Universal design is the design of buildings, products or environments to make them accessible to people, regardless of ageism, disability or other factors. It emerged as a rights-based, anti-discrimination measure, which seeks to create design for all abilities. Evaluating material and structures that can be utilized by all. It addresses common barriers to participation by creating things that can be used by the maximum number of people possible. “When disabling mechanisms are to be replaced with mechanisms for inclusion, different kinds of knowledge are relevant for different purposes. As a practical strategy for inclusion, Universal Design involves dilemmas and often difficult priorities.” Curb cuts or sidewalk ramps, which are essential for people in wheelchairs but also used by all, are a common example of universal design.
Web accessibility, or eAccessibility, is the inclusive practice of ensuring there are no barriers that prevent interaction with, or access to, websites on the World Wide Web by people with physical disabilities, situational disabilities, and socio-economic restrictions on bandwidth and speed. When sites are correctly designed, developed and edited, more users have equal access to information and functionality.
Bindeshwar Pathak was an Indian sociologist and social entrepreneur. He was the founder of Sulabh International, an India-based social service organisation promoting human rights, environmental sanitation, non-conventional sources of energy, waste management and social reforms through education. He was the Brand Ambassador for Swachh Rail Mission of Indian Railways, a complement to the broader Swachh Bharat Mission. His work is considered pioneering in social reform, especially in the field of sanitation and hygiene. He received various national and international awards for his work with this organisation. He was presented with the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academics and Management for the year 2017. He was conferred the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian award, posthumously in 2024 and the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award, in 1991.
Saalumarada Thimmakka, also known as Aala Marada Thimmakka, is an Indian environmentalist from the state of Karnataka, noted for her work in planting and tending to 385 banyan trees along a 45-kilometre (28 mi) stretch of highway between Hulikal and Kudur. She has also planted nearly 8000 other trees. With the support of her husband, she found solace in planting trees.
Mphasis Limited is an Indian multinational information technology services and consulting company based in Bangalore. The company provides infrastructure technology and applications outsourcing services, as well as architecture guidance, application development and integration, and application management services. It serves financial services, telecom, logistics, and technology industries. Mphasis was ranked #7 in India IT companies and overall #189 by Fortune India 500 in 2019. In April 2016, Hewlett Packard Enterprise sold the majority of its stake in Mphasis to Blackstone Group LP for around US$1 billion.
The Rajyotsava Prashasti or Rajyotsava Awards, the second highest civilian honor of the Karnataka state of India are conferred annually by the Karnataka Government on the occasion of the establishment of the state on November 1, celebrated as the Kannada Rajyotsava.
Colin Gonsalves is a designated Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India and the founder of Human Rights Law Network (HRLN). He specializes in human rights protection, labour law and public interest law. He has been awarded Right Livelihood Award for the year 2017 for "his tireless and innovative use of public interest litigation over three decades to secure fundamental human rights for India’s most marginalised and vulnerable citizens." Considered a pioneer in the field of public interest litigation in India, he has brought several cases dealing with economic, social and cultural rights. Most of these cases, decided by the Supreme Court, have been set as precedents.
Venkataraman Krishnamurthy was an Indian civil servant. V. Krishnamurthy is known as the "Father of Public sector undertakings in India" for his leadership and successful contribution in turning around Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL), Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), and GAIL (India) Limited (GAIL) into the most profit making industry in India and globally. He was chairman and CEO of BHEL, MUL, SAIL, and GAIL. He was Chairman of IIM Bangalore and Ahmedabad; IIT Delhi; Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar; and the Centre for Organization Development, Hyderabad. He has also been Chairman of the Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council. He was Member of the National Advisory Council from 2004 to 2008. Among other positions, he has served as Member, Planning Commission and Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Industry. He was the Chairman of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council, holding the rank of a Cabinet Minister up to 2014. He was one of the founding trustees of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation headed by Sonia Gandhi with Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other distinguished members as its trustees. He began working with the then Madras Electricity Board in 1944. Later he had the privilege of working directly with India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at the Planning Commission from 1954 in the Second Five Year plan incharge of power projects and then with former Prime Ministers Lal Bahadur Sastri, Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh in various positions in the Government of India.
Javed Abidi was an Indian activist who served as the director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) in India, and the founder of the Disability Rights Group.
Uddhab Bharali is an Indian inventor from the Lakhimpur district of Assam. Bharali is credited with more than 160 innovations, starting from the late 1980s. In 2019, he was awarded the Padma Shri.
National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People is a New Delhi-based trust established in 1996. It was setup post enachment of 1995 PWD Act to champion the cause of disability rights. The organization's philosophy is that society needs to change traditionally held views of "charity and welfare to those of productivity and empowerment of disabled people". Its founder and first director was Javed Abidi and is currently headed by Arman Ali, who succeeded the founder on October 2018. It operates through a team of Program Managers and Program Officers who work on their specific areas.
Parikipandla Narahari also known as P. Narahari is an Indian civil servant employed by the Indian Administrative Services and author. According to Tehelka, Narahari, in his capacity as District collector of Gwalior, is one of India's few civil servants to use social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to interact with citizenry to solve their problems. The issues citizens of Gwalior raise on Narahari's wall were automatically directed to concerned departments. The Better India recognized Narahari as 10 most inspiring IAS officers of the year 2017. Narahari is one among of those rare professional officers to be credited as Publicity Advisor to three successive governments of different parties.
Dr Satendra Singh is a medical doctor at the University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, Delhi. A physiologist by profession, Singh contracted poliomyelitis at the age of nine months but went on to complete a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College, Kanpur and later on Doctor of Medicine in Physiology. He is the first-ever Indian to win the prestigious Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards given to extraordinary leaders in the global disability community.
M. R. Rajagopal is an Indian palliative care physician (anesthesiologist) and professor referred to as the 'father of palliative care in India' in honour of his significant contribution to the palliative care scene in India.
Jawahar Lal Kaul is an Indian social worker and the founder of the All India Conference of the Blind, an NGO working towards the rehabilitation of the blind. He was honoured by the Government of India, in 2014, which bestowed on him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his services to the field of Social Work.
Goonj is a non-governmental organisation headquartered in New Delhi, India, that undertakes disaster relief, humanitarian aid and community development in parts of 23 states across India. Goonj focuses on clothing as a basic but unaddressed need.
Accessible India Campaign or Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan is a program which is set to be launched to serve the differently-able community of the country. The program comes with an index to measure the design of disabled-friendly buildings and human resource policies. The flagship program has been launched by the Prime Minister on 3 December 2015, the International Day of people with Disabilities. The initiative also in line with the Article 9 of the to which India is a signatory since 2007. The scheme also comes under Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 under section 44, 45, 46 for equal Opportunities and protection of rights which provides non-discrimination in Transport to Persons with Disabilities.
Malvika is an Indian national, a bilateral amputee from a self bomb blast from a grenade, a social worker, and a National Awardee. She is an international motivational speaker and a disability rights activist, advocating for building an inclusive society. She is also a model for accessible fashion. Malvika obtained her Doctorate in Social Work from Madras School of Social Work in 2017. Her doctoral thesis is on the stigmatization of people with disabilities.
Sandeep Ranade is an Indian Classical singer and software engineer from Pune. His composition about coronavirus, "Na Corona Karo," was shared extensively on social media. In 2021, he won an Apple Design Award for his app, NaadSadhana.
Planet Abled is a travel company based in New Delhi, India. The company provides travel to people with disabilities and the elderly. It has been recognized as one of the social innovators in travel space by Forbes.
