🌍 Celebrating International Day of Differently Able Persons 🌍

On this International Day of Differently Abled Persons, let’s celebrate progress and advocate for a world where everyone, regardless of ability, has the opportunity to thrive.

In India, 2.21% of the population (around 2.68 Crore people) live with some form of disability (Census 2011). While challenges persist, incredible strides are being made through organizations like Saksham, Rotary, NGOs and various government initiatives.

I wanted to share a few interesting pieces of information through this article.

• The Indian Government empowered thousands of visually impaired individuals through Sugamya Pustakalaya, India’s first accessible online library. Sugamya Pustakalaya is a collaborative effort of TCS, Daisy Forum of India, and NIEPVD (National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities), Government of India to end the book famine faced by people with print disabilities.
  Users can access over 6,53,234 books, maintain their reading shelves online, and download books in chosen formats.

In Tamilnadu under the above network, following libraries are available for access.

1. Women’s Christian College Library  
2. Help the Blind Foundation Library
3. Karna Vidya Library

• The Sugamya Bharat App – a crowdsourcing mobile application, is a means for sensitising and enhancing accessibility in the built environment, transportation sector, and ICT ecosystem in India.

• Saksham, a National level organization for empowering the differently abled.

🎯 Inclusive Employment Opportunities in the Apparel Industry—Tirupur:
Tirupur, India’s textile hub, has immense potential to provide dignified employment for persons with disabilities. Here’s how:
🔹 Skill-Based Roles: Positions like stitching, embroidery, quality control, and packaging can be tailored for persons with hearing, speech, or physical disabilities.
🔹 Accessible Workspaces: Factories can implement universal design principles to ensure mobility and inclusivity for all workers.
🔹 Skill Training Programs: Collaborations between government schemes and industry leaders can offer tailored training to prepare differently-abled individuals for jobs in production lines.
🔹 Digital Integration: Roles in design, inventory management, and e-commerce provide opportunities for those with visual or physical disabilities. Such inclusive practices don’t just promote equity—they also enhance productivity, creativity, and community impact.

I would like to share an interesting case in one of the facilities “TopLight Group” by Saksham Tirupur, where many differently abled people have been employed. The below image shows a differently abled person—deaf & dumb—who is employed at the facility, handling about 100+ cameras of surveillance and reporting the incident in a preventive manner. This is a perfect example of how we can empower people by identifying their abilities and inducting them into our employment.

If you want to explore how to recruit and create employment for the differently abled, you may contact Shri. Rathinasamy of Saksham Tirupur at 9442225500 . He has facilitated more than 300+ differently-abled people to get employed in various factories in Tirupur.

On this day, let’s commit to creating workplaces, industries, and societies that foster accessibility, dignity, and opportunity for all.

Share your thoughts: How can industries like apparel leverage inclusion to create better opportunities for persons with disabilities?

Raman Azhahia Manavalan