Visakhapatnam: The Centre has initiated various steps to improve the condition of differently-abled people in the country, Union Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot said here on Saturday.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed for the welfare of the physically and mentally-challenged people in the country. The government has provided necessary budget for the ministry to protect the interests of the differently-abled persons," the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment told reporters here.
"The Centre has allocated Rs 6,500 crore for the Social Justice Department and Rs 560 crore for the Department of Disability Affairs under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment," he said.
The ministry has decided to set up five sports complexes for the differently-abled people in five zones of the country- one each in East, West, South, North and Central, Gehlot said.
The department has also decided to provide lifts and ramps in government offices and hospitals for the benefit of the differently-abled, he said.
"Rehabilitation and training centres will be established in every district for them," he said.
The Ministry would provide Rs 6 lakh for the cochlear implants, which are surgically implanted electronic devices that provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf, for children below nine years.
"Recently, the ministry financed for three children for the cochlear implant in Mumbai. The ministry will conduct camps to distribute motorised tricycles to provide mobility to people with over 80 per cent disability."
