In a massive boost to the ongoing drive by Centre towards the inclusion of the disadvantaged sections of the society, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launched the ‘Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan’ or “Accessible India Campaign” - formulated by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
The initiative has been launched to mark the occasion of the ‘International day of Persons with Disability’, which is celebrated worldwide on December 3. Jaitley also launched the mobile app and web portal (www.accessibleindia.gov.in) for the AIC campaign, that will facilitatethe process of creating a crowdsourcing platform to comprehensively obtain information about inaccessible places, processing information for approving proposals and channelising CSR resources for creating of accessible spaces.A short movie, produced by National Film Development Corporation of India, higlighting the concept of Accessibility was also unveiled by Arun Jaitley. Speaking on the occasion Jaitley also read out Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message on the ocassion.
In the message, Modi expressed his regret over not being able to attend the launch of the Abhiyan as he had to personally monitor the grave flood situation in Chennai. Saying that though he was physically not present for the event, his heart and mind was with the people who have gathered for the launch of the Abhyan. Modi urged all stakeholders both public and private, corporates, to make the best possible use of technology to make this campaign a huge success.
Minister for Social Justice Thaawarchand Gehlot, Ministers of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Krishan Pal Gurjar and Vijay Sampla were also present on the occasion.