Any step taken towards making this world universally accessible will go a long way in eliminating prejudice against the physically challenged. Muthoot Finance, India’s largest gold loan NBFC, is doing its bit to improve the lives of the severely disabled by donating fully automatic wheelchairs.
There is a significant population group in India that requires hands-on caretaking and is unable to use manual wheelchairs. In order to address the challenges faced by such individuals, Muthoot Finance announced that it would provide automated electric wheelchairs.
This facility is currently available in Bangalore and anyone between the age of 12 and 40 years is eligible. In fact, the company is inviting people with disabilities to apply for wheelchairs. Muthoot Finance has also released a set of instructions, along with the documents necessary to apply for this benefit.
An applicant will have to provide a BPL card, Aadhaar card, a Permanent Disability Certificate from an Authorized Medical Board, a recommendation letter from a local representative not lower than a Panchayat President or Councilor, and last but not the least, a medical certificate from the doctor currently treating the applicant.
Muthoot Finance has undertaken such initiatives in the past. In January 2021, the company launched a fully automated electric wheelchair project in Kerala to help the physically challenged. The project provided wheelchairs free of cost to the needy and the homeless. This was a first for the state and the initial project benefitted 34 individuals who were recipients of the fully automated wheelchairs.
The automatic wheelchair project of the company is an extension of its 2019 initiative which provided artificial legs to 101 people. The project started in Ernakulam and then expanded to Cochin and Trivandrum. With its expansion to Bangalore, the company’s plan to distribute the wheelchairs to other parts of India is finally taking root.
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