DEPwD and EDII Ahmedabad, partner to empower 3000 Persons with Disabilities (PwDs)
The Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII),
in collaboration with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with
Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government
of India, organized a Roundtable Meet for Corporate to ‘Support, Activate and
Build Assured Livelihoods (SABAL) for Persons with Disabilities under CSR
Actions'.
Rajesh Aggarwal, IAS Secretary – DEPwD, Dr. Sunil Shukla, Director
General, EDII, Dr. Raman Gujral, Director, Department of Projects (Corporate)
at EDII, senior officials from DEPwD as well as National Institutions under
DEPwD and CSR leaders from leading corporate entities including PNB, XIAOMI,
NHPC, Delhi Metro, BHEL etc attended this ground breaking Meet.
The ‘Meet’ took up the agenda of sensitizing society at large and instituting
interventions and measures that ensure establishment of 3000 new enterprises by
Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), including 1500 technology driven and 1500
general enterprises.
This pivotal Roundtable Meet brainstormed on creating a better world for PwDs
through an effective synergy between Government, Corporate and Institutions.
The discussions revolved around the specific objectives of ensuring empowerment
of PwDs through sustainable enterprise creation; creating a set of best
practices in the context of infrastructure, perception, environment, security
and other facilities to promote their complete inclusion in society; floating
ways to ensure an integrative working environment; deciding on an inventory of
business opportunities that PwDs could tap into to create own enterprises;
aligning the project and its interventions with sustainable development goals
and breaking the professional segregation in society that relegates disabled to
lower paying jobs.
Based on the tangible discussions and takeaways, the
participating Corporate identified some primary areas of cooperation. Some of
the activities identified to achieve the goal of creating 3000 PwD led
enterprises included: Awareness Campaign to Ensure Community Integration of
PwDs; Immersive Life Skills for Adolescents with Disabilities; Sourcing
Business Opportunities for PwDs; Sensitization workshops for PwDs; Credit
Linkage Support; Entrepreneur Growth-cum-Counselling Programme (EGCP) to
Support PwD-led Enterprises and Micro Skill preneurship Development Programme
(MSDP) to enable unemployed PwDs to set up their business.
Secretary, DEPwD Rajesh Aggarwal started his speech with the message that
India has reached the moon but there are many challenges that persons with
disabilities are facing today. In India, our attitudes are inclusive but
infrastructures are yet to be inclusive.
He opened up the conversation for supporting Divyangjan through various
initiatives including donations through CSRs in providing aids and assistive
devices, up skilling, providing loans and mentorship to PwDs, mapping of jobs
following the 'cool ability factor', providing reasonable accommodation,
providing leaves for health issues and spreading the message across
distribution networks of the companies and hiring PwDs. He also stressed upon
the attitudinal changes of the society at large towards Divyangjan.
Kishor B. Surwade,Deputy Director General
DEPwD spoke about various initiatives and schemes of the Department
including National Action Plan for Skill Development of Pwds, Assistive
devices, Scholarship to Divyangjan and rehabilitation services.
A video was screened explaining the features of newly launched DEPwD PM Daksh
portal for skilling and employment of Divyangjan.
Dr. Sunil Shukla, expressed, "It is high time that we, as a society, think
about inclusive development wherein empowering PwDs must be high on our
priority. On a regular basis, we need to curate sustainable business
opportunities, viable entrepreneurial prospects and ensure that the PwDs get
suitably trained and handheld. It is also important to establish best practices
at workplaces and at various levels of the social framework to foster equality
and inclusivity at all levels.
Dr. Raman Gujral, discussing the various projects undertaken by corporate to
empower PwDs, said that EDII has so far 8,533 PwDs through 266 skill training
programs, leading to the establishment of 1,247 enterprises.
EDII houses the Centre for Empowerment of the Differently Abled (CEDA),
supported by the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment, Directorate of
Social Defense, Gujarat State Handicapped (Divyang) Finance & Development
Corporation, Government of Gujarat, on its campus.
A brainstorming session was held between the officials and corporate leaders
present in the conference room. The one hour long round table discussion included
topics related to accessibility, aids and assistive devices, AI for PwDs, Job
mapping, entrepreneurship opportunities and disability sensitisation.