Visually impaired students studying in Class X and other higher classes with minimum 40% blindness are eligible to get free talking laptops from the government for educational purposes, as per a comprehensive scheme framed by the State government. Taking the scheme on record, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice N.S. Sanjay Gowda disposed of a contempt of court petition filed alleging the non-framing of such a scheme despite a court direction issued in March. It was alleged in the petition that the free talking laptop scheme, though announced in the State Budget of 2014-15, was not reaching eligible students still. Under the scheme, visually impaired students, who have been residing in Karnataka for the past 10 years and have not availed themselves of the benefit of talking laptop under any other scheme, are eligible along with the recommendation of the heads of their educational institutes.

Source: The Hindu August 16, 2021 18:34 UTC