Secretary, D/o Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Shri Rajesh Aggarwal, inaugurated a new 'Pradhan Mantri Divyasha Kendra (PMDK)' of the Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO), at the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (NIEPVD), Dehradun. Shri Aggarwal also  inspected various units of PMDK, like Prosthetics and Orthotics Lab, Store Room, Audiology Room etc.

In his address on the occasion, the Secretary appreciated the various services run by the Institute and highlighted the importance of these services for the empowerment of Divyangjans. He informed that so far 65 such Divyasha Kendras have been established and the future target is to take it to 300.

Shri Aggarwal also inspected all the machines and equipment of the MBA (Manufacture of Braille Appliances) workshop. He directed to make every possible effort to improve them further and directed to sell some abandoned machines through MSTC Limited, as soon as possible. The new building of Training Centre for the Adult Blind (TCAB) and Deptt. of Special Education and Research (DSER) was also inspected and instructions were given to speed up the project.

On the occasion, electric tricycles were provided to Divyangjans in presence of the Secretary at the Divyasha Kendra. Shri Aggarwal talked to various beneficiaries and also motivated them to earn their livelihood with the help of these aids.

Thereafter, Shri Aggarwal visited the book promotion center of National Book Trust (NBT) and looked into the various programmes for Divyangjans. He appreciated the initiative of audio conversion of self-composed stories being prepared by the children of the institute's Model School. The Secretary directed to speed up the process of audio conversion of books using artificial intelligence.

During the event, Director (NIEPVD), Er. Manish Verma, gave a brief  description to the Secretary about the services being provided by the Institute. The Secretary also discussed the effectiveness of these services and gave suggestions to improve them further.

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VM

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