There are over 70 million disabled people in India. This is about 6% of its population. Disability is a physical or mental impairment that interferes with the performance of activities expected of an individual of a certain age. Many disabled people have demonstrated their capacity to excel in professional courses, but their employment percentage in comparison is still a dismal 0.4%. There is an urgent need to assimilate them in the work force to enable them to live a life with dignity and contribute to the national GNP. Disability needs to be a 'social, development, economic or a progress issue' rather than just a 'medical one'.

Specific Disabilities - Cerebral Palsy

There are more than 3 million people afflicted by cerebral palsy, and the figures are rising. Cerebral palsy is a term, which covers a variety of disorders that affect a child's ability to control movement and maintain posture and balance. It is caused by injury or damage to the brain before birth or in early childhood.

Specific Disabilities - Mental

More than 10 million people are the victims of mental deficiencies. Mental handicap is a delay in the development of a child. A child with a mental handicap will learn things at a slower rate than other children of the same age. Mental handicap or retardation refers to a condition and not a disease. This is characterized by sub normality of intelligence. These disabled are dependent on others for daily activities.