Mutual fund, IPO, bond: Financial jargons translated to sign language for differently-abled

New Delhi: Key monetary terms such as mutual funds, IPOs, bonds, and investors have been translated into sign language, boosting accessibility and financial inclusion for differently-abled individuals, a senior official has said.

Disability Affairs Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal said the initiative is part of a larger collaboration with the goal to make financial systems more accessible to people with hearing impairment, empowering them to engage fully with financial markets.

"The development of these signs opens up new opportunities for the deaf community to participate in financial systems and services," Aggarwal told PTI.

The newly developed signs include key terms such as ‘mutual fund’, ‘IPO’, ‘bond’, and ‘investor’, all accessible through video demonstrations, he said.

The Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) has developed these signs for various financial and banking terms, with the dictionary now available through a dedicated website and a free application called 'Sign Learn', he added.

Sanjay Kumar, Deputy Director (Administration) of ISLRTC, in addition to financial terms, the centre has also partnered with other organisations to expand its dictionary.

He said academic terms have been developed with support from NCERT, while STEM vocabulary was created with input from CSIR-IMTECH, Chandigarh.

These resources are also available on the Sign Learn platform, Kumar said.

He said the ISLRTC has also been conducting awareness sessions in various organisations, including Cipla, Infosys, and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

Kumar said the centre is also working to increase the availability of qualified professionals in the field of sign language by expanding its diploma courses for interpreters and instructors.

For the 2024-25 session, 120 deaf students and 90 hearing-impaired students have been admitted, he said.

"Furthermore, ISLRTC has signed MoUs with 25 national institutes to expedite the training of ISL interpreters and teachers, helping to meet the requirements of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act 2016, the official added.

To enhance accessibility further, Kumar said the Centre launched a free Video Relay Service (VRS) in July 2023, which has so far been utilised by 1,800 individuals across medical, legal, and educational contexts.