An initiative by Software Technology Park of India, under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), is working to establish an assistive technology (AT) Hub.
According to an official release, the platform will comprise one centralised virtual hub and three physical hubs at institutes including IIT-BHU, Varanasi. The hub is envisaged as a centre of excellence and entrepreneurship for research and innovation, building AT evidence base, making policy interventions, among others. Reportedly, an all-stakeholders consultation was held in New Delhi to deliberate on the way forward for AT, with participation from Department of Empowerment of persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), IIT Delhi, IIIT Delhi, ICMR, UNESCO, ILO, National Institute of Urban Affairs, AIIMS among others.
From what it’s understood, the meeting deliberated on the need for a push to the AT ecosystem. The three proposed hubs are together likely to support 150 start ups over five years, which should enable innovation as well as manufacturing of assistive devices. Sources suggest that other experts at the consultation comprised Ravinder Singh, Indian Council of Medal Research (ICMR); Hitesh Vaidya, National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA); Gagan Bawa, Accenture; Vishal Thakur, NASSCOM Foundation; Preeti Sridhar, Mariwala Health Initiative, among others.
“I believe this is a leap forward in establishing India as a global manufacturing hub of assistive devices. WHO says 2.5 billion people globally require at least one assistive device indicating a market. With the current focus of the government on establishing India as a manufacturing giant, this should be an opportune moment for us to strive to grab a big pie of this target market,” Arman Ali, executive director, NCPEDP, said.
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