Shreshttam to promote talents of differently abled
The Hindu
Ten persons to be given financial assistance of ₹10,000 each initially under the project
When India put up one of its finest performances in the Paralympics held in Tokyo earlier this year, there was not a single person from Kerala among its contingent of 54 athletes.
Whether that led to an introspection or not, the Social Justice Department is all set to roll out Shreshttam, a project to promote the artistic and sporting talents of the differently abled. Though their promotion by recognised institutions had found mention in the policy address of the State Government for 2019-20, it did not take off.
The project, for which ₹14 lakh has been sanctioned for the current fiscal, resonates with Section 16 (1) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which calls for ensuring equal opportunities for the differently abled in arts and sports.
Around 440 MBBS graduates of 2021 are not required to undergo one year of compulsory rural service as per the bond signed by them while joining the medical course through government-quota seats in 2015 as the High Court of Karnataka has said the law, enacted in 2012 for mandatory rural service, remained unenforced for 10 years as it was published in the official gazette only in July 2022.