Govt launches Sugamaya Pustakalaya for disabled

The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, on Wednesday launched ‘Sugamya Pustakalaya’ - an online library for persons with print disabilities as the next chapter towards fulfilling the government’s Accessible India campaign centered around achieving ‘universal accessibility’.

 The online library created in collaboration with National Institute of Visually Handicapped (NIVH), member organisations of Daisy Forum of India (DFI), Bookshare & powered by TCS Access was inaugurated by Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, in the presence of Union Social Justice Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar. Gehlot’s junior counterparts Ramdas Athawale and Krishan Pal Gurjar were also present on the occasion.

On the occasion, Prasad said, “The launch of this e-library was as step towards realisation of the Digital India campaign and an example of public service through innovative use of information technology.”

Invoking Prime Minister Narendra Moid’s mantra of IT + IT= IT (Information Technology + India’s Talent = India’s Tomorrow), Prasad said that his ministry has already made 400 websites out of a total of 1,800 websites are accessible.