Accessibility
India has an estimated 70 million disabled persons who are unable to read printed materials due to some form of physical, sensory, cognitive or other disability. The disabled need accessible content, devices and interfaces facilitated via copyright law and accessibility policies. We have organised Right to Read campaigns in the four metro cities of Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai, made a submission to amend the Indian Copyright to the Ministry of Human Resource Development, researched on accessible mobile handsets in India, analysed the Working Draft of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, and published a policy handbook on e-accessibility and a book on universal service for persons with disabilities.
Key Research
Publications
- National Compendium of Laws, Policies, Programmes for Persons with Disabilities (CIS and the Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Department of Disability Affairs, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India; January 3, 2016).
- Enabling Elections (CIS and the Centre for Law and Policy Research; March 24, 2014).
- Accessibility of Government Websites in India: A Report (CIS and Hans Foundation; September 26, 2012).
- Web Accessibility Policy Making: An International Perspective (G3ict and CIS; February 28, 2012).
- Universal Service for Persons with Disabilities: A Global Survey of Policy Interventions and Good Practices (Axel Leblois, Nirmita Narasimhan and Deepti Bharthur; G3ict and CIS, December 27, 2011).
- e-Accessibility Policy Handbook for Persons with Disabilities (Russian) (November 4, 2011).
- e-Accessibility Policy Handbook for Persons with Disabilities (CIS, ITU and G3ict with support from Hans Foundation; October 27, 2010).
Submissions
- Inclusive Disaster and Emergency Management for Persons with Disabilities (Deepti Samant Raja and Nirmita Narasimhan, submitted to the the National Disaster Management Authority of India, September 17, 2013).
- Accessibility in the New Telecom Policy 2011 (submitted to the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Government of India, December 9, 2011)
- Right to Knowledge for Persons with Print Impairment: A Proposal to Amend the Indian Copyright Regime (submitted jointly by CIS and Inclusive Planet and Alternative Law Forum to the Ministry of HRD, November 2009).
Other Research
- Accessibility of Political Parties Websites in India ( Nirmita Narasimhan; March 24, 2014).
- The ICT Opportunity for a Disability-Inclusive Development Framework (Broadband Commission for Digital Development, G3ict, International Disability Alliance, International Telecommunication Union, Microsoft, Telecentre.org Foundation, and UNESCO; September 30, 2013).
- Opening New Avenues for Empowerment: ICTs to Access Information and Knowledge for Persons with Disabilities (UNESCO; August 31, 2013).
- Accessible Broadcasting in India (Srividya Vaidyanathan; January 11, 2013).
- Making Mobile Phones and Services Accessible for Persons with Disabilities (Axel Leblois and Nirmita Narasimhan; ITU and G3ict, September 2, 2012).
- The Working Draft of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2010: Does it exceed its Mandate in Including Provisions Relating to Other Disability Legislations? (CIS, Inclusive Planet and the Centre for Law and Policy Research; February 24, 2011).
