Accessible India Campaign: BIS Publishes Six New Standards for Priority Assistive Products

Key facts

• The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) published six new standards for medical assistive technologies under the National List of Essential Assistive Products (NLEAP) initiative of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
• The mobility aid standards include IS 18558 (Part 1) for Elbow crutches, IS 5145 for Walking sticks, IS 18558 (Part 4) for Walking sticks with three or more legs, and IS 19631 for Portable Ramps.
• Accessible design standards were introduced for Information Contents, Figuration and Display Methods of Tactile Guide Maps (IS 19189) and Application of Braille on Signage Equipment and Appliances (IS 19190).
• The BIS Technical Committee (MHD 09), chaired by Dr. Sanjay Wadhwa of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi, includes experts from Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) Kanpur and Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) Jaipur.
• These standards support the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyaan) of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.