Odisha minister distributes laptops to blind students pursuing higher education

Odisha minister Prafulla Samal Wednesday distributed 150 laptops among students with blindness who were pursuing higher education. Samal, the minister for Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD), said the newly created SSEPD Department is trying its best to bring about the comprehensive development of people with disabilities.

The laptops are equipped with JAWS (Job Access With Speech) software, which is a computer screen reader programme for Microsoft Windows.

The software allows blind and visually impaired users to read the screen either with a text-to-speech output or by a refreshable Braille display.

Samal said the laptops will aid the students immensely in their studies. From this year onwards, free laptops would be provided to 250 such beneficiaries and the fund size has been enhanced from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 2 crore a year, he said. Niten Chandra, secretary, SSEPD, appealed the corporates to spend at least 5 percent fund of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for the empowerment of people with disabilities.

He added that Odisha is now among six states in the country which has a separate department and independent officer for people with disabilities at block and district level.

Susanta Mohapatra, Director, SSEPD, said that in joint collaboration with the National Career Service Centre for Differently Abled (NCSCDA), Bhubaneswar, pre-recruitment coaching for such persons will be given for competitive examinations.