Blind students read the news in Braille on All India Radio

All India Radio and its units in Pune and Nagpur observed World Braille Day by broadcasting news read by blind students and officers. The news report was scripted in Braille and read live.

On World Braille Day All India Radio (AIR) listeners had the opportunity to hear the news read by blind students and officers.  The Hindi news was broadcast from Delhi and was read by a blind officer Kamal Prajapati. The news in Marathi was presented by blind students Gulab Kambale and Kavita Gavali.

News scripted in Braille & read live

This is a tradition since 2016, when AIR made history with a news broadcast in Braille on 4 January to mark the birth anniversary of Louis Braille. He invented the system of reading and writing by people who are blind. Special arrangements are made in AIR studios for the broadcast. The news script is written in Braille and read out by blind people.

The aim, says AIR, is to support the idea of empowering disabled people and promote their inclusion in the mainstream.

All India Radio is an inclusive medium and is the most easily accessible news medium for Drishti Divyangs. Occasions like World Braille Day give a chance to rededicate ourselves to an inclusive and accessible society. – Ira Joshi, Principal Director General, All India Radio (News)

Making blind people a part of the news production cycle makes them confident and visible to the world. “It also makes the audience and people in the newsrooms more sensitive to the needs of divyangs”, adds Joshi.

Making blind people visible to the world

The Braille bulletins are part of the Accessible Programming initiative of AIR, which was started in 2015 as part of Prime Minister Modi’s Accessible India Campaign. The news reading exercise in Braille is done in partnership with the Pune Blind Men’s Association.

Watch in Sign Language

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