Minimum wages increased by 42% in both agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. This will directly benefit an additional 55 lakh workers. 7th Pay Commission: Benefited 50 lakh employees and 35 lakh pensioners.

The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act, 2015: Enhances the eligibility limit for payment of bonus from Rs. 10,000 per month to Rs.21,000 per month Shram Suvidha portal: Unique labour identification number allocated, online registration of establishments. Unique Labour Identification number allocated to give permanent identity to labourers. EPFO issued 12 crores UAN out of which 3 crore have been activated using Mobile services. (As on 31.3.2017).. No. of KYC details digitally approved are 7.05 crore.

Amendments in Labour laws to exempt certain industries from returns, labour registration, inspection etc. Amendment in factories Act, 1948 to allow for: Night shift for women, increased hours of overtime Apprentices Act, 1961 modified to ensure more apprentices. Stipend linked to minimum wages. ·

Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017: To increase paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks. For the first time, a provision for 12 weeks paid maternity leave has been made for both Commissioning and Adopting mothers. The act has approximately benefited 18 Lakh women employees. · Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2017: Complete ban on the employment of a child below 14 years and prohibition on employment of adolescent (14-18) in hazardous occupation & profession.

· Implementation of Revamped Bonded Labour Rehabilitation Scheme · The Payment of Wages (Amendment) Act 2017: Employers to pay the wages to employees in cash or by cheque or by crediting the wages in bank accounts of the employee.

· Digital Jeevan Praman Patra introduced for convenience of Pensioners · Instead of only one bank i.e. SBI, the establishments have the option of making directed payments through 13 banks now.

Housing Subsidy to Beedi, Cine and Non-Coal Mine Workers increased from Rs. 40,000/- to Rs. 1,50,000. Reforms in BIS laws to improve the standards of goods and services. National Career Service Project: bringing employers, trainers and unemployed on single platform, till February 28, 2018, 4.10 Crore jobseekers, 14.87 lakh employers registered and 8.43 lakhs vacancies mobilized, 3151 career counsellors registered on the NCS portal.

Commerce & Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu attended the 6th East Asia Summit- Economic Ministers’ Meeting (EAS-EMM) and 15th India-ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting (AEM) in Singapore today. Singapore is currently holding the Chair of ASEAN.

The 6th East-Asia Economic Ministers’ Meeting was chaired by Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore, and was attended by Economic Ministers from 10 ASEAN countries and their eight dialogue partners, Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the Russian Federation and the United States of America. The Ministers welcomed the higher global economic growth forecast for 2018 and took note of the increasing importance of trade and investment relations among the EAS economies. Acknowledging the potential for disruptions in the macro-economy that could affect overall market sentiments and global growth, the EAS-EMM forum expressed the hope that the economic linkages among the EAS members will enable them to address these challenges.

The Ministers agreed to the importance of keeping markets open and fair as well as improving transparency and predictability of the business environment. The meeting recognized the importance of ongoing work to maximize the opportunities of, and address the challenges presented by, the digital economy and the rise of regional and global value chains, as part of their efforts to promote economic growth and integration in the region.

The 6th EAS–EMM was followed by the 15th ASEAN Economic Ministers - India Consultation. It was co-chaired by Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore, and Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce and Industry, India. The meeting attended by Economic Ministers from 10 ASEAN countries took stock of the current level of trade and economic engagement between India and ASEAN and reaffirmed the commitment to further strengthen ASEAN-India economic relations. ASEAN has emerged as the second largest trade partner of India in 2017-18 with bilateral trade valued at USD 81.33 billion, comprising 10.58% of India’s total trade with the world.

ASEAN Ministers also appreciated the outcomes of the ASEAN-India Business and Investment Meet and Expo held on 22–23 January 2018 in New Delhi, that was organised soon after the 31st ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit and its role in providing a platform for both government and industry leaders to exchange views and provide ideas and solutions towards sustaining the momentum of trade and investment in the region.

It was also announced in the Singapore meeting that the next ASEAN-India Business Summit will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in November 2018 with the theme “Towards Building Strategic Partnership between ASEAN and India in the Era of the 4th IR and Digital Economy” which will be followed by the 4th India-ASEAN Dialogue Partner Expo and Summit scheduled for 21-23 February 2019, in New Delhi.

The ASEAN-India Business Council (AIBC) presented their recommendations to the forum to sustain the momentum of trade and investment in the region. Issues related to promoting connectivity, collaboration on Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) development, blue economy, healthcare, and tourism as well as women and youth economic empowerment were discussed. The Ministers emphasized on the importance of promoting private sector activities and strengthening business-to-business relations, including through the AIBC, to further broaden and deepen ASEAN-India economic linkages.

Accessible India Campaign- Sugamya Bharat Abhiyaan Objective: To make at least 50 percent of all government buildings in the national capital and all state capitals “fully accessible” for the disabled by July 2018.

Achievements: · The scheme is ensuring a dignified life to Divyangs. · Special camps organized for distribution of Aids and Assistive devices to 3.24 lakh persons with disabilities.

· Access Audit of 1662 buildings in 50 cities completed till date. · All 34 International Airports and all 48 Domestic Airports have been provided with accessible features viz. Ramps, Accessible Toilets, lifts with Braille symbols and auditory signals.

· 624 out of 709 A1, A, B, category Railway Stations and 12894 buses out of 1,41,572 buses have been provided with accessibility features. · 917 identified websites of State Governments/UTs are in the process of being made accessible through ERNET India. 141 State Governments websites out of 917 are made accessible.

· The Department organized Drawing and Painting Competition for School students including Students with Disability on the theme of “Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities” on Thursday, 2nd November, 2017 at Bal Bhawan, New Delhi. · On 9th November, 2017, the Department organized an award function of Short Film Competition on Divyangjan Sashaktikaran in association with Directorate of Film Festival (DFF).

· 1188 ADIP camps organized and more than 1.94 lakhs Divyanjgans provided Aids and Assistive devices in the year 2017 · 1447 motorized tricycles provided and 404 (284 under ADIP & 120 in CSR) cochlear implant surgery conducted successfully during 2017-18.

Rajkot Samajik Adhikarita Shivir · At Rajkot Camp aids and appliances to the tune of Rs.11.19 Cr. were distributed among 17589 divyang beneficiaries including 3000 beneficiaries who have received aids and appliances from the State Government amounting to Rs.1.53 Cr. So far it is the biggest camp in the history of the country in terms of the number of beneficiaries in a single camp for distribution of aids and appliances. · During the event 90 motorized tricycles, 1960 tricycles, 1541 wheel chairs, 77 Cerebral Palsy (CP) chairs, 2896 crutches, 3095 walking sticks, 529 Braille cane, 112 rolators, 162 Braille kits, 732 smart canes, 214 smart phone with screen reader, 68 daisy players, 20 ADL kits for leprosy cured, 2206 digital hearing aid, 1101 artificial limbs and callipers, 4416 TML kits and 73 laptops for person with intellectual disability were distributed among various classes of Divyangjan as per their need. The State Government on their own also distributed devices for rehabilitation and empowerment of persons with disabilities to 3000 divyangjans.

· Two Guinness World Records were created in connection with the event. On 28th June 2017 a Guinness Book of World Record was created in the category of highest ever participation of 1442 persons with hearing impairment in a sign language lesson at a single venue while performing our National Anthem. Previously, such a record was hold by Taiwan (China) with participation of 978 persons with hearing impairment. The participants of this historic record repeated their performance in the presence of Prime Minister. · Second Guinness World Record was created in the category of highest number of Orthosis (Calipers) fitted to 781 mobility impaired persons on a single day.

· In addition to the above two Guinness Book of World records, another new ‘World Book Record’ was also created in the category of World’s Largest Disbursement of Aids and Appliances for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) at a single venue, in one day, involving 17589 persons with disabilities (Divyangjan). · A Mega camp was held in presence of President on 11.2.2018 in Gwalior. Apart from distribution of aids and assistive devices to 2436 Divyangjan under ADIP Scheme, aids and assistive devices were distributed to 1835 senior citizens belonging to BPL Category under Rashtriya Vayoshree Yojana .

UNIQUE DISABILITY IDENTIFICATION (UDID) PROJECT IN PROCESS · The Department is in the process of implementing UDID Project with a view to creating a national data-base for Persons with Disabilities and also to issue unique ID card to every one of them. It will subsequently help in tracking the physical and financial progress of delivery of benefits and in terms of hierarchy at all levels on implementation from Village level to Block level, District level, State level and National level. So far more than 5.92 lakh disability certificates as well as e-UDID cards have been processed through this online mode in about 387 districts in 17 States / UTs namely Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Meghalaya., Haryana, Mizoram, Tripura and Bihar.

· The President of India gave away the National Awards for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), 2017 to awardees at a function organized by Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in New Delhi on 3rd December, 2017 on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3rd December). Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Ministers of State of Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar and Shri RamdasAthawale also graced the occasion. · On International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 3rd December the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment presents National Awards on Individuals, Institutions, Organisations, State/District etc for their outstanding achievements and work done towards empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS OF DEPwD · A National Consultation Workshop on Skill Development of Persons with Disabilities was organized on 3rd February, in New Delhi, to finalize strategy and action plan for skill development of PwDs. The workshop was organized in collaboration with National Skill Development Corporation, focusing on intellectual and developmental disabilities in addition to other disabilities. · The National Trust, in collaboration with Child Neurology Division, Department of Pediatrics, AIIMS, New Delhi organized the 2nd three-day Workshop for Training Master Trainers in Autism Tools-INCLEN & ISAA, from 9th-11th February, 2017 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.

· The Department felicitated the team that won the Global IT Challenge 2016 for Youth with Disabilities on 22nd February in the presence of the Minister and T-20 Blind Cricket World Cup winning team on 28th February in the presence of Prime Minister. · Indian Sign Language Research and Training Center, New Delhi has developed an ISK Dictionary for Deaf people and Hearing impaired people, offering them the words to learn and expressing their feelings, ideas etc. ISL Dictionary consists of various words for example legal terms, medical terms, academic terms, technical terms and daily use words. The videos are sub titled. This dictionary will not only work for deaf education but will also connect them with the society.

· First Indian Sign language dictionary of 3000 words was launched by Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment in New Delhi at a function on 23.2.2018 at Indian International Centre, New Delhi. · The National Trust organized National Conference on Down Syndrome at PravasiBhartiya Kendra, New Delhi on 25.03.2017 in relation to the world Autism Day. The conference was inaugurated by Shri ThaawarchandGehlot, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. · Five Regional Zonal Conferences were organized to discuss important schemes / Programs of the Department:-

· To popularize the Inclusive India initiative in the country, the National Trust organized an ‘Inclusive India Summit 2017’ in VigyanBhavan, New Delhi on 12th September 2017. The objective of the summit was to bring together leaders from diverse sectors of the country and seek their commitment in changing India into an inclusive nation for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (PwIDDs).

Scholarships for SC/ST students · Scholarships for SC/ST students – 3,30,64,900 student benefitted during 2014-15 and 2015-16 by distribution of Rs 7565 Cr · The allocation for the welfare of Scheduled Castes has been stepped up from ₹38,833 crore in BE 2016-17 to ₹ 52,393 crore in 2017-18, representing an increase of about 35%. · Under the scheme of Venture capital Fund, 36 proposals worth Rs. 135.91 Cr have been approved for Scheduled Caste Entrepreneurs. · In order to include more beneficiaries, income eligibility criteria for ‘Pre-Matric Scholarships for Scheduled Castes Students studying in Class IX and X’ was raised from Rs. 2 Lakh to Rs. 2.5 Lakh, at par with Post-matric scholarship for next three years i.e. 2017-18 to 2019-20.

Reservation for Divyangs up · Reservations for Divyangs in Govt. jobs rose from 3% to 4%. · Over 6 lakh Divyangjan have so far benefitted from 4,700 special assistance camps organized across the country since May 2014

· Scholarship scheme launched on 11th November 2014 to provide scholarship to differently abled students to pursue technical education

NIRAMAY Yojana · Rs one lakh health insurance cover to people with autism, cerebral palsy and many disabilities Indian Sign language research and training centre established

Celebrations of 125th birth Anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar: · 14th April declared as ‘RashtriyaSamrasata Divas’. · 26th November declared as ‘Constitution Day’. · Gramodaya se Bharat UdayAbihiyan- 14th- 24th April 2016.

· Types of disabilities have been increased from existing 7 to 21. · Speech and Language Disability and Specific Learning Disability have been added for the first time · Acid Attack Victims have been included · Reservation in vacancies in Govt. establishments increased from 3-4% · Right to free education for children with disabilities of 6-18 years and Reservation of 5% seats for students with disabilities in Govt. and Govt. aided higher education institutions. · In order to promote accessibility in public buildings (both Govt. & private) and creation of National and State fund to provide financial support to PwDs. · Penalties for offences committed against persons with Disabilities (PwDs)

The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 · Provides for the establishment of exclusive special courts for the speedy trial of offences of atrocities against the members of SCs & STs · To insert a new chapter relating to “Rights of Victims and Witnesses” · To impose certain duties and responsibilities upon the State for making necessary arrangement for protection of victims, their defendants and witnesses