SBI Foundation and Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities (AYJNISHD), Mumbai, brought smiles in the faces of 50 children born with profound hearing loss. SBI Foundation provided the cost of Cochlear Implants and post-operative rehabilitation under their CSR Project SBI-Shravan Shakti to AYJNISHD. During an event organised on May 18, Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman of State Bank of India presented an amount of Rs 2.65 crore to Dr A.K. Sinha, Director of AYJNISHD, for providing Cochlear implants to 50 children from West Bengal. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Sinha appreciated the SBI for coming forward to enable the children with disability to live a normal life with new rays of hope. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities launched the Cochlear Implant programme in 2015 by providing Rs 6 lakh subsidy per child for parents having monthly income of less than 15,000 under ADIP scheme. AYJNISHD is the nodal agency for the implementation of Cochlear Implant programme all over India. At least 172 hospitals have been empanelled for the Cochlear implant surgery in government and private setup and 788 surgeries have been conducted so far including 50 surgeries in West Bengal. However, still there are a large number of children waiting to undergo Cochlear implant surgeries.  

To augment the resources of the Government of India, and to help the children born with hearing disability, SBI Foundation supported the Cochlear implant surgeries for 50 young deaf children from West Bengal who will get the opportunity to hear and speak post-surgery. Cochlear implant is an electronic device which benefits the children with deafness. The internal part of the Cochlear implant is placed in the skull through surgery and electrodes are inserted in Cochlear by a highly trained ear, nose, throat (ENT) surgeon. The external part of the Cochlear implant: speech processor is worn behind the ear and the transmitter is held at mastoid bone externally (by pull of magnet) and connected with a cord. Speech language pathologists, special educators for children with hearing impairment, along with parents stimulate the child with spoken language so that child develops speech mode of communication.