Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ms. Pratima Bhowmik inaugurated the Divya Kala Mela today at 6.30 pm to market the products manufactured by persons with disabilities.
Public awareness campaign was conducted in the fair on World Occupational Day.
During the ten-day fair, many programs will be organized to spread public awareness about the problems of disabled people. An employment fair will also be organized for the disabled.
Under the schemes of NDFDC, loans worth Rs 25 lakh were sanctioned by Union Bank of India for the benefit of persons with disabilities.
Bengaluru, October 27, 2023
Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ms. Pratima Bhowmik, while assuring all possible assistance to the persons with disabilities, said that the role of persons with disabilities is very important in building a self-reliant India. Ms. Pratima Bhowmik said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi changed the thinking of people in the society by giving the word ‘Divyang’ to these people for the first time. 
At the inauguration ceremony, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ms. Pratima Bhowmik said that the Central Government has prepared several schemes to promote entrepreneurship and craftsmanship especially among the disabled. He said that these schemes are implemented to provide training, skills and finance to the disabled brothers and sisters. The Central Government has increased the categories of disabled people from 7 to 21. Along with this, he said that reservation for disabled people in government jobs has been increased from 3% to 4% and reservation for disabled people in government educational institutions has been increased from 3% to 5%. The government is providing financial assistance to disabled people through various schemes at low interest rates to make them self-reliant.
On this occasion, DDG, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Kishore Babu Rao Surwade said that we are organizing divine art fairs in every major city of the country. Till now, a total of eight national fairs have been successfully completed. This fair is the ninth fair. On this occasion, loans worth Rs 25 lakh were sanctioned by Union Bank of India under the schemes of NDFDC for the benefit of persons with disabilities. During the program, loan sanction letters were also distributed as tokens to some disabled people. ‘Divya Kala Mela’ has been organized by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment at HMT Ground from 27 October to 5 November 2023 to showcase the products and craftsmanship of entrepreneurs/artisans with disabilities. In this fair, artisans from different parts of the country including Jammu & Kashmir, North Eastern States will showcase their wonderful and attractive products like handicrafts, handlooms, embroidery works and packaged foods etc. which will also be available for sale. This is a unique initiative towards the economic empowerment of disabled people.
The Divya Kala Mela presents a great platform for marketing and showcasing the products and skills of persons with disabilities. Divya Kala Mela, Indore is the ninth fair in the series starting from 2022. Earlier this fair has been organized in Delhi, Mumbai, Bhopal, Indore and Guwahati, Jaipur, Varanasi, Secunderabad. The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities has selected National Disabled Finance and Development Corporation as the nodal agency for organizing this fair. During the Divya Kala Mela, many programs will also be organized by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities to spread awareness about the problem of stroke and its occupational therapy. During the fair, an employment fair will also be organized for the disabled.
Around 100 disabled artisans/artists and entrepreneurs from around 20 States/Union Territories are showcasing their products and skills in the Divya Kala Mela. This fair is proving to be a powerful medium to spread the concept of ‘Vocal for Local’ to the masses in which the display and sale of products made by disabled artisans is encouraged by providing a suitable platform across the country.
This ten-day divine art fair can be enjoyed from 10.00 am to 10.00 pm. Apart from this, cultural programs by well-known artists of the country and famous food stalls from different states of the country are the special attractions of this fair. Many attractive selfie points have been made for the people in the fair.