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Fostering Inclusivity In Communication Technology: Knowledge And Resource Centre For Accessibility In ICT (KAI), 2022 – IMPRI Impact And Policy Research Institute

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Fostering Inclusivity in Communication Technology: Knowledge and Resource Centre for Accessibility in ICT (KAI), 2022

Policy Update
Srishti Sinha

Introduction

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are omnipresent, widely used, and vitally important in today’s world. Everything under the sun; all kinds of services and knowledge are available online. These were created to make life easier for everyone, and it has certainly achieved that to a large extent.

As per a study by Deloitte, India will have 1 billion smartphone users by 2026, with rural areas driving the sale of internet-enabled phones. However, there are segments of society that might face challenges in accessing such technology, for instance, people with disabilities (PWDs). In India, where an estimated 26.8 million people live with disabilities (Census, 2011), making technology accessible becomes imperative. The Knowledge and Resource Centre for Accessibility in ICT (KAI) is an initiative that addresses such challenges. 

Background

In 2007, India ratified the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and subsequently enacted the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPwD Act) in December 2016. This legislation recognizes twenty-one (21) types of disabilities. In line with this, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) initiated the development of Indian standards for the accessibility of ICT products and services through the Knowledge and Resource Centre for Accessibility in ICT (KAI) project, which is led by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) located in Pune. The main reason for launching KAI was to make digital technology more accessible for persons with disabilities across India. 

Earlier, India had many separate guidelines for accessibility, for websites, phones, and other digital tools. But these were not well connected, and there was no single standard. KAI helped bring all these together to develop one national standard, called IS 17802. This Indian Standard for ICT Accessibility was published by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in two parts:

KAI  played a big role in training people and creating awareness. It held workshops, shared easy-to-use resources, and trained government departments and companies on how to follow the new rules. The Indian standards also match global accessibility rules, like  EN 301 549 used in Europe. In 2023, the Indian government made these standards legally binding under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules. This means both government and private companies must now follow IS 17802.

Functioning

KAI functions as a central strategic hub, developing national ICT accessibility standards aligned with global best practices, creating capacity across sectors through training, and supporting implementation through outreach and compliance frameworks. This facilitates the production of standards-based hardware and software products, creates opportunities for the development of innovative assistive technologies for start-ups, industry, and research and development (R&D). This standard also facilitates seamless access to ICT services and content over Mobile and Web for the wider populace. KAI is like a guiding center that helps India make its digital world more inclusive and usable for people with disabilities, by writing rules, training people, and checking if those rules are followed. 

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Performance

  • In 2023-2024, KAI made substantial progress in developing digital accessibility infrastructure in India. One of its key achievements was contributing to the finalization and national adoption of the Indian Accessibility Standard IS 17802, which guides the development of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) products and services to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities. This standard aligns with global benchmarks, such as the European Standard ETSI EN 301 549 and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, which were published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in 2018. WCAG 2.1 lays out internationally recognized principles to ensure that web content is perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for users with various disabilities. Committees such as BIS’s LITD-31 were actively involved in tailoring these international frameworks to Indian needs.
  • In 2023-24, it conducted multiple “train-the-trainer” programs.. It also produced a short educational film to raise awareness and supported outreach through government platforms. Among these platforms were S3WaaS (Secure, Scalable, and Sugamya Website as a Service), which is a MeitY initiative that helps government bodies create accessible and multilingual websites, and the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW), which provide technical and content-related rules to make official websites more user-friendly and inclusive. 
  • KAI also partnered with the Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification Directorate (STQC) to establish testing mechanisms that assess whether digital products comply with accessibility norms. 
  • Under the UX4G project, over 700 government websites were audited for compliance with accessibility standards, backed by reusable design templates and implementation support.

Impact

KAI has created essential standards, trained public bodies, and laid the groundwork for accessible ICT in India, especially in the public sector. 

Emerging Issues

  • Only 95 of the  central government websites remain accessible since 2020, and just 476 out of 676 state government sites tagged accessible are live, highlighting gaps in implementation.  
  • Accessibility errors remain rampant in many sectors, with financial websites averaging over 90 accessibility errors per homepage, reflecting slow uptake of digital accessibility across institutions.

Way Forward

  • KAI should work on making compliance mandatory through stronger implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016.
  • It can introduce penalties or incentives for public and private entities to comply with accessibility standards like IS 17802 and WCAG 2.1.
  • It can launch targeted awareness campaigns and training programs for private companies, especially in finance, e-commerce, healthcare, and education, since this is the arena where technologies are missing accessibility efforts the most.
  • Publish transparent progress reports to inform the public and policymakers, as there is currently a lack of any such reports.
  • Rural inclusion programs can be organised to ensure accessible ICT tools reach marginalised and disabled populations in remote areas.

References

About the Contributor

Srishti Sinha is a student of sociology at Miranda House, University of Delhi, with a keen interest in gender, cultural representation, development, public policy, and research.

Acknowledgement

The author expresses her sincere gratitude to the IMPRI team and Ms. Aasthaba Jadeja for their invaluable guidance throughout the process. 

Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation. 

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