Accessible India Compaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan)
Why in news?
On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3, 2025), events highlighted the campaign's decade-long progress, including over 1,300 retrofitted buildings, accessible airports and railway stations, and 95 central government websites made compliant.
About
- Accessible India Campaign is a nationwide initiative launched by India's Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) on December 3, 2015.
- The aim was to achieve universal accessibility for persons with disabilities (PwDs) across built environments, transportation, and information-communication ecosystems.
- Aligned with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the RPwD Act, it promotes equal opportunities and independent living for about 2.68 crore PwDs as per the 2011 Census.
- The campaign embodies "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas" by removing barriers in public spaces.
Key Objectives
- Enhance accessibility in built environments by auditing and retrofitting government buildings, schools, hospitals, and workplaces to eliminate physical barriers.
- Improve transportation systems, targeting 100% accessibility for A1, A, and B category railway stations by 2016 (extended later), 50% of stations by 2018, and 25% of public transport vehicles.
- Develop ICT accessibility through compliant websites (WCAG 2.0 standards), increased sign language interpreters, captioning on TV news, and tools like text-to-speech.
Key Achievements
- Retrofitted thousands of government buildings and made 35 international/55 domestic airports, 709 railway stations, and numerous buses accessible.
- Enhanced digital access with 676 state websites revamped and the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) training over 1,000 individuals.
- Integrated into the Scheme for Implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (SIPDA), with budget allocations rising from ₹560 crore (2013-14) to ₹1,225 crore (2023-24).
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