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Indian Express
19-07-2025
- Health
- Indian Express
Ahead of MBBS counselling, NMC releases interim guidelines for students with disabilities
The National Medical Commission (NMC) has released interim guidelines for the admission of students with disability, focussing on 'functional competency' instead of their disability percentage. The interim guidelines, meant only for the 2025-26 batch of MBBS students, were released by the apex medical education regulator just ahead of the counselling process set to begin on Monday. The new set of guidelines adds one step in the process for the students with disability — they will now have to submit a self-certified affidavit on the activities they can and cannot perform. This is in addition to the government's Unique Disability ID that mentions the extent of a student's disability and undergoing a certification by one of the 16 designated medical boards in the country. (The government was earlier asked by the courts to increase the number of these medical boards to ensure that students with disabilities do not have to travel far, sometimes out of their states, to get the certificate.) 'The previously mandated arithmetic threshold shall no longer be applicable. Instead, emphasis will be placed on assessing a candidate's functional ability to meet the academic and clinical demands of the MBBS course,' the document said. For this newly added process, the students with disability will have to submit two self-declaration certificates — one which states the type of disability the student has and whether they can communicate clearly, hear in quiet and noisy environments, write and hold instruments with their dominant hand, comprehend medical terminologies and maintain social interaction, and whether they can perform all tasks with the help of low vision aid and their vision improves to qualify for less than 40% disability with it. The second affidavit is disability specific and asks the students to answer a bunch of questions. For people with hearing impairment, the questions include whether they can communicate effectively with a hearing aid or cochlear implant, engage in a conversation in quiet and noisy environments, understand and respond to verbal instructions, and have conversations on the phone. For those with disability in their hand, the students are asked whether they can lift objects over their head and place it back, whether they can touch the tip of the nose with the tip of the hand, whether they can eat by themselves, groom and comb by themselves, put on their own clothes, button-unbutton or zip-unzip, clean themselves after going to the toilet, drink water holding a glass, and hold a pen or pencil and write. For disability of the legs, students are asked whether they can bear weight and stand on both their legs, bear weight and stand on the affected leg, walk on plain surfaces, sit on a chair by themselves, climb up or go down the stairs on their own, and turn to their left and right. For students with mental illnesses, speech disorders, or learning disorders, the questionnaire asks whether they can communicate clearly and empathetically with people, listen and respond to speech in quiet and noisy environments, follow instructions and comprehend required medical terminologies, understand and respond to verbal instructions. For visual impairment, students have to answer whether their vision can be corrected with an aid to less than 40%, the field of vision is more than 40 degrees with the aid, and the aid is hands-free and suitable for daily use. The document says: 'If the candidate while self-declaring the essential competencies mentions one or more competencies in negative or is not able to demonstrate one or more of the listed essential competencies, the board shall see if he/she is able to compensate such deficits, by other alternative functionalities; and may take a holistic view regarding his capability to pursue MBBS course.' 'Bureaucratic arrogance' Dr Satendra Singh from the Doctors With Disabilities, who himself had polio and uses crutches to aid his affected leg, criticised the NMC guidelines. 'These guidelines essentially imply that a wheelchair-bound person can never become a doctor. How is climbing up a staircase a necessity for a doctor? How does it matter if a person drinks their water using a straw instead of picking up the tumbler? Instead, shouldn't we be ensuring that hospitals have elevators to accommodate people with disabilities?' Dr Singh asked. 'If we take the example of the UK, the medical colleges are urged to work with students with disabilities and ensure that reasonable accommodations are made so that they can study and thrive,' he pointed out. These new guidelines have been under development for some time. In fact, a draft developed in 2023 was never finalised after it came under a lot of criticism for including some extremely restrictive guidelines such as not allowing wheelchair-bound persons or those using two crutches to study medicine. It also had some progressive outlook such as suggesting that anyone who can complete all course requirements should be allowed to study medicine despite any mental illness. 'Recycling the same committee members whose previous ableist policies were struck down by the apex court reeks of bureaucratic arrogance. Worse, it reflects an entrenched unwillingness to engage with the persons with disabilities through a rights-based, inclusive lens,' says Dr Singh.
The Hindu
16-07-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Over 21,000 people with disabilities in Coimbatore receive welfare assistance worth ₹8.48 crore
Over 21,000 people with disabilities in Coimbatore have benefited from a range of welfare measures—from mobility aids to mobile phones—under schemes rolled out over the past four years, with the total assistance crossing ₹8 crore, according to the district administration. A total of 21,963 people received support worth ₹8.48 crore through schemes implemented by the Department for the Welfare of the Differently Abled. Assistive devices such as walkers, wheelchairs, petrol scooters with side wheels, motorised sewing machines, walking sticks, hearing aids, braille watches, and braille readers were distributed. National identity cards were issued to 6,764 persons, and Unique Disability ID (UDID) cards to 12,559. Under the self-employment loan subsidy scheme, ₹30.08 lakh was disbursed to 126 beneficiaries. Marriage assistance totalling ₹30.50 lakh was extended to 74 persons. Nine individuals received ₹4.5 lakh to establish milk product sales centres under Aavin. Battery-operated wheelchairs worth ₹61.62 lakh were distributed to 52 persons, while modified scooters worth ₹5.42 crore were provided to 533 beneficiaries. Mobile phones worth ₹1.10 crore were given to 684 persons, and assistive devices worth ₹39.65 lakh to 1,162 individuals. The Department for the Welfare of the Differently Abled has also invited applications for educational assistance for the 2025–26 academic year. Students with disabilities from Class I to higher education, including diploma, ITI, postgraduate, and research programmes, are eligible. A separate reader assistance grant is available for students with visual impairments in Class IX and above. Applications must be submitted online through e-Sevai centres by July 20, 2025, with relevant documents including disability and medical certificates, Aadhaar, UDID card, ration card, mark sheet, bonafide certificate, and a copy of the bank passbook. Applications for reader assistance must be submitted directly to the District Welfare Office.
India Today
17-06-2025
- India Today
Protests in Imphal after mentally-challenged man killed over theft claims
Widespread protests erupted in Manipur's Imphal West district after police confirmed the brutal killing of Chesam Abdul Kadir, a 34-year-old man with mental disabilities who had gone missing last week. His decomposed body was exhumed from a riverbank on Tuesday, triggering public outrage and demands for had been missing since June 11 and was reportedly assaulted on suspicion of theft before being handed over to members of Arambai Tenggol, a Meitei family strongly denied the theft allegation, stating that Kadir was intellectually challenged and registered with both the Government of India's Unique Disability ID (UDID) and the Manipur Social Welfare Department, which had certified him as 65% mentally disabled. "He barely spoke to anyone except our parents. He couldn't even speak clearly," said Mohd Farooq Chesam, the deceased's cousin. "On the night of June 10, he left home. CCTV footage later showed him crossing Paobitek Mayai Leikai late that night. We later learned he was assaulted about 3 km away and handed over to Arambai Tenggol Unit-23. That man was Abdul Kadir."A missing person report was filed at Wangoi Police Station on June 11. The family was informed of his death only on June 17, when police notified them about a body buried near the Nambul River. The body was exhumed in the presence of an executive magistrate, forensic experts, and family want justice. How can a mentally disabled man accused of theft be killed and buried like this?' Farooq the discovery, a Joint Action Committee (JAC) was formed over the matter. JAC members and local residents held meetings and resolved not to accept the body until all accused are arrested. They announced that protests would continue until justice is have confirmed the arrest of nine individuals so far in connection with the case, including several members of Arambai Tenggol. Authorities said a criminal investigation is ongoing and promised strict legal action against those enforcement officials have urged the public to avoid spreading unverified information and to maintain peace as the investigation Watch
Hindustan Times
17-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Person with disability found dead in Manipur; Arambai Tengol members held
A 29-year-old person with a disability was found dead in Imphal West on Tuesday, days after the members of the Meitei group Arambai Tengol allegedly abducted him, sparking fresh tensions in the ethnic violence-hit Manipur. Residents took to the streets demanding action against Chesam Abdul Kadir's killers. Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters, who retaliated by throwing stones and using slingshots. Police said Kadir went missing on June 10. Nine people, including six Arambai Tengol members, were arrested in the case and remanded in police custody until June 28. Police also seized five vehicles. A police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the arrested accused admitted that Kadir died while they 'questioned him' over an alleged theft attempt. 'They also confessed to burying his body near a riverbank.' Yunus Khan of the Disabled Development Association of Manipur said Kadir was assaulted and killed mercilessly. 'He had a Unique Disability ID issued by the government and had a 65% disability. Disabled individuals are often discriminated against and falsely accused, which must be stopped.' The murder came to light amid a series of arrests of Arambai Tenggol members as part of an ongoing crackdown in Manipur. On June 12 and 13, two Arambai Tenggol members were arrested for their alleged involvement in a June 9 mob attack that left additional police superintendent Wangkhomba Okramcha injured. The arrest of five Arambai Tenggol members, including Kanan Singh, this month over their involvement in the ethnic violence in the state, triggered the latest wave of unrest in Manipur. Hundreds of protesters resorted to arson and threw stones at security forces as the news of the arrest broke. The Arambai Tenggol demanded the immediate release of the five and announced a 10-day shutdown, which was called off four days later. Kanan Singh was dismissed from the police force this year over his alleged involvement in smuggling weapons and looting armouries. The authorities suspended broadband and mobile data services in Imphal East and West, Kakching, Thoubal, and Bishnupur, saying some 'anti-social elements might use social media' to incite the public in the aftermath of Kanan Singh's arrest. A curfew was reimposed in Bishnupur for the first time this year. The movement of people in the valley districts was restricted due to apprehension of a breach of peace. The protracted violence between Meiteis and Kukis in Manipur was triggered in May 2023 and has left around 250 people dead and thousands displaced. Meiteis live largely in the plains of the Imphal valley, and the Kukis in the hills. They have withdrawn to their respective strongholds. The groups have since 2023 set up road blockades on highways to restrict each other's and the movement of essential items between their strongholds. Kuki leaders have blamed Arambai Tenggol for the violence.
Hans India
02-06-2025
- Health
- Hans India
Special Disability Certificate Camps Scheduled Throughout June at Gadwal District Hospital
Gadwal: The District Rural Development Officer, Mr. Narsinga Rao, has announced that special medical camps are being organized throughout the month of June at the District Government Hospital to issue new disability certificates and renewals for eligible persons with disabilities. These camps will be held every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday during the month of June. Eligible individuals must pre-book their slots through MeeSeva centers before attending the camp. Those with confirmed bookings are instructed to appear on the scheduled date with all relevant medical reports, newly taken X-rays, and their UDID (Unique Disability ID). Failure to produce the required documents will lead to disqualification. Mr. Narsinga Rao further informed that the disability certificates will be issued on the same day to those who attend with complete documentation. The schedule for the camps is as follows: Tuesdays (June 3, 10, 17, 24): For individuals with visual impairments Wednesdays (June 4, 11, 18, 25): For those with physical disabilities Thursdays (June 5, 12, 19, 26): For individuals with both physical and mental disabilities Fridays (June 6, 13, 20, 27): For individuals with hearing and speech impairments The initiative aims to streamline the certification process and ensure timely support for differently-abled individuals in the district.
