The Telangana government plans to introduce Braille textbooks for Intermediate and Degree courses, said Adluri Laxman Kumar, Minister for SC, ST and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Welfare, on Sunday. He spoke during the 217th birth anniversary celebrations of Louis Braille at the Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities office. Currently, Braille books are available only up to Class X. This limits education for many visually impaired students who must stop studying after that. The Minister said, “Currently, Braille textbooks are available only up to Class X, forcing many visually impaired students to discontinue their education. In view of this, we are taking steps to address this gap.” He promised to resolve all relevant issues urgently, and bring others to the Chief Minister, A. Revanth Reddy, for quick action. Mr. Laxman Kumar also revealed a proposal to offer free bus travel across Telangana for persons with disabilities, which will soon be submitted to the Chief Minister. To mark the celebrations, the Minister unveiled the State’s first-ever Braille New Year calendar, made for both visually impaired people and the general public. He added that free assistive devices will soon be given to 8,000 beneficiaries. Telangana Vikalangula Co-Operative Corporation chairman Muthineni Veeraiah said the Braille calendar is the first of its kind in India. He said a 5% reservation under the Indiramma Housing Scheme has helped many persons with disabilities build homes. He also noted that while the previous government allocated ₹64 crore over 10 years, the current government has sanctioned ₹100 crore in just two years. Department Secretary Anita Ramachandran and Director Shailaja announced new initiatives, including an extra ₹1 lakh aid for marriages involving persons with disabilities, beyond the existing Kalyana Lakshmi scheme.