Equals, Centre for Promotion of Social Justice. Spark Spring Edition 2016.

1. Excluded from Inclusion
Financial Access for Persons with
Disabilities – Current Status and
Challenges

2. Outline
• Understanding disability – moving from
medical to social models
• Barriers to access to financial services
• Exclusions in policy and law
• Challenges
• Discussion

3. Understanding Disability

4. Charity model of disability
Disability is a curse, and the able bodied need to
up our karma points by giving them what we think
they need to survive.

5. ‘Criminal’ model of disability
Some disabled people are dangerous and need to
be locked up because they can influence or
contaminate the rest of society

6. Medical model of disability
Disability is an abnormality of the human condition
which needs to be fixed or cured or prevented, so
that people with disabilities can be ‘normal’

7. The person with the impairment is the
problem, not the environment, not society,
not anyone else
No question of rights, consent or
consideration of will and preference

8. Social model of disability
A person’s impairment becomes a disability when
interaction with various barriers hinders their full
and effective participation in society on an equal
basis with others

10. Rights based model of disability
Following from the social model of disability, the
removal of barriers and creation of enabling
environments is a basic human right.

11. BARRIERS TO ACCESS TO
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Physical access

12. Communication barriers

13. Communication barriers

14. EXCLUSIONS IN POLICY AND
LAW
Financial inclusion for only some?

15. Existing RBI
Guidelines/Circulars
Physical and sensory
disabilities
• Braille chequebooks and
talking ATMs for the blind
• Accept alternatives to
thumb impressions
• Ramps in all banking
establishments
Mental disabilities
• GUARDIANSHIP

16. JAN DHAN YOJANA
If 15% of the population are persons with
disabilities, shouldn’t a financial inclusion
scheme like this be responsive to their
needs?
Data disaggregation?

17. Changing views
“Some persons with
disabilities will never
be able to
understand how to
manage a bank
account”
“How can we provide
information and
service in an
accessible manner to
allow for persons
with disabilities to
access financial
services on an equal
basis with others?”

18. Changing views
“We are doing this
for their own safety,
they can be tricked
into parting with their
money”
“How can we
improve our security
protocol, through
technology, to enable
safe transactions for
everyone? ”

19. Changing views
“Persons with
disabilities cannot be
given loans as they
will not be able to
repay them”
“On what basis do
we assume that
persons with
disabilities are
unreliable debtors? If
there are barriers,
how many are on
account of
inaccessible

20. CHALLENGES
• Data collection
• Breaking myths and stigma
• Segregated inclusion – schemes under the
National Trust etc.
• Financial viability of making things more
accessible

21. Discussion
equalscpsj@gmail.com