Government of India - National Award 2024 to XRCVC, St. Xavier's College, Mumbai for Inclusive Education
We are extremely happy and excited to share that the XRCVC was formally awarded the trophy and a citation for the National Award 2024 "Divyang Sashaktikaran Hetu Sarveshrestha Sansthan (Private organization, NGO)" in the Inclusive Education Category by the Honourable President of India on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities - 3rd December 2024.
XRCVC Projects
- INCLUSION AND ACCESS: THE 360 DEGREE APPROACH
- Project X-Sight supported by Dhun Pestonji Parakh Discretionary Trust
The XRCVC is currently running two major projects to promote Social Inclusion for persons with disabilities. These are
Access Setu: Pathways to an Inclusive Future
XRCVC is happy to announce the launch of its "Access-Setu: Pathways to an Inclusive Future" - Assistive Technology Awareness Exhibitions. Access Setu is designed to be a platform to explore and engage with state-of-the-art Assistive Technologies to raise awareness in society about the challenges of persons with disabilities and the role Assistive Technologies play in creating a level-playing field for them
The concept note is below.
Off to School VI Go - A Report on XRCVC's Inclusive Education Project
The XRCVC is happy to present a research report on the Inclusive Education Project for school students with visual impairment. The research was conducted by Ms Aparna Sachdev. The report aims at analysing and highlighting XRCVC's inclusive education practices and recommendations. These would be of interest to mainstream teachers and schools, special educators, organizations working for students with blindness, parents, inclusive education researchers, and all educationists who desire to be inclusive in their practice.
Off to School VI Go - A Report on XRCVC's Inclusive Education Project - PDF
Accessible ATMs in India – A Retrospective and Prospective View - A case for enhancing accessibility of ATMs for persons with visual impairment
As the website talkingatmindia.org completes a decade of its service, the XRCVC, St. Xavier’s College (Empowered Autonomous Institution), Mumbai re-emphasises its commitment to championing financial inclusion for persons with disabilities, more specifically of persons with visual impairment, in mainstream financial systems. In this paper, the XRCVC builds a case to advocate the necessity of ensuring updated data regarding locations of accessible ATMs is made available by banks and the need and feasibility of making Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-enabled cardless cash withdrawal accessible for persons with print disabilities, in particular for those with visual impairment.
A Retrospective and Prospective View - A case for enhancing accessibility of ATMs for persons with visual impairment - PDFPolicy Papers on Inclusion of Persons with Blindness and Low Vision in Physiotherapy Education and Practice
A Policy paper for upholding the rights of education and equality for persons with blindness and low vision
Persons with blindness and low vision have been successfully practicing physiotherapy as a profession across the globe and in India for many years. Yet, the evolution of regulatory frameworks within the medical and allied health fields in India recently has had a negative impact on access to education and practice of physiotherapy for persons with blindness and low vision in the country. This paper analyses the scope of access to physiotherapy education and practice for persons with blindness and low vision in India and outlines the key challenges and recommendations across the checkpoint framework.
Regulatory gaps in physiotherapy education and practice in India: A ground-level challenge - PDF
XRCVC Building Blocks of Inclusion Policy Paper on Inclusion in Physiotherapy Education and Practice
The paper "Building Blocks of Inclusion: Policy Paper for Physiotherapy Education and Practice for Persons with Blindness and Low Vision" is very relevant to our time because recent changes in the regulatory frameworks of health sciences and allied health sciences in India have denied access to the education and practice of physiotherapy for persons with blindness and low vision, despite it being an established profession for them in India and internationally. This paper highlights core principles for the inclusion of persons with blindness and low vision in physiotherapy education and practice in India based on the laws of the land and international best practices and has been designed for regulators, education institutes, employers, professional associations, policy makers and other relevant State and national authorities in the field of physiotherapy education and practice who can apply it to their specific context.
Antarchakshu® 2.0 Season 8
XRCVC's flagship awareness and sensitisation initiative, Antarchakshu® 2.0 Season 8, has been started and will run through as a series of online and offline sit-down workshops. Participants will include corporates, students, public sector officials and many others, We wish to thank Dhun Pestonji Parakh Discretionary Trust, Godrej Industries Ltd, SBI Mutual Fund, IDFC First Bank, and TATA Sons Ltd for generously supporting Antarchakshu® 2.0 Season 8.
Those interested in organising a workshop for their organisations may please write to sam@xrcvc.org
Inclusive Education Resource
The XRCVC has been actively working on research and implementation of Inclusive Education Models specifically for the Indian Context. It has built models that can be easily replicated and scaled and resources that could benefit other organisations, practitioners and persons with disabilities themselves. Below is the effort of the XRCVC to share its knowledge base with the hope that the same will help drive inclusion in various set ups. For any query or assistance feel free to contact us.
STEM Education
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education is vital to prepare the next generation, often cited as difficult for students with blindness and low vision. It has been a combination of fear, doubt, lack of knowledge, lack of teacher training skills and resources combined; to give the false verdict—It is not Possible!
XRCVC actively researches and compiles STEM resources for students with blindness and low vision. It also conducts various STEM training and awareness workshops for students, educators, and other stakeholders.
The following link provides information on diverse options available for students with blindness and low vision to read and write Mathematical and Scientific notations with assistive technologies.
Reports
Annual Report
Our annual reports provide a comprehensive overview of the activities of the XRCVC in the year. They highlight the impact and achievements of our programmes for the empowerment of persons with disabilities and initiatives of community outreach creating access for persons with disabilities and championing their rights.
XRCVC Annual Report June 2024 - May 2025 - PDF
Our Impact Stories
XRCVC's annual publication of the narratives of individual success stories for the year showcases the real-life impact of XRCVC's work. To us the person behind the numbers matters the most, and our focus is on the quality of the impact rather than just the numbers reached. These narratives bring forth the diverse ways in which we address the unique needs of PWDs, both at the micro and macro-level.
Research Report Released (On Accessible Geometry Construction Kits)
Degrees of Accessibility - PDF
Degrees of Accessibility-Annexure - PDF
Direct Support & Training
If you are a person with vision impairment or a parent, caregiver or educator feel free to access any of our range of services: Access Technology Support, Training Services : Computers, O&M, English, Life skills, Volunteer Support...
Achieving Access - Advocacy Initiatives
Ensuring environmental access is key in ensuring that vision impairment or loss does not result in a disability. XRCVC's advocacy initiative works in four main areas of print access, financial access, educational access and independent living.
Breaking Barriers - Awareness Initiatives
The biggest barrier in inclusion is the barrier of the human mind. The awareness initiative through mega events, workshops and talks aims at breaking myths resulting from both lack of information and a closed mindset to help individuals...
XRCVC in the News
- St. Xavier’s la Rashtriya Puraskar
- Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged awarded for inclusive education
- NIEPVD signs 2 MoUs for the welfare of Persons with Visual Impairment
- Mumbai: How fully visually impaired swimmer bagged 3 gold medals and scored 94 per cent in SSC
- A proper all-rounder
- Mumbai diary Monday Dossier: XRCVC Inclusive Calendar
- Training was given to DIOS and DROPS of all districts to make election related websites apps and social media accessible to visually impaired
- XRCVC Presents Disability Awareness Experiences At Purple Fest
- Talking Oximeter, Smart Gloves at Exhitbition of assistive technology
- XRCVC News Archive
Upcoming Events
Useful Information & Quick Links
- XRCVC Brochure Pdf Version
- XRCVC Success Stories 2024-2025 - PDF
- Writer /Scribe Guidelines and Rules
- Talking ATM India Website
- Banking Guidelines and Rules
- Accessible E-Content Creation Standards and Guidelines for creating accessible e-content from Microsoft Word. - PDF File
- Banking on Accessibility - A case for accessible banking for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) - PDF File
- A Report on Antarchakshu® 2017 - To Inclusion and Beyond!
- DAISY Catalogue - Excel
- XRCVC’s Recreational Resources and Safety Guidelines for Persons with Blindness and Low Vision Compilation for COVID 19 Lockdown times
- Previous Workshop, Training, & Program Details
