National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped centre to be set up soon in Nellore

Mr Gehlot and Union minister for urban development M. Venkaiah Naidu have distributed aids and assistive devices worth Rs 100.33 lakh to 1,090 specially and differently-abled people at Swarna Bharat Trust, on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Venkaiah Naidu said that the initiative speaks volumes about the efforts being made by the ministry of social justice & empowerment in distribution of free aids and appliances thereby enabling them to live a life of dignity and honour.

One of the highlights of the above camps being held all across the country is that 104 persons with hearing impairment have been provided with Cochlear Implants. Each Cochlear Implant costs about Rs 6 lakh which has been given free by the Ministry, Mr Naidu said.

He thanked Mr Gehlot for deciding to set up the Regional Centre of National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped here in Nellore. The lands have already been identified and the proposals are under process. This facility will be a great boon for the persons with intellectual disability in this region and will enable them to avail the professional services without travelling to National Institute for Mentally Handicapped (NIMH), located in Secunderabad.

According to Mr Gehlot 2.5 lakh Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) have been targeted under “National Action Plan” to impart vocational training leading to job placements by 2022. National Handicapped Finance & Development Corporation has been providing support for vocational training and employment opportunities for the PwDs. A web portal to facilitate employment has been developed by NHFDC.

This will aggregate various jobs availability for PwDs in government/PSUs and private sector and facilitate placement and employment of unemployed skilled and semi-skilled PwDs.