A ramp to purple economy

India's disability laws promise inclusion, dignity and access, yet millions continue to navigate broken pavements, inaccessible transport and invisible barriers. Even as the country struggles to become 'purple aware', persons with disabilities are building their lives through a mix of resilience and technology, discovers Suruchi Kapur Gomes.

Jay Muthu, a senior executive at a multinational company, remembers life in London with a kind of disbelief. There, he commuted independently through buses, subways, lifts, escalators, accessible malls and public toilets, not to mention reliable last-mile connectivity. He watched cricket matches at stadiums on his own, travelled across the city without planning every movement and rarely needed to depend on others. In India, he says, the environment itself disables him. “I am not disabled; it is the environment which makes me,” he says.

For Janardhan, a spinal cord injury once meant months confined to bed after a truck accident. Today, a wheelchair-cum-bike has changed his life. He now earns about Rs 1,000 a day as a delivery partner. “I am happy, and am earning now. Wish the government would help us more,” he says.

Two Indias coexist uneasily: one where laws promise inclusion, and another where everyday life continues to exclude millions through broken pavements, inaccessible transport, unusable public toilets and systems designed without disability in mind. The cost is not merely social. It is economic. Globally, the idea of the “Purple Economy” frames Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) not as passive beneficiaries of welfare, but as workers, consumers, entrepreneurs and taxpayers whose participation shapes economic growth. Yet in India, this vast population remains largely invisible when it comes to infrastructure and employment.

Excluded by design

The divide widens sharply in rural India, where nearly 70 per cent of PwDs live, according to the 2011 census.

India’s disability story is marked by contradictions. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, recognises 21 disabilities and mandates four per cent reservation in government jobs and five per cent in education. The government introduced the UDID (Unique Disability Identity) card scheme. The Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan, or Accessible India Campaign, launched in 2015, aimed to create barrier-free infrastructure, transport and digital systems. Yet implementation remains fragmented and inconsistent.

According to the Census in 2011, India had 2.68 crore persons with disabilities, around 2.21 per cent of the population. Independent researchers and disability rights groups estimate the real number may be significantly higher, between five and eight per cent of the population.

India still lacks a comprehensive national database on PwDs, updated surveys and systematic compliance audits. “With no meaningful data, we are not included in surveys and statistics. India relies on the 2011 census,” says Meenakshi Balasubramanian, associate at the Institute of Public Policy and a disability advocate.

The invisibility extends to employment. Data from the Registrar General and Census Commissioner show that only 36 per cent of persons with disabilities are employed. A business daily report examining the top 30 BSE Sensex companies as of March 31, 2024, found that India Inc employs only 0.26 per cent of PwDs in the private sector, despite years of diversity and inclusion conversations.

An economic problem

Globally, according to the World Health Organisation, 1.3 billion people, around 16 per cent of the population, experience significant disability.

For Muthu, the issue is straightforward. “Disability is an economic problem,” he says. “Education and support at schools — government and private — will empower them to go to college and build careers. Transportation is crucial. Today, many colleges are accessible, but if PwDs don’t reach school or college, employment becomes moot.”

His own childhood reflected those structural barriers. His mother carried him to school. Later, Sheshadripuram College in Bengaluru became his only realistic option because it had a lift.

Accessibility, he argues, often remains performative. A pedestrian bridge near a busy Bengaluru hospital junction has lifts, but only one works. Metro ramps exist, but pavements remain broken or blocked by bollards. Public toilets remain inaccessible or unusable. “The feeling of ‘I’m not a burden’ will come with a mindset shift,” he says.

How India designs public spaces determines whether PwDs can work, vote, learn, travel or simply socialise independently. Last-mile connectivity, pavements, curb cuts, safe crossings, hygienic toilets and accessible transport remain among the largest barriers.

Transportation, in particular, continues to shape access to education and employment. “Even when buses have ramps, they are rarely used,” says Muthu. Urban mobility expert Aswathy Dilip, managing director of ITDP (Institute for Transportation and Development Policy) India, says progress exists but remains fragmented. Continuous footpaths, safe crossings and low-floor buses are critical. Government rules now mandate low-floor buses for intra-city transport from October 2026.

She points to how activism changed policy in Tamil Nadu. “Disability Rights Alliance in TN filed a case on buses with inaccessible high floors. Today, low-floor buses have been brought into Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai,” she says. Chennai alone is expected to have 1,004 buses between 2025 and 2026, including 313 low-floor buses and 294 low-floor EV buses.

In Bengaluru, APD’s (Association of People with Disability) “rehab on wheels” initiative has introduced buses with lower chassis to improve last-mile mobility. “We started with one bus in 2023. We have three buses to cover the entire Greater Bengaluru Authority,” says Sunil Kumar of APD. The failure of accessibility also shapes education. The death by suicide of Rahul Chaitanya Madala, a deaf student at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, exposed institutional failure. Madala reportedly struggled without sign language interpreters despite provisions under the RPwD Act.

For many advocates, the problem lies in how India conceptualises disability itself.

“Disability cannot remain the subject of one department or ministry,” says Balasubramanian. “I don’t think the government has a vision; it’s implementing the same projects. Universal design institutes and disability studies are pilots. There is no focus on ensuring policies and programmes across agencies effectively include us.”

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has repeatedly flagged delays, under-utilisation of funds and weak monitoring in the Accessible India Campaign. Audits found that poor planning and partial implementation deprived persons with disabilities of accessible infrastructure. Yet there are pockets of progress.

Bridging the gap

Karnataka has emerged as one of the more proactive states in disability inclusion, driven in part by disability commissioner Das Suryavanshi and additional chief secretary Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta.

Suryavanshi, notably the first non-IAS officer appointed for two terms as commissioner because of his work in the sector, pioneered Karnataka’s first annual Braille calendar in 1990 and a Kannada Braille Bible in 1996. He began by starting a blind school in Bidar. Today, there are three such schools with more than 1,000 students.

Karnataka has also introduced reservation for children with special needs in residential schools and expanded disability-related welfare initiatives. Rural Karnataka libraries now stock Braille texts. Social audits covering 1.95 lakh public places are underway, with a detailed report expected.

In Telangana, too, universal design initiatives and a special sports policy have encouraged inclusion. Hyderabad collector Harichandana Dasari says buildings constructed in the past five years are being retrofitted, while blind schools use audiobooks and voice-enabled glasses.

Bratati Harichandan, State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Odisha, says the approach has to transition from a medical model to a strategic business model that prioritises employment and recognises a vast, untapped talent pool. “Their invisibility is due to our ignorance. Policies must ensure inclusive education and early career mapping, using assistive technology and skill building. Financial incentives like inclusive credits, equal opportunity policies and reasonable accommodations will go a long way,” she adds.

Where policy has lagged, technology is attempting to bridge the gap.
Prateek Madhav, founder and CEO of AssistTech Foundation (ATF), says the organisation has built an ecosystem focused on learning, livelihood and independent living.

In five years, ATF says it has impacted one million persons with disabilities through more than 500 assistive technology startups and collaborations across six countries. “If persons with disabilities are excluded, economies lose five to seven per cent of GDP,” says Madhav. Assistive technologies are increasingly enabling employment and independence. NeoMotion, for instance, partnered with a leading online food delivery service to develop advanced wheelchairs and scooters that are now used by 7,000 to 10,000 people. ATF-supported initiatives such as Livelihood on Wheels enable persons with locomotor disabilities to work as delivery partners.

ATF is also working on hidden disabilities such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia and learning disabilities. Among the startups it supports is CogniAble, developed by IIT Delhi, which uses technology to detect early autism. Startup Sparshmind Innovation uses immersive virtual learning and digital therapeutic technologies for neuro-rehabilitation, pain management and cognitive behavioural therapy.

In Pune, ATF implemented “Illuminate” in seven deaf schools, where over 3,000 children received BLEEtech learning tools and access to a sign-language library containing 2,500 resources.

Another platform, Buddy Up Network, functions as a social networking app for persons with disabilities and caregivers.

Trestle Labs’ device Kibo can read books aloud in multiple languages, digitise handwritten notes and make texts accessible on mobile phones. ATF is now working with Karnataka’s rural development department to introduce it across as many as 6,000 libraries.

Progress on the horizon

Corporate India, too, is slowly beginning to respond.

“Inclusion must come from policy, compensation, culture and infrastructure — not charity or compliance,” says Madhav, citing studies that show employees with disabilities often demonstrate higher commitment and lower attrition.

EnAble India has worked with over 1,000 companies across 28 states and 1,000 locations. “About 51 per cent of the people hired had severe disabilities. The landscape is changing progressively,” says Shanti Raghavan, founder of EnAble India and among the pioneers of disability employment in India.

Some initiatives are already attempting to normalise accessibility in public life. Purple Rides, a partnership between EnAble India and a popular open-source ride-hailing app, has completed more than two lakh rides and generated revenues of around Rs 9 crore. Elsewhere, the Kempegowda International Airport now has sensory rooms and sunflower lanyards that support neurodiverse passengers. Banks have introduced accessible banking tools using barcodes and screen-reading software.

In the United Kingdom, the “Purple Pound” represents £300 billion in spending power. “Why is this growing taxpayer segment not universally acknowledged?” asks Muthu. Yet the gap between policy and lived experience remains stark.

Disability certification processes remain inconsistent. Certified accessibility auditors are scarce. “There are 300 guidelines in the law; India has less than 10,000 certified auditors who charge exorbitantly,” says Sunil Kumar.

APD recently launched the Yes to Access app, a volunteer-driven platform that maps and audits accessibility standards. Volunteers upload photographs, after which the app checks compliance, assigns rankings and flags safety concerns.

“Changes should happen at the procurement level so universal design and accessibility are not an afterthought,” says Balasubramanian. “One size does not fit all.”

Another challenge is mental health. Kumar believes mental health conditions may become India’s largest disability challenge in the coming years.

APD currently works with organisations such as Nimhans on rehabilitation programmes, including spinal cord injury support. “There are only 10 centres in India that can do such rehabilitation,” he says. The broader challenge, advocates argue, is societal. “Our societal norms need a rethink. We need empathy, not sympathy,” says Muthu.

When he moved back to India, he had one non-negotiable demand: an accessible school for his daughter. He visited 12 schools before finding one that was “85 per cent accessible.” Even then, the idea of a disabled toilet was met with awkward silence.

For Janardhan, survival itself remains a triumph. For Muthu, dependence remains exhausting despite professional success and family support. Still, both continue to push against a system that rarely fully sees them.

“Become purple aware,” says Muthu, “and we will be purple empowered.”