Exclusionary practices continues to be forced upon those who acquired disability due to leprosy

Dear Friends,

I am startled with the news Separate residential unit to be set up for lepers, disabled, hope you too would share my concern.

The systemic apartheid meted out to the disabled especially those who acquired disability due to leprosy in the past continues even today. Its well known fact that with MDT (a new technique to treat leprosy), Leprosy is fully curable but many of our laws continue to stigmatize them and discriminate against without any medical or social basis!

Matrimonial laws still allow divorce on the ground of Leprosy. Leprosy cured are not allowed in the public places, temples etc.

They are not allowed to even contest elections or hold municipal posts in Orisa. The candidate Mr.Dhirendra Pandua had challenged the decision incurring disqualification to hold the post of Councilor and chairperson in Balasore municipality on the ground of him being a leprosy patient. The appeal went to Supreme Court who opined that a leprosy patient cannot contest a civic poll or hold the post of a Councilor or Chairperson of a municipality.

The apex court's verdict in September 2008 upheld the decisions of the Election Tribunal and the Orissa High Court that had upheld the provisions of the Orissa Municipal Act, which disqualify a leprosy patient from holding such posts.

Holding that these provisions are not discriminatory and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution, a Bench comprising Justices C K Thakker and D K Jain said "We do not find any infirmity or illegality in the judgement warranting interference."

The Supreme Court, though agreed that now with aggressive medication a patient may fully be cured of the disease, yet they did not want to take role of legislature and pass any order indicating existence of discrimination. They could have held the law to be against Article 14 but choose to be silent. The wisdom of Judges thought it prudent to leave it to legislature to amend the laws in light of new technology and development in science. Sad part is that Orissa legislature has not risen up to the occassion and the discriminatory law continues!

I can congratulate Maharashtra legislature who have become the first state to repeal the Leper Act of 1898 and currently all Leprosy Affected Persons can participate in election process on an equal basis with others.

However, the news of planning an exclusionary village for the leprosy cured with some visually and physically disabled persons in Maharashtra is something astonishing.

Despite advancement in the medical science and complete control over Leprosy which was considered as "Maharog" once upon a time, there has been no efforts to raise awareness in the society in general and change the laws that openly discriminate against the leprosy cured.

The Govt. of India has put programmes in place for containing the spread of leprosy and results are showing with the increased awareness, however, the recent statement of the Union Health Minister Mr. Gulam Nabi Azad doesn't inspire confidence in citizens for it indicates Govt's failure to reach out to the patients with infected form of leprosy. The data indicates reducing figures but we are yet to reach zero tolerance stage.

But this from no angle justifies continuance of discriminatory laws which are reflections of the mindsets of the society surely repugnant to human rights philosophy and equality that Indian constitution grants to each citizen of India.

Even disability was considered as a bane, a result of karmas and thus the disabled were often shunned out of society with no rights and they were often left to survive on alms. Much water has passed since then. Social model of disability seems to be replacing the Medical model and we are moving towards a rights based model of society.

However, the leprosy cured disabled continues to be discriminated even today. Even within the disability sector, they have been marginalised due to lack of awareness. I was stuck with a question posed by one gentleman with disability!, "why lepers in disabled category?" Ignorance! I said to myself and then went over explaining him, prevails! But should we allow this to continue?

We need larger sensitization and support of medical community to spread the word to shackle the age-old beliefs about leprosy.

I feel leprosy cured have failed to reap the benefits of the Persons with Disabilities Act till date, despite bring included in the definition of Disability well in 1995 itself.

This needs to change and the disability sector needs to intervene to discourage this discrimination. Can we start from ourselves?


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Warm regards,

Subhash Chandra Vashishth
Advocate-Disability Rights
Mobile: +91 (11) 9811125521

3 Year Health Professional course to ensure Rural Health

Dear Friends,

The Country may have reached the 21st century with all advancements in science and technology but when it comes to rural India which still comprises 70% of India, people are dying because of common ailments which is left untreated due to lack of trained medical professionals or ends up being treated by a quack who have mushroomed in the absence of a trained medical & para-medical profesionals.

We were hearing an appeal from the PM and the President calling upon the doctors to compulsorily serve in rural India at least for 2 years in the begining of their practice. But in India such appeals do not seem to work with every one looking to generate mullas as early as possible. Many want to fly off to other developed countries and those who remain move to big cities/towns to develop their business.

The Govt. machinery is woefully pathetic when it comes to PHCs etc. Doctors posted there do not report there. The PIL filed by Advocate Prashant Bhushan has some answers for such a situation. He suggest reducing the duration of MBBS course from 5 years to 3 years or atleast create another course which makes a trained doctor eligible to practice in rural areas. His reason is simple. You don't need to be armed with high professional qualification to give basic health services in rural areas. China practices such a system to ensure right to health in far flung areas.

It can surely be done in India. If accepted by Min. of Health, the problem of quacks can be tackled for sure while the health will reach the door of the rural masses. This solution has caught the eye of the Delhi High Court Judges who have issued notices on the petition to the Govt. of India (Min. of Health) to file a reply and study feasibility of the same.

Looking forward to the response of the Govt and how this PIL culminates in to some pathbreaking initiative through court intervention!
regards

Subhash Chandra Vashishth, Advocate


For detailed news from source click here:


Delhi HC suggests a 3-year MBBS course
It asked the government to consider changing the MBBS curriculum so that basic health facilities can be reached to the rural population

Published on 11/19/2009 3:39:28 PM


New Delhi: Taking serious note of the fact that basic health facilities were not reaching the poor in rural areas, the Delhi High Court has asked the Health Ministry to consider whether the present course can be reduced from five years to three years.

A division bench comprising of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S Muralidhar asked the Health Ministry and the Medical Council of India (MCI) to consider changing the MBBS curriculum so that basic health facilities can be reached to the rural population.

"This is a very important issue. Almost 80 per cent of the rural population is devoid of the basic public health and this fact should be considered seriously," the court said while asking the Ministry to file its response by December 9, the next date of hearing, reports IANS.

Asking the government to amend the present educational standards the court said, "You have to change the over-five years' MBBS course so that doctors who get trained don't fly to other countries or stick to the metro cities in the wake of good earning. Educational system should be changed to three years so that every doctor can cater to rural population."

The court was hearing a public interest petition filed by a public health specialist, Meenakshi Gautham, who contended that a person who completes his MBBS can practice modern medicine as soon as the course is completed.

These graduates, the petition said, either rush to big cities or go abroad, and therefore a large majority of people are not able to get proper medical treatment, and are forced to depend either on untrained and uncertified rural medical practitioners, or on quacks.

"The irony is that 80 per cent of the common medical problems and ailments can be treated at the level of primary health care and do not require attention of a professional trained in highly academic, sophisticated, five-and a half-year long course like MBBS," advocate Prashant Bhushan said, and suggested the Ministry should follow the educational model adopted by China.

Want to become Judge? An ideal opportunity for VH law graduates in Delhi

Dear friends,

The Delhi High Court will hold Delhi Judicial Service Examination to fill at least 60 posts of Lower Judiciary in Delhi soon. I have been constantly calling upon the Visually Impaired Candidates to come forward in large number and appear for this august examination to make at least some beginning. Why I say so is because, there are five posts reserved for the Candidates with Low Vision/Blind and out of these only one has been advertised for first time, the remaining four vacancies are carried forward vacancies. You will be amazed to know that one carried forward vacancy has been advertised for fifth time, 01 for third time and 02 for second time!!

This indicates that either the information is not reaching out to the blind candidates or they are not keen on it or they are not geared up/prepared for it or there are no eligible VH candidates available!! I am sure the latter one is not true for the data of students passing out from Law Colleges indicates a good number of VH students passing out successfully. Then where they are going? I am writing it here so that I am able to circulate this information to the largest network possible and assist them in preparation for the same.

I have been told by many prospective candidates that they need some training and coaching for this which is not available in their near vicinity. The Govt. or the Delhi High Court has not made any such arrangement so far to make some special efforts to fill these vacancies by way of counselling, coaching and training. A few professional institutes that exists are not geared up to handle the needs of the VH. Non-availability of study material in alternate formats and modern technology/gadgets are other stumbling blocks.

I had written an article some time back on what all it takes for a blind to become a Judge or hold a position in Judiciary here on this blog and I received many positive comments that it was not only able to sensitize many outsiders but also insiders of the Disability Sector and particular the Visually Impaired brethren. And they promised that they would surely be looking forward to the next advertisement for the recruitment.

How to apply for Delhi Judicial Service Examination 2010?

(a) Qualifications and Age: , Indian Citizen, Law Graduate from recognised university, practicing as an advocate or qualified for enrolment as an Advocate under Advocates Act, Not more than 30 years of age as on 01 January 2011. (Age relaxation applicable for SC/ST/Ex-servicemen/ Disabled as per rules) (Though advertisement doesn't say about age relaxation to disabled but it can be presumed in light of DOPT memorandum dated 29.12.2005 regarding the same (Click for Hindi version of memo)

(b) Now if you qualify in the above criteria, go and fetch the Application Form and DJS Registration form both by paying Rs. 100 (for Disabled, SC/ST) and Rs. 600/ (for General Candidates) on any working day between 03.11.2009 - 30.11.2009 (10.30 AM to 01.00 PM and 02 PM to 4 PM) from Filing Counter of Delhi High Court. Those who can't go, can ask for it by post also (refer to detailed advertisement)

(c) Important Dates : Submit the filled application in person (By hand) at Filing Counter till 4 PM on 01.12.2009 or by Registered Post Ack Due so as to reach not later than 4 PM on 01.12.2009.

For further details refer to detailed advertisement

Hoping to see many Blind/ Low Vision candidates competing and getting appointed this time!

regards

Subhash Chandra Vashishth

Advocate, Disability Rights

09811125521

Another case of Misuse of benefits meant for Disabled

Dear friends,

Equalising opportunities provided by way of positive discrimination by the Govt. to its employees with disabilities can often be misused, by vested interests. Therefore proper mapping of people with disabilities is all the more important. This is height of carelessness of the BSA that 24 transfers were made on the basis of fake certificates without even verifying as to how suddenly so many teachers became disabled! It wouldn't have come to the notice had suddenly so many applications were made on the common ground of disability to stop their transfers.

Even for the employees with disabilities, the rules are very clear that they can be transferred close to their native places among various institutions. No one can claim to continue at single school through out.

We learnt about similar case in Bihar last year or so. This indicates for some tough mechanism of verifications and harsher punishments in case of misuse by the State. All these teachers should not only be prosecuted under the provisions of Indian Penal Code but also under the provisions of Persons with Disabilities Act-1995 and be suspended with immediate effect. The vigilance department should reach the root of this malaise as to who coordinated such mass practice. There must be someone within the department advising teachers to adopt this measure!

To sum up, need to have a database of PWDs district wise on the line of Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh is all the more important. Also organisations working for transparency, disability should use RTI and ensure social audit that such misuse is checked in the bud. A strict action in this case can send alarming signals to future criminals!

regards

SC Vashishth, Advocate-Disability Rights

09811125521

To read from Source Click here: Indian Express

‘Disability’ enables teachers to tweak transfers in Pratapgarh

08 October 2009

Physical disability, often regarded as a curse, is coming handy for hundreds of government teachers in Pratapgarh, who are using it as a pretext to seek transfers.

Of the 469 assistant teachers who received promotion this July, 130 have sought transfers, producing fake certificates of disabilities. Or like Girish Chandra, a teacher at Antpur primary school at Mandhata, they produce fake disability certificates to cancel transfers.

Chandra submitted his application to the office of Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA). Chandra is not handicapped, said the BSA office, which had ordered an inquiry after some teachers made a written representation to check the malpractice.

Another teacher, Indrasen Singh, got posting at his village Pure Chauhan from Rainia on this ground. He has even joined duty. Yet another teacher, Rama Shukla, sought transfer with a fake certificate. “The teachers had not produced any such certificate at the time of getting the government job,” said a teacher.

“They did not fill up the column of physical handicap. Suddenly, in contrast to the known 25 disabled teachers, 130 applications have been submitted in the office of the BSA seeking transfers.” These teachers have produced fake certificates because they want to stay near their villages, he added.

The BSA office woke up to the practice after approving 24 such transfers and the Basic Shikhsa Adhikary was charged with accepting bribes.

Denying the allegations, BSA Ashok Nath Tiwari said: “I have sent all such certificates to the Chief Medical Officer for verification. Now transfers will be done only after getting the verification. I will cancel the transfer done so far by me.” He added that legal action will be taken against teachers found guilty.

The CMO, Pratapgarh, Dr Madan Mohan, said he has not received any letter from the BSA, but if the BSA requested him, his office will do the verification. “A racket is being run at the office of BSA and CMO,” said Prabhakar Dwivedi, a teacher. “The CMO office issues fake certificates and the BSA office effects the transfers without verification. We will approach the district magistrate for an impartial inquiry,” he added.

On July 30, the government had promoted 496 assistant teachers in Pratapgarh district. As per government policy, transfer is mandatory with promotion. But despite accepting promotions, some teachers teaching at primary schools in their villages, were reluctant to join their new postings. A few wanted to get postings as per their wishes. But when the district administration mounted pressure on them to join their new postings, they submitted fake disability certificates and sought transfers.

The Right to Education Act 2009 set to be amended

Dear Friends,

There have been several voices against the RTE Bill which fail to die down- thanks to the ever vibrant disability sector. On 19th of September 2009, another Disability Rights Activists from across 15 Indian States assembled under the banner of Viklang Manch facilitated by Human Rights Law Network at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. Before that the Manch had convened a two Day workshop on the issue which were inaugurated by none less than Chairperson- National Trust, Chairman-Rehabilitation Council of India and the Deputy Chief Commissioner -Disabilities besides Mr. Collin Gonsalves, Advocate.

The activists were angry and the unrest has grown over a period of time because of failure of the bureaucracy in treating the disabled with dignity and respect besides Govt. of India's failure to implement a major enabling legislation called the Persons with Disabilities Act.

The activists handed over memorandum to the PMO. To visit various pictures of the agitation at Jantar Mantar click here.

The agitation was a final nail in the series of agitations earlier organised by AARTH-ASTHA , AADI, NCPEDP and other organisations in the sector. The very next day on 21st September, 2009 Mr. Sibal indicated that Govt. was seriously considering amending the RTE Act to include the concerns of the disability sector.

Now when the Govt. is seriously considering amendments in RTE Act, the Sector should reach out with one voice through a larger consultation so that no one is left out. The pursuit should be to address not only the Act but also suggest what ought to be there in the sub-rules of the Act so that the provisions that are included are implementable.

Here is a recent news which to me is no where indicative of its subject, though it spells out again the seriousness that the Ministry of Education is showing now.

regards

SC Vashishth

09811125521

Disabled children not to be in 'disadvantaged' class

5 Oct 2009, 0411 hrs IST, Urmi A Goswami, ET Bureau

Click here to read from Source

NEW DELHI: The Manmohan Singh government plans to amend the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 to broaden the ambit of “disadvantaged” children to include children with disabilities. It would like to introduce the amendments in the winter session of Parliament.

The ministry of human resource development (HRD) will be seeking Cabinet approval shortly for the changes. This move would allow differently-abled children from economically weaker and disadvantaged sections to take advantage of the 25% seats set aside in private unaided school under Clause 12 of the Act. This had been a key demand of disability activists when they met HRD minister Kapil Sibal. The ministry also plans to introduce changes in Clause 3 of the Act to extend the right to free and compulsory education to children suffering from disabilities as defined in the National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999.

This Act deals with severe mental retardation and goes beyond the scope of the Disabilities Act. At present, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act is applicable to differently-abled children covered by the Disabilities Act.

This move by the ministry of human resource development is in response to the protests by disability activists in August, just ahead of the legislation being taken up for discussion in the Lok Sabha. At the time, the ministry had suggested that it could amend the Act after due consultation with those who work and research on issues relating to the education of children suffering from severe mental disabilities.

The ministry had also considered a higher outlay for home-based education, which many children with severe disabilities require. This effort to draw in larger number of children with disability also comes on the back of data gathered by a survey conducted by the IMRB.

The survey found that 34.12% of children with disability were out of school. The national average for children in the age group of 6 to 13 years is 4.22%. This figure is lower than the situation in 2005 when IMRB found the percentage of children out of school at 38.13. The highest concentration of out of school children is among those with visual disabilities (46%) and multiple disabilities (58.57%).

Dear Friends,

Our archaic laws still exists while new ones keep coming but there is hardly an attempt to scrap or amend the old laws. This often leads to situations like this. In the instant case while a family wanted to adopt a girl child under the new child friendly legislation called Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2000 but they couldn't because the archaic law on adoption named Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act came in the way.

The family had to approach the court to get the matter settled but why can't such exercise be carried out while notifying the new law that no relevant existing law is in contradiction of the law, so that a process to amend /scrap the old law could be taken then and there. Well, in the instant case, the Hon'ble Supreme court finally held that the New law will override the old provisions of Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act.

Also it is all the more important to do this in view of the paradigm shift that we see in the status of SC/ST, gays, HIV patients, the women, the disabled, the elderly and those who were not in the mainstream till now, with the introduction of new laws, signing of new international treaties, landmark judgements from the Supreme Court of India etc.

In fact, a detailed exercise is needed by the Union Ministry of Law and also by the Law Ministries in various Indian States to ensure that no existing laws/rules/practices/norms etc are in contradiction the new socio-economic and legal order based on equal rights and non-discrimination.

regards

SC Vashishth, Advocate

To read from source click here

MUMBAI: Hindus who have always wanted to adopt a girl even though they already have a daughter can now do just that. The Hindu adoption law prohibits same gender adoptions but, in a landmark judgment this week, the Bombay High Court has thrown open the legal doors to allow Hindus adopt a child of the same gender as their existing one.

In the verdict, the HC allowed a recent petition by Mumbai-based actor couple (names withheld on request) to be legally declared as adoptive parents of a girl they had taken in as their ward over four years ago under the Juvenile Justice Act.

The couple had a two-year-old biological daughter of their own when they sought and were allowed by the court in 2005 to become guardians of a year-old destitute baby girl. Stating that courts must harmonise personal laws with secular legislation, Justice D Y Chandrachud held the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2000 — a secular law enabling rehabilitation of abandoned children through adoption — would prevail over the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (Hama), a personal law that has placed certain restrictions on adoption.

Justice Chandrachud took up the Pathaks’ issue seriously as it “involved the larger issue of encouraging adoption and giving an abandoned child a chance in life’’. He looked closely at adoption laws under their various avtars and at the Indian Constitution as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child which India had ratified in 1992 before ruling that “adoption is a facet of right to life and that freedom and dignity are the foremost values of governance in civil society and freedom and dignity of the young must count above all’’.

This was the first time the court was interpreting provisions of two conflicting legal provisions on adoption; it had a 54-year-old Hindu Adoption Act and the more progressive nine-year-old Juvenile Justice Act, which introduced adoption of abandoned children and gave it a wider platform. The Hindu law places stringent conditions and prohibits adoption of a child of the same gender where an adoptive father or mother already have a child living at that time.

For instance, if the adoption is of a daughter the adoptive parent must not have a Hindu daughter or a son’s daughter living at the time of adoption. Conditions are stricter while adopting a son and adoptive parents must not have a Hindu son, a grandson or even a great-grandson alive.

The Juvenile Justice Act, a countrywide beneficial social law, came in 2000 and introduced a ‘child-friendly’ approach towards adoption “in the interest of ultimate rehabilitation of a narrow sub-class of children who are orphaned, abandoned or surrendered’’.

The HC, after hearing advocate Vishal Kanade for Pathak, held: “Right to life includes rights of parents and of individuals, women and men, who wish to adopt to give meaning to their lives on the one hand and, on the other hand, is the right of abandoned children who are in need of special care and protection."

We need watch dogs and tab keepers to keep the disabilty movement vibrant

Dear Friends,

I appreciate such vigilant players in the disability sector. Such advocacy gives strength to the overall vibrancy of the Indian disability sector. We need to keep tab on various promises, laws and rules. Often, it is forgotten as new pressing issues overwhelm us. That is why the importance of such tab keepers.

If this fund is directed to the sector, we can have as many special schools, inclusive schools and accessibility around us besides vocational training and employment opportunities for Indians with disabilities. I know how many genuine organisations are not able to provide services due to resource crunch and delay in Govt. funding. The grants do not reach them even after the passage of the year for which they were required. The rampant corruption in providing support and grants. Each time, the authorities hide behind the excuses of their limited economic capacities when it comes to ensuring accessibility in infrastructure and providing support services.

The banks should be penalised for these lapses and made to pay interest at market rate for amassing the money for so long.

Also, we can't expect the CAG to be wise enough to know the needs and intricacies of the issues involved in the Disability Sector. Therefore, I would suggest that with CAG as its head, we could have membership from the disability sector to suggest and plan on how to spend the amount bring cheers in the lives of those experiencing disabilities and their families.

In addition to MSJE's funding, this money could be utilised for the special projects like vocational training, improving employement facilities, creating barrier free environment and more particularly towards the social security systems for those with no help from any corner. The constitution of such a board will also reduce the bureacratic hurdles that we often see in other departments especially in ministries like MSJE and the likes.

Congratulations Collin, once again!

Here is the news:
Banks pocketing funds meant for disabled
TNN 5 September 2009, 02:41 am IST

NEW DELHI: Banks and financial institutions have been pocketing an estimated Rs 724 crore annually by rounding up interest tax collections since 1993 despite a Supreme Court directive in 2004 that this money be used for creating a fund for implementation of the Disabilities Act to benefit disabled persons.

"Though a Trust headed by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) was set up, it appears that apart from starting a scholarship scheme for disabled students envisaging a maximum expenditure of Rs 1 crore per year from August 2008, nothing further seems to have been done," alleged a PIL in the Supreme Court on Friday.

Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves told a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan that the total sum due from the banks was now to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore and if it was given, implementation of the Disabilities Act would not require state funding at all. He showed the 2004 judgment of the apex court on this issue. This made the Bench issue notice to the Centre. In 2004, the SC had directed: "Despite the progressive stance of the court and the initiatives taken by the government, the implementation of the Disabilities Act is far from being satisfactory. The disabled are victims of discrimination in spite of beneficial provisions of the Act."

"We are therefore of the opinion that in the larger interest a fund for the aforementioned purpose be created with the amount at the hands of the Union of India and the appellants and other concerned banks, which may be managed by the CAG," it had said. "We would request the CAG to effect recoveries of all the excess amount realised by the Union of India by way of interest tax and interest by the banks and other financial institutions and create the corpus of such fund therefrom.

The appellants and other concerned banks are also hereby directed to contribute to the extent of Rs 50 lakh each in the said fund," the SC had said in its 2004 judgment. Gonsalves said as against Rs 5,000-10,000 crore which ought to have been collected, the amount collected is approximately Rs 150 crore of which Rs 1 crore has been earmarked for a scholarship scheme for disabled students.

Click here to read from the Source: The Times of India

Harmonizing Disability Act with UNCRPD

'Disability Act should conform to UN model'
Ashish Sinha
New Delhi, September 8, 2009

Click here to read from source: India Today

On a day Taare Zameen Par won the national award for being the 'best family welfare entertainment film', Prime Minister Manmohan Singh authenticated the need for an attitudinal shift towards persons with disabilities.At a conference of state welfare ministers, Singh said India lagged in adopting the correct - human rights - approach on the subject. He said the Persons with Disabilities (PWD) Act, 1995 would be "comprehensively" amended to conform to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), enforced in May 2008. India is a UNCRPD signatory.

"I found in each one of them (persons with disabilities) a determination to live productive lives and make their individual contributions to society. We should give them every possible opportunity to do so. They need equal opportunities as equal citizens with special needs," he said.The UN convention redefines the old approach of viewing persons with disabilities as "objects" of charity, medical treatment and social protection.

The PWD Act, to a large extent, suffers from the same shortcoming with the state becoming the 'provider' - sometimes the 'facilitator' - for persons with disabilities. Experts said other legislations on the subject also suffer from the old mindset and rather than "comprehensive amendments", a new set of laws was necessary.The UN convention sees people with disabilities as "subjects" with rights, capable of claiming those rights and making decisions for their lives based on their free and informed consent as well as being active members of society.

"The PWD Act lists seven disabilities - blindness, low vision, leprosy- cured, hearing impairment, locomotor disability, mental retardation and mental illness. The UN convention doesn't restrict the definition. It talks of higher support need as a matter of right," said Poonam Natarajan, chairperson of the National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities.

"A person is not disabled; it is the environment that makes him so. Their legal capacity must be redefined.They should have full control over decision-making and choices," she said. The Prime Minister described persons with disabilities as those having "evolving capacities". After enforcement of the UN convention, the focus shifted to providing equal opportunities to persons with disabilities so that their potential could be harnessed.

"The medico-charity model needs to be dumped. Disability, simply, is diversity. It means the right to live with dignity and equal opportunities. The mindset of the administrative machinery, however, is no different from most of society where stigma is associated with disability," said a senior IAS officer working in the sector.

Last year, the government had announced an incentive scheme to promote employment of persons with disabilities in the private sector. The Prime Minister pointed out the scheme hadn't made much headway. " This may partly have been because of the economic slowdown. But as our economy is now emerging from its slowdown phase, I urge the corporate sector to respond handsomely in the implementation of the scheme," he said.
Courtesy: Mail Today

Are we preparing CAs or White Collar Criminals in the name of CA education from ICAI?

Dear Friends,

The Satyam scam, remained in news for a pretty long time. Govt. of India immediately swung in to action and fingers were pointed out at Auditors and they were to face legal action. A board was constituted to ensure that the organisation doesn't go bankrupt as it would have given a jolt to the Indian Companies abroad where lot of money was invested in these and similar organisations. So positive news followed, good returns were shown and every thing has been brought to order. Story forgotten, No lessons learnt by Govt. of India!

But I think the CAs and the companies must have learnt some lessons so that they become more careful in future and devise more foolproof ways that they never get caught! If still they fail, we might have another such scandal soon sometimes later!

This is precisely because our government believes in adhoc arrangements and firefighting and do not want to get in to the correction mode. Now whether it is because, it serves the purposes of those in Govt. or those vested interest who are an inherent part of government through their affiliation to the powers those be, But the fact is that no efforts have been made by any authority to get deep in to this malady of "Forging Accounts".

“FINANCE” is the back-bone of economy of this world. Also, “FINANCE” is intricate for most people and very few persons can understand it, what to think of controlling it.“FINANCE” is a subject which affects each one of us, in fact every sector, section and people of this great country.
So, A Student Entering into CA Curriculum also dreams of bringing awareness about “FINANCE” and it’s “Management and Control” among people of India, among the corporate in which he dreams to get employed and thereby contributing to the progress of India. BUT the reality is perhaps not this!

During my recent advocacy work, I came across a student of CA(Final) Mr. Chirag Sawant who was trying to expose this malady and I was indeed amazed as to how deep rooted this issue was. Perhaps it is the only professional course that has no full time classes and yet the whole financial sector is managed by such professionals. In the name of training, the CA(under training) are attached to CA Firms who treat the students like bonded labour for the time they are under them. Slavery, drudgery and what not follows!

On my further inquiries and research, I realised, most CA students had similar story to tell and they suffered in silence! And what they learnt in these firms is not how to make and keep financial records but how to serve the interest of their masters/employers by fudging the accounts books, making wrong entries and records to show something that doesn't exists - with the sole purpose to benefit those for whom they work- of course a criminal act.

Ordinarily any employee would do that for his master and to save his job. But when it comes to Professionals in the area of finance, the gravity of such actions /inactions become very serious!

Professionals are governed by Ethics, but here it seems they are trained to be unethical right in their formative years.

On my further inquiry, I learnt form the CA students that typically, as soon as any student is enrolled into Article-ship under any practicing CA i.e. the member of The ICAI, the student is sent for auditing the books to the place of clients of that CA. Here, he learns to check arithmetical errors and vouching the books. Gradually he is taught by the member of The ICAI to guide their clients to make entries in the proper Accounting Head in their books.

This is where, the process of criminal education starts!. As the time passes, he is trained to make Fake Balance Sheets, Fake Vouchers, Fake Entries Etc. many time against his wish and will - just for the sake of his education. At the end of 5 Long Years of Article-ship (including Extended Period Leave by the student), the good and innocent brain is washed completely and A Sophisticated White Collar Criminal is Produced under the name of Education !

This is how we are leading to scams like Satyam and I hope all of you will agree that there are many more Satyams existing but have not been unearthed! If Government of India is really serious about this malady, this has to be nipped in the bud. Else any amount of rules, regulations and laws will not work. The system of education of ICAI needs to be investigated, regulated, and supervised as the first step and how urgent it is can be gauged by the impact that Satyam scam brought on Indian Economy.

And ICAI on its part should check its own system of education rather than forming committees one after the other to prepare reports on the conduct of S Gopalakrishnan and Talluri Srinivas - the Auditors of Price Waterhouse. ICAI has to address issues of failure of adherence to accounting practices, corporate governance, role of independent directors etc right in their training modules and the unethical way the CAs are being trained.

regards

SC Vashishth, Advocate

PS: I am thankful to Mr. Chirag Sawant and many other CA students who shared their personal experiences, plight and brought this malady to my information.

ICAI to dig deeper in to Satyam, Buysiness Standard, 29 Aug 09

Click here to read from source

BS Reporter / Hyderabad August 30, 2009, 0:31 IST

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the regulatory body for chartered accountants in the country, is now making a second and final report on the role of the auditors in the massive accounting fraud at Satyam Computer Services, now called Mahindra Satyam.

This is the second investigation by ICAI. It had submitted the first report along with its recommendations to the ministry of corporate affairs last month. The second report is expected to go deeper into the matter and look at all new facts that may have come up.

Speaking to the media here on Saturday, ICAI President Uttam Prakash Agarwal said that a high-powered disciplinary committee will shortly visit Hyderabad to study issues related to failure of adherence to accounting practices, corporate governance, role of independent directors and other stakeholders in the Satyam case.

He declined a give a deadline within which the investigation will be completed but indicated it could be February next year when his term as the president will end. The report from the committee will once again be submitted to the ministry for further action against the auditors.

The ICAI president declined to say what kind of action it will recommend to the chartered accountants who audited the Satyam accounts if proven guilty. The Satyam auditors were S Gopalakrishnan and Talluri Srinivas of Price Waterhouse.

Agarwal said that Gopalakrishnan was stripped of all non-standing committee posts two weeks ago. However, he will continue to serve as a member as it was not in the jurisdiction of the ICAI president to remove members from their posts, he added.

ICAI, in the wake of the Satyam fraud, had asked all its members to look for external evidence before certifying the accounting statements to ensure that similar incidents do not recur.

 

Another State-level workshop on Disability Evaluation and Certification

Dear Friends,

The Government seem to be taking this exercise in all the corners of India to see that Disability Evaluation and Certification is done as per set norms. However, the process is still tedious for many and as per estimates presented by Union Minister for State of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India, only 22% persons with disabilities counted in 2001 census have been given the Disability Certificates. One could easily imagine and about the status of remaining 78% when all Govt. schemes, benefits are only given to those who have a valid Disability Certificate!

In this light, the whole process of certification at times seems unending in a gigantic country like India, unless the Government consciously decides to make an earnest effort to issue Smart Card based multi-purpose Disability Certificates to all so that multi-certificates for various reasons could be avoided. I remember when on 25 September 2007, a National Consultation Meeting to simplify the procedure of Issuing Disability Certificate was organised by Svayam in association with Aarth-Astha at New Delhi which had major recommendation that I feel are still to be implemented!

The need of the hour is to take this issue as a national challenge to map all citizens and children with Disabilities and issue them this crucial document within a time bound programme.
regards

Subhash Chandra Vashishth


Click on link below to read from source:
Doctors urged to follow norms while issuing disability certificates

Health official says doctors will have to follow uniform guidelines specified by the Central government to evaluate and certify the cause of disability.

Doctors will have to follow uniform guidelines specified by the Central government to evaluate and certify the cause of disability, said Principal Secretary, Health, V.K.Subburaj.

Addressing medical professionals, who are also members of the various Medical Boards in the district, Mr. Subburaj said doctors have to take the task of issuing disability certificates seriously. Apart from responsibility and commitment, they also had to have a rounded picture of multiple disabilities while issuing the certificates.

He was speaking at the inaugural of a State-level workshop on Disability Evaluation and Certification organised here by the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD).

NIEMPD Director Neeradha Chandramohan said currently certification was being done only for uni-disability or a single disability. The training programme was organised to orient doctors on multiple disability certification. A disability of 40 per cent or more was caused by blindness, low vision, hearing impairment, mental retardation, mental illness, locomotor disability, leprosy (cured), Cerebral Palsy and Autism. Multiple disabilities indicate a condition in which the disability is caused by two or more of the above causes, she added.

The objective of the workshop was not only to disseminate information to doctors regarding the guidelines, but also to clarify their doubts regarding the current evaluation process. The issue of simplifying the process was also taken up at the meeting, as the medical boards met only once a week to give certificates. It was mentioned that this was insufficient to cover a substantial portion of the disabled population.

The recommendations from the meeting would be sent to the Government of India through the State government, Dr. Chandramohan added. The workshop was conducted by the NIEPMD with the National Institute for the Orthopaedically Handicapped, Kolkata, and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.