Scheme for Providing Assistive Devices to Differently Abled Persons

What is the Kerala assistive devices scheme?

The Scheme for Providing Assistive Devices to Differently Abled Persons is run by the Department of Social Justice, Government of Kerala. The scheme supplies assistive devices free of cost to persons with disabilities so they can move, communicate and manage daily activities independently.

According to the Social Justice Department, the scheme was framed against a hard number: the 2015 disability survey conducted in Kerala identified 7,94,834 persons with 22 different types of disabilities, and the department notes that the majority of them are in financial difficulty. Mobility impairment in particular creates barriers to education, travel and employment. An appropriate device removes a large part of that barrier at a cost far below what any income support scheme would need to spend.

The department describes a wide range of devices as available under the scheme, and names five specifically:

• Joystick-operated wheelchair, a powered chair for a person who cannot self-propel a manual wheelchair.
• CP wheelchair, a wheelchair designed with the postural support a person with cerebral palsy needs.
• Smartphone with screen reader, for persons with visual impairment.
• Daisy player, a dedicated device for reading Digital Accessible Information System audio books, used widely by visually impaired students.
• Talking calculator, for visually impaired students and workers.

The Social Justice Department's stated purpose is that by use of these aids and assistive devices, people with disabilities become independent and their participation in society increases.

Who is eligible for the assistive devices scheme?

You can apply if:

• You have 40 percent or more disability, certified by the Medical Board.
• Your combined annual family income does not exceed Rs 1,00,000.
• The Medical Board certifies that you are capable of using the assistive device you are asking for.
• You are a native and resident of Kerala.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible — if:

• Your disability is below 40 percent on the Medical Board certificate.
• Your combined annual family income exceeds Rs 1,00,000. This is a family test, so the incomes of all earning members are added.
• You have already received assistive devices from any agency, non-governmental organisation or government organisation. The department excludes such applicants explicitly.
• The Medical Board does not certify that you can use the device, for example, a joystick wheelchair sought by a person whose upper-limb function cannot operate the control.
• You are not a resident of Kerala.

The "already received a device" exclusion is the one applicants most often trip over. It is not limited to devices given by the Social Justice Department. A wheelchair received from a charitable trust, a service club or a central government camp counts. Where the earlier device is worn out beyond repair, raise that with the District Social Justice Officer in writing with evidence rather than filing a fresh application that hides the earlier receipt.

What documents are required for the assistive devices scheme?

The income certificate must come from the concerned Village Officer and should state the combined annual family income, not the applicant's personal income. An income certificate that names only the applicant is a frequent cause of the file being returned.

How to apply for an assistive device in Kerala

1. Watch for the announcement. District Social Justice Officers invite applications through newspaper advertisements and through Anganwadi centres. There is no rolling statewide window, so the announcement is the trigger.
2. Collect the application form from your District Social Justice Office, the local Anganwadi centre, or download it from the scheme page on sjd.kerala.gov.in.
3. Get the Medical Board certificate, covering both your disability percentage and the certification that you are capable of using the specific device you are seeking.
4. Get the income certificate from the concerned Village Officer, showing combined annual family income within Rs 1,00,000.
5. Fill in the form, naming the exact device you need and why your daily activity requires it.
6. Submit the application at the District Social Justice Office or through the Anganwadi centre, and take a dated acknowledgement.
7. Wait for scrutiny by the Child Development Project Officer, who examines the applications received.
8. Collect the device when the district notifies you. Devices are purchased through open tender or from accredited agencies and handed over to sanctioned beneficiaries.

The Suneethi portal at suneethi.sjd.kerala.gov.in lists assistive devices among the schemes for persons with disabilities, so check there as well as at the District Social Justice Office, the department has been moving its disability schemes onto that single online window.

How is the device chosen and supplied?

The scheme does not give cash. The District Social Justice Officer compiles the list of sanctioned beneficiaries and the devices approved for each, and the department procures those devices through open tender or from accredited agencies. The device is then distributed, usually at a district-level distribution function.

Two practical points follow. First, because procurement is tender-driven, the specific make and model you receive is decided by the tender, not by the applicant. Second, the range of devices offered in one round depends on what the district tendered for that year, a district that tendered for wheelchairs and Daisy players in one year may tender for smartphones with screen readers in the next. If the device you need is not in the current round, ask the District Social Justice Officer to record your requirement for the following round.

How do I check my assistive device application status?

1. Contact the District Social Justice Office where you filed the application, quoting the acknowledgement number and date.
2. Ask the Child Development Project Officer for your ICDS project area, who handles the scrutiny stage.
3. Check the Suneethi portal dashboard if you filed the application online there.
4. Watch for the district's distribution notice, which is usually announced the same way applications were invited; newspaper and Anganwadi centre.

Why assistive device applications get rejected

• Disability below 40 percent on the Medical Board certificate.
• Family income above Rs 1,00,000, or an income certificate showing only the applicant's income.
• Device already received earlier from a government body, NGO or any agency.
• No Medical Board certification of capability to use the requested device.
• Application filed after the district's window closed.
• Device requested not covered in that district's procurement for the year.
• Incomplete residence proof.

A rejection on the "device already received" ground is final for that device. A rejection on documentation grounds can be corrected and re-filed when the district next invites applications.

Where do I complain about the assistive devices scheme?

• District Social Justice Officer of your district; first point of contact for applications, scrutiny and distribution.
• Directorate of Social Justice, Vikas Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram 695033, Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm.
• Phone: 0471-2306040 or 0471-2302887.
• Email: swdkerala@gmail.com.
• Sahajeevanam help-desk for persons with disabilities, a separate Social Justice Department facility for disability-related queries.
• Public Grievance section on sjd.kerala.gov.in for a written complaint.

The scheme charges nothing. No fee may be collected for the application, the scrutiny or the handover of the device, and any demand for payment should be reported to the Directorate of Social Justice.