Industry & Economy
-
Social Welfare
`Disabled need more jobs, not concessions'
Our Bureau
New Delhi
,
Dec. 2
THE Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram on Thursday took up cudgels on behalf of the disabled, arguing for greater employment opportunities rather than concessions or subsidies to ameliorate their cause.
On the eve of the World Disabled Day, he presented awards to three corporates — JW Marriott Hotel, Kinetic Engineering and NTPC - for their initiative in creating gainful employment opportunities for the disabled.
"What the disabled expect is not concessions or subsidies but opportunities," he said at the function organised here by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) and Shell India.
"Those who are disabled are not children of a lesser god. We are obliged to help them," he said, adding that disabled people have excelled in various spheres of work, including civil services. Admitting that the Government has done little for the disabled, he asked individuals and corporates to raise funds for assisting the disabled.
The Finance Minister said he was alarmed to realise that the growing population of disabled in India has had very few employment opportunities. According to the census, there are about 21 million disabled persons in India. "This is a gross under-statement. A conservative estimate would be 60-70 million people, which is larger than the entire population of some of the European countries," he said.
Lauding NTPC for increasing the number of posts that are available to the disabled candidates, Mr Chidambaram said he would write to the Ministry of Personnel to make more jobs available to the disabled.
More Stories on :
Social Welfare
Article
E-Mail
::
Comment
::
Syndication
::
Printer Friendly Page
|
