“Sugamya Pustakalaya: A step towards an Accessible Digital India”
(An online library for persons with visual disabilities) was
launched by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister for Law & Justice and Electronics
& Information Technology at a function organized by Department of
Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment here today.
Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister of Social Justice &
Empowerment presided over the function. Shri Prakash Javadekar, Minister for Human Resource
Development and Ministers of State for Social Justice & Empowerment Shri
Krishan Pal Gurjar and Shri Ramdas Athawale were the Guests of
Honour. Before the inaugural function, there was a panel discussion on the
subject of “Accessible Digital India”.
Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad said this is an era of
Information and Technology and both are powers. Through Digital India we are seeking
to bridge the Digital Divide between have’s and have not’s. We have linked
Divyangjans with the common service centres in our country. National
Informatics Centre (NIC) is in the process of making 100 Government websites Divyang
friendly of which 16 have already been made Divyang friendly. He asked NGOs and
citizens to use “My Gov” to provide valuable inputs on Government of India
schemes.
Shri
Thaawarchand Gehlot said his Ministry is dedicated to the Sugamaya Bharat
campaign and buildings in several Indian cities will be made accessible. Over 6
lakh Divyangjans have been provided equipment and 4000 camps have been
organized nationwide to facilitate and upgrade the lives of Digvaygjans and
downtrodden sections of society. Permission has been given to establish 18 new
Braille Printing Presses. The Divyang College in Trivandrum will also be
converted into Divyang University. A new world record was created when 1500
Divyangans were provided equipment in Varanasi.
Shri
Prakash Javadekar in his address said HRD Ministry will provide just assistance
to facilitate the Divyangjans in our
country. He said his first convocation address will be at the Divyang
University at Chitrakoot.
Shri Kishan Pal Gurjar said that Divyangjans don’t need the
sympathy of the people but deserve their love, affection and support. Through
this launch of “Sugamya Pustakalaya” they will be able to get all valuable
information. He also sought cooperation from publishers in this endeavour.
Shri Ramdas Athawale said that it is the prime responsibility of his Ministry is to
look after the interest and wellbeing of the Divyagjans and backwards sections
of our society. He hoped that this initiative will achieve its objectives.
Shri
Dipendra Manocha, Managing Trustee of Saksham Trust gave a brief introduction
of the E-library “Sugamya Pustakalaya” on
the occasion.
“Sugamaya Pustakalaya” is
an online platform that makes accessible content available to print-disabled
people. The library houses publications across diverse subjects and languages
and multiple accessible formats. It has been created by Department of
Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment in collaboration with member organizations of Daisy
Forum of India and powered by TCS Access. Books are available in Accessible
formats for people with visual impairment and other print disabilities. Over 2
lakhs books in diverse languages. Integrating libraries across India and the
Globe, including the largest international library, ‘Bookshare’.
In case of End User i.e.
person with Print Disability: The next time a person with Print
Disability needs to read a book, he can skip the laborious process of looking
for volunteers to read them to him or scan and edit them. A quick search on the
Sugamya Pustakalaya may land him with the book of his choice at the click of a button.
He will need to be a registered print-disabled member with one of the member
DFI organizations to download the book or procure it offline through their
member organization. He can access all the books in the library at a click of a
button. He can read the publications on any device of his choice- mobile
phones, tablets, computers, DAISY players or even in braille using refreshable braille
displays. He could also request for a braille copy through member organizations
that have Braille presses.
In case of a School/College/Library:
Universities, School Library, Public Libraries or any such institution can
become a member of DFI or subscribe to the online library to offer the entire
collection of the Sugamya Pustakalaya to their members or students with print disabilities.
Educational institutions can also contribute accessible format books produced
for their students so that students from other educational institutions can
access the same and avoid duplications of creation at multiple locations.
In case of a
Publisher/Government House/Textbook Production House: They can be
part of creating history by creating the largest accessible online library in a
developing country. Increase their reader base to include persons with print disabilities
by sharing accessible formats of their publications to be put up on Sugamya
Pustakalaya. The library already hosts publications such as Reader’s Digest and
India Today and seeks to have new partnerships with a large number of private
and government publishing house and publications. Textbooks production houses,
state text book boards (SCERTs/NCERT) can meet their obligations under the
Right to Education Act (2009) by providing their content to students with print
disabilities through this platform. Sugamya Pustakalya will provide protection
to books and limit distribution to only those who cannot read normal print.
In case of an NGO:
They can begin a library service for persons with print disabilities by joining
as a members and offer the complete content provided by the Sugamya Pustakalaya
to their members.
In case of a Corporate:
Their employees can volunteer for accessible content creation and help reach
out to millions of users with print disabilities. The IT industry can
contribute with technology development to fill gaps in authoring and reading of
digital content in all Indian languages.
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Sanjay Kumar/jk/Social
Justice/24.08.2016