New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram today (Dec 2, 2004) stood up for the noble cause of helping the disabled, not through concessions or subsidies, but by offering them employment opportunities.

Chidambaram took an hour off his schedule, to honour a number of disabled people with awards for their achievements.

A day before the World Disabled Day, he also gave away awards to three corporates - JW Marriott Hotel, Kinetic Engineering and NTPC - for taking the initiative in creating gainful employment opportunities for the disabled.

"What the disabled expect is not concessions or subsidies but opportunities," he said at the function organised in New Delhi by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People and Shell India.

"Those who are disabled are not children of lesser God. We are obliged to help them," he said and observed that disabled people have excelled in various spheres of work, including civil services. Admitting that the Government has done little for the disabled, he asked individuals and corporates to raise funds for assisting the disabled.

Chidambaram said that he was alarmed to realise that the growing population of the disabled in India have had very few employment opportunities.

According to the census, there are about 21 million disabled in India. "This is a gross under-statement. A conservative estimate would be 60-70 million people, which is larger than entire population of some of the European countries," he said.