia and India who have been instrumental in developing this pathbreaking program. At present there is a shortage of trained manpower to serve as a link between the PwDs, their parents and the community for Government Schemes and Programmes and CBID program will go a long way in generating trained human resources to carry out the important task, she said.

The Rehabilitation Council of India and the University of Melbourne have been working on this program for the last two years. The Department will involve all the States/UTs in the future expansion of this program, the Secretary explained.

Six booklets on course curriculum were also released on the occasion.

The program aims to create a pool of grass-root rehabilitation workers at community level who can work alongside ASHA and Anganwadi workers to handle cross disability issues and facilitate inclusion of persons with disabilities in the society. The program has been designed to provide competency based knowledge and skills among these workers to enhance their ability for successfully discharging their duties. These workers will be called ‘Divyang Mitra’ i.e. friends of persons with disabilities.

The Rehabilitation Council of India intends to roll out the course initially on a pilot basis for two batches in 7 National Institutes of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and 7-9 voluntary organizations having experience in Community Based Rehabilitation program. Initially, the program will be available in English, Hindi, and 7 regional languages, namely, Gujarati, Marathi, Odiya, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, and Garo. The classes for the first batch of about 600 students are expected to commence by August, this year. The mode of training for this course would be both offline/online taking into account, the prevailing COVID scenario.

This CBID course has been co-designed by the Rehabilitation Council of India and the University of Melbourne as a joint initiative under the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Government of Australia and the Government of India on 22nd November 2018 for cooperation in the disability sector. The content and curriculum of the course have been developed by an Expert Committee comprising experts drawn from India and Australia. The National Board of Examination in Rehabilitation under the Rehabilitation Council of India will conduct examinations and award certificates to pass-out candidates.