In a step towards making news and information more accessible to people with visual impairment, Reliance Foundation Drishti programme, India’s only registered fortnightly international Braille newspapers in Hindi and Marathi, will now be published every week. This will bring readers more frequent access to news, current affairs and stories strengthening access to information and participation in society.
The Braille newspapers are part of Reliance Foundation Drishti’s broader commitment to vision care and inclusion of people with visual impairments. Initiated in 2003, the programme works to protect and restore sight, improve access to eye care and promote awareness about eye donation. Through partnerships with the National Association for the Blind (NAB) India, Sankara Eye Foundation and Aravind Eye Care System, the interventions seek to address preventable and treatable vision loss, particularly among people from underserved communities, reaching over two lakh people since inception.
The fortnightly newspapers, published in both Hindi and Marathi, have a readership of over 30,000 and now weekly editions being published, the reach of the newspapers is expected to increase and touch the lives of many more visually impaired people. As the Drishti newspapers move to weekly publication, the initiative seeks to strengthen an essential link between accessible information and inclusion.
Over the past two decades, the partnership has helped restore the gift of sight to more than 22,500 people and empowered them to lead lives filled with confidence and opportunity. Reaffirming Reliance Foundation’s commitment to the visually impaired community.
In January this year, Smt. Nita M. Ambani, Founder and Chairperson, Reliance Foundation, announced a ₹5 crore funding commitment from Reliance Foundation at the 75th Foundation Day celebration of NAB India, in Mumbai. As the Drishti newspapers move to weekly publication, the initiative seeks to strengthen an essential link between accessible information and inclusion.
