India’s Top Design Innovations as well as Efforts in Advocacy and Policy Change for Disabilities Awarded at The 12thNCPEDP- Mphasis Universal Design Awards
28 September 2021- The 12th NCPEDP- Mphasis Universal Design Awards commemorated on the UNESCO’s International Day for Universal Access to Information, announced the 2021 winners of the Awards, which recognizes select companies and individuals for their outstanding contribution and innovation in promoting accessibility and creating a disabilities friendly India.
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A total of 12 winners- 3 from Category A and B each, 5 from Category C including one Special Jury Award and one from Javed Abidi Public Policy were announced during the ceremony held virtually this year due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The awards, initiated in 2010 by National Centre for Employment of the Disabled People (NCPEDP) with the support of its long-standing partner, Mphasis are one of the most sought-after awards recognizing excellence for disability friendly innovations and practices.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Srikanth Karra, Chief Human Resources Officer, Mphasis said, “Universal Design serves the larger purpose of enabling people with disabilities to actively participate in all walks of life”
Alongside the Awards ceremony, the event also held a fireside chat on Healthcare Issues of Persons with Disabilities- between the Guest of Honour, Dr Devi Shetty, Chairman & Executive Director, Narayana Hrudayalaya Limited Health and Mr Arun Seth, Trustee, NCPEDP.
While talking about the vaccine hesitancy in the country Dr Devi Shetty said, “If people are not willing to vaccinate themselves, there is very little we can do for them. One year ago, it was believed that vaccination was against the coronavirus but today we consider it a vaccine against death.”
While talking about the issues faced by people with disabilities in terms of accessibility, Dr Shetty said that in India making a building disabled friendly is an afterthought. He further added that as the country sees more and more senior citizens traveling on wheelchairs, it is important to recognise the issues that they face while travelling.
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Request NowHe also spoke about the changes in the healthcare sector owing to the pandemic, “Today a simple app like WhatsApp can be used to make healthcare an amazing experience.” He iterated that the healthcare industry is poised to support persons with disabilities with an increase in employment opportunities for them such as support staff who can work from home. “Today working from home is a blessing in disguise for people with disabilities and the healthcare industry is poised to give them that opportunity.”
Dr. Shetty further added that online consultations and inclusive schemes for persons with disabilities will go a long way in ensuring holistic approach to universal health. He highlighted the need for collective efforts and strength to bring universal health coverage to people with disabilities. Giving the reference of Yeshasvini scheme- a micro health insurance scheme for rural farmers- he added that people with disabilities need to come under one common platform to get benefitted due to size.
In his closing remarks Mr. Som Mittal, Chairperson, NCPEDP talked about the importance of prioritizing and segregating the data on persons with disabilities in order to reach out to them, for disaster management especially in rural areas. Mr. Mittal also emphasized on access to education for persons with disabilities and employment opportunities for them in the health sector. Mr. Som Mittal also emphasized on accessibility – of the build environment, communication, products and services and said that it is imperative that the Government’s procurement policy and guidelines must ensure that this component is built in.
This year more than 72 applications were received from across the country and even overseas and amongst them the top 12 were chosen as winners. The jury for the prestigious award comprised of Mr. Som Mittal, Chairman, NCPEDP; Ms. Shilpi Kapoor, Founder and CEO, Barrier Break; Mr Nipun O S, AVP and Head- CSR,Mphasis; Mr Pulkit Aggarwal, Investment Director – Assistive Technologies, Social Alpha; and Gaurav Raheja, Head Department of Architecture & Planning, Joint Faculty, Department of Design, IIT- Roorkee.
NCPEDP and Mphasis would like to thank everyone who applied for their hard work and efforts for the submission
The results of the 12th NCPEDP- Mphasis Universal Design Awards are:
Category A: Award for Persons with Disabilities
Ankit Rajiv Jindal – Bengaluru (Karnataka):
Prateek Khandelwal – Bengaluru (Karnataka):
Payal Kapoor- Hyderabad (Telegana):
Category B : Working professionals
Paul Gerard D Souza, Bengaluru (Karnatka):
Madhav Ajay Lavakare , New Delhi:
Dr. Hema Parikh, Vadodara (Gujarat):
Category C: Companies or Organisations
Samsara Paediacare (OPC) Private Limited, Mumbai (Maharashtra)
Rymo Technologies Private Limited, Mumbai (Maharashtra)
India Signing Hands Private Limited, Mumbai (Maharashtra)
Vispala Technologies Private Limited, Kolkata (West Bengal)
Special Jury Award under category C
Phonologix Health Solutions Private Limited, Kochi (Kerela)
NCPEDP- Mphasis Javed Abidi Public Policy Award
Subhash Chandra Vashishth – New Delhi
About National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People
Registered as an independent trust in 1996, National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) is a non-profit voluntary organization working as an interface between Government, Industry, International Agencies and Voluntary Sector towards empowerment of persons with disabilities. In the past 25 years, NCPEDP has established itself as a leading cross-disability organization which has later been strengthened by the formation of the National Disability Network (NDN) in 1999. Since then, NCPEDP has been successful in reaching people with disabilities across all states and union territories of the country and has successfully advocated several policy changes for the empowerment of people with disabilities.
About Mphasis
Mphasis (BSE: 526299; NSE: MPHASIS) applies next-generation technology to help enterprises transform businesses globally. Customer centricity is foundational to Mphasis and is reflected in the Mphasis’ Front2Back™ Transformation approach. Front2Back™ uses the exponential power of the cloud and cognitive to provide hyper-personalized (C=X2C2 TM=1) digital experience to clients and their end customers. Mphasis’ Service Transformation approach helps ‘shrink the core’ through the application of digital technologies across legacy environments within an enterprise, enabling businesses to stay ahead in a changing world. Mphasis’ core reference architectures and tools, speed, and innovation with domain expertise and specialization are key to building strong relationships with marquee clients. Click here to know more.
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