PRESS RELEASE
NEW DELHI, 11thFebruary 2019

Major Gains for Hundreds of Visually-Impaired Bank Officers: Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India Directed to Modify its Promotion Rules and Exempt Visually-Impaired Bank Officers from Rural Postings and Posting as Branch Head for Promotion Purposes
Every visually-impaired employee has the right to promotion in employment. But this right became constraint for hundreds of blind and low-vision bank officers when in 2012, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, made rural posting and posting as branch head mandatory for promotion from scale II to scale III and scale IV to scale V respectively. As most visually-impaired officers are not given such postings, their aspirations to climb to the top ladders in their service appeared to become mere dreams. This meant stunted careers for hundreds of visually-impaired bank officers.
The All India Confederation of the Blind, a major self-help organization took up this issue in the Court of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities by filing a case challenging the implied denial of promotional opportunities for visually-impaired bank officers. During the hearing of the said case on 25th January 2019, the Vice-President of AICB, Prof. Anil K. Aneja strongly argued for suitable modifications in the promotion policies for bank officers so that barriers in the promotional path for the visually-impaired are eliminated.
We are happy to share that the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities has accepted our contentions and has directed the Ministry of Finance, Government of India to exempt the visually-impaired bank officers from the requirement of rural posting and posting as branch head for promotion purposes. A copy of the said judgement is enclosed for ready reference.
This significant judgement will open the path for hundreds of blind bank officers to move to the middle and top management positions in the banks in the years to come. We recall with satisfaction that through a similar intervention in 1999, our advocacy efforts had paved the way for promotion for a large number of visually-impaired persons from the clerical to the officer level. We are committed to do our best to ensure rights-based and equitable policies and systems for all visually-impaired persons.
As the above judgement has significant implications countrywide, it is requested that this news may be given wide publicity.

J.L. Kaul
Secretary General