Ministry engaged in rehabilitating disabled: Meira Kumar

New Delhi, Oct 24 (UNI) Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Meira Kumar today said the Ministry was engaged in the challenging task of rehabilitation of the disabled.

Speaking at a meeting on 'Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation Of India (ALIMCO)', she said rehabilitation was a process aimed at enabling persons with disabilities to reach and maintain their optimal physical, sensory, intellectual, psychiatric or social functional levels.

The most important component of rehabilitation is physical rehabilitation which is providing complete independence in movement and self-care, she said.

Ms Kumar said the Ministry has implemented a Scheme of Assistance to disabled persons for purchase and fitting of aids and appliances also known as the ADIP Scheme.

Under this Scheme, grants are released for distribution of assistive aids and devices to eligible persons with disabilities through various implementing agencies. ''Through the Scheme, we provide assistive devices to about two lakh beneficiaries per year.

This year's allocation under the scheme is Rs 70 crore,'' she said.

ALIMCO was incorporated on November 30, 1972 as a Not For Profit Company with the main objective of manufacturing and supplying quality rehabilitation aids and appliances for persons with disabilities.

It is a schedule-C Public Sector Undertaking under the administrative control of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment with 100 per cent share holding by the government.

It carries out R and D activities to improve upon existing products as well as to develop customer-friendly products. Many products developed by ALIMCO are being manufactured to meet their demand.

ALIMCO has entered into MoU with National Institute for Orthopaedically Handicapped (NIOH), Kolkata, Harcourt Butler Technological Institute (HBTI), Kanpur, Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Allahabad and Dr Ambedhkar Institute of Technology for Handicapped (AITH), Kanpur for improvement of existing Aids and development of new rehabilitation aids.

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