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The Union Budget 2014-15 has a humane touch to it, since it has included the disabled. Finance minister Arun Jaitley announced various schemes for disabled people, especially stating that 15 new Braille presses will be set up in the country for the visually impaired and the blind to benefit from its services. Apart from that the 10 existing ones will also be revived, he said while presenting the budget for 2014-15.
What is Braille?
Braille is a tactile writing system which is used by the blind and the visually impaired. With this system a visually impaired or blind person can write on embossed paper. The writing system comprises of characters that look like small rectangular blocks and are called cells. These cells contain tiny palpable bumps which are known as raised dots. The number and arrangement of these dots distinguish one character from another. Though with the rise of screen-reader software, braille usage has declined. However, Braille education remains important for developing reading skills among blind and visually impaired children, and Braille literacy correlates with higher employment rates among the visually impaired.
What the Disabled Rights Group wanted from the finance minister?
Before the budget the Disabled Rights Group (DRG), Delhi, had urged finance minister Arun Jaitley to increase the income tax slab for disabled people and for those who have dependents with disability. Because according to them the cost of living with disability increases considerably with impending medical expenditure and rehabilitation. They also urged to look at the section with more attention as the income tax rebate for people with disabilities happened more than 10 years ago, in 2003, when the deduction was increased from Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 for persons with disabilities and those with dependents who were disabeled, and an enhanced deduction of Rs 75,000 was introduced in case of people with severe disability. The deduction in case of people with severe disability was increased to Rs 1,00,000 in 2009.
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