How technology can help India’s urban centres become disabled friendly

Source: The post is based on the article “How technology can help India’s urban centres become disabled friendly” published in the Indian Express on 12th June 2023

Syllabus: GS 2 – Mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of vulnerable sections.

Relevance: About making urban centres disable friendly.

News: Persons with disabilities face many challenges in participating fully in urban life.

Why does India need to make urban centres disable friendly?

Rapid urbanisation and the population of Divyang in urban areas: India is urbanising rapidly and is projected to add four new megacities by 2030. The country’s urban population is estimated to cross 675 million.

According to the 2011 Census, one in three persons with disabilities in India or roughly eight million people already live in cities.

Rise of Divyang’s share in population: The number of persons with recognised disabilities as a share of the population could rise due to disaster and climate risks, demographic changes and broader definitions of disability in line with global norms.

How India is leveraging technology to make urban centres disable friendly?

Innovative technologies and ICT are key to ensuring an inclusive urban transformation and essential for improving and increasing the quality of life of all citizens.

-The National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) in partnership with the UN in India hosted the first edition of the Smart Solutions Challenge and Inclusive Cities Awards in 2022. It helped in crowd-sourcing tech-based solutions and innovations for addressing city-level accessibility and inclusion challenges.

-Smart cities like Bhubaneswar have deployed innovative transport and mobility solutions.

-Several solutions and assistive technologies such as Fifth Sense, IncluMaps, AxcessAble and myUDAAN are supporting independent living for persons with disabilities. Many of these solutions have utilised frontier technologies like AI and machine learning extensively to contextualise solutions.

-Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has also launched the G20 Digital Innovation Alliance’ (G20-DIA) to showcase innovative solutions and create an alliance of players in the innovation ecosystem.

What more should be done to make urban centres disable friendly?

The crucial role of the state: Innovations that promote inclusivity are considered unprofitable by investors. So, the role of the state becomes critical for promoting an ecosystem for transformative technologies.

Other demands: Creating an inclusive and accessible India will require behavioural changes, capacity building, investments in accessible infrastructure and inclusive and accessible innovations. This will help inform policies for the country’s progress towards an equitable urban future.