Applications open for the NCPEDP Bajaj Finserv Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities
- About NCPEDP Javed Abidi Fellowship
- Fellowship 2.0
- Meet Our Alumni
- Our Past Mentors
- Our Past Partner Organizations
NCPEDP Javed Abidi fellowship is one-of-a-kind fellowship programme in Asia which focuses on leadership and capacity building of youth with disabilities. It was initiated in the year 2021, completing its first run in 2024 with a batch of 21 fellows, successfully completing the fellowship programme. The programme envisions creating a similar batch of fellows, who gain meaningful experience for at least a year, turning them into advocates of disability inclusion for life. It is supported by Azim Premji Foundation
The fellows are transformed into owners of their own idea through this intervention. The experience allows the fellows to learn the nuances of evidence-based advocacy. The future leaders are groomed to plan and implement an intervention on advocacy in a thematic area and region of their own preference. The fellowship allows them to work with local institutions in that region, to reduce search friction in establishing relationships with community and policy makers. The nature of this interaction, unlike any other fellowship in India, remains true to the essence of collaboration, rather than making fellows work as employees of that organisation. However, these organisations along with subject matter experts, acting as mentors, do ensure to provide critical feedback, to hand hold the fellows in the right direction. The arrangement leads to fellows conducting primary study, collaborating and networking with like-minded individuals and organisations and working with policy makers to make sincere efforts towards policy transformation. The fellows are supported with a monthly stipend of up to INR 25,000 to support their needs of caregiver, transportation and spend on activities enabling work with communities and policy makers.
The role of NCPEDP, mentors and partnering organisations is to thus cultivate the necessary traits of a future ready leader. One, who is capable enough to take forward the cause of Disability Inclusion across multiple sectors; in whatever discourse they choose for themselves in future.

Thaneshwar

Sakshi

Nikhileshwar

Manish

Krishna

Jayant

Ferdinand

Chaitanya

B Kavya Poorninma

Saurabh

Priya

Masoom

Kumar Mahavir

Kavya Mukhija

Javid

Deepak

Balram

Anjali

Amit

Aarti

Abhishek

Ishwar Prasad Chhatta

Yogesh Kumar

Arun Kumar Singh

Prof. Sudesh Mukhopadhyay

Shazia Qureshi

Amvalika Senapati

Ashish Kumar

Joe John George

Smitha Sadasivan

Dr Rajiv Nandy

Nikita Sarah

Amar Jain

TMN Deepak Kumar

Subhash Chandra Vashishtha

Swati Sharma

Arushi Society
Arushi is a Bhopal-based voluntary organization working with people with disabilities to facilitate a just, humane and equal-opportunity society. The focus of its efforts is to help people with disabilities develop capacities to achieve their potential and to advocate their rights and concerns through sensitization of the community. ‘Arushi’, the name means the first ray of the Sun. Just as the Sun’s first rays bring forth a new day, fresh hope, promise and prospects, Arushi strives to bring hope and courage into the lives of people with disability.

Association of People Affected by Leprosy (APAL)
APAL National Forum India was formed by and for the Persons affected by leprosy across the country and it was started informally in 2006. This initiative helped to have networked with the leprosy colonies. A National Conference on Integration & Empowerment of people affected by leprosy was conducted in New Delhi in 2005 and 2006 which helped to unite the people affected by leprosy from various parts of the country. National Forum India was registered in Feb. 2011.

Barefoot Trust
Barefoot Trust is a registered Non-Profit Organization with a social presence in Odisha & Meghalaya. The organisation is dedicated to providing a platform for dialogue, discussions and demonstration of the intersectionality between education, inclusion, sustainable food and youth leading to the all-round development of students, persons with disability and youth in the competitive world. Barefoot Trust was founded on a learning culture aimed at encouraging and enriching conversation, developing quality relationships, spot opportunities for engagement, craft strategy, ignite innovation, exercise servant leadership, catalyse entrepreneurship and above all to stay relevant in the ever-changing world with a special focus on the development sector.

Chhattisgarh Viklang Manch
Chhattisgarh Viklang Manch works to empower persons with disabilities. The mission was founded on the firm belief that the disabled do not need sympathy- they need a supportive environment to grow and fulfil their needs, potential and dreams.

Creative Education and Development Society
The Creative Education and Development Society Etah (Uttar Pradesh) India was established in 12-04- 2001. There are a lot of awareness programs in various sectors such as education distance education, special education, legal, environment, women empowerment, training and development for disabled people, women, children, as well as students and farmers etc. The Society is registered with the National Trust, New Delhi (Government of India).

Deepshikha
Deepshikha, Institute for Child Development and Mental Health (a unit of Purshree) Ranchi is an organization working in the field of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in Jharkhand. The organization came into being on 17th July 1988.Deepshikha aims to work for child development and mental health by developing models of clinical services.

Latika Roy Memorial Foundation
The Latika Roy Foundation has been working in the field of disability in Uttarakhand since 1994. It is a registered society and a professional organisation, devoted to assessment, creative education and therapy for children with disabilities, vocational training and recreation for adults. Our services are activity based and family cantered, and founded on a clear understanding of typical and atypical child development.

Network of persons with disability Organisations (NPdO)
NPdO has been functioning in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is affiliated to the National Disabled Network, New Delhi, and Disabled People International, (DPI) Bangkok. NPdO is a Disabled People’s Organisation managed by the people with disabilities. NPdO has been initiated by a group of likeminded Persons with disabilities, who met during their childhood at the Government Home for the Disabled. Initially the group aimed to raise the voices of the persons with disabilities and issues through publishing a Magazine named as VARTHA TEJA in the year 1996. It has emerged as a strong network of more than 70,000 members across the state towards empowering the persons with disabilities with special focus on women and children with disabilities. NPdO had mandated 50% women participation in its networking and activities. NPdO holds a belief in equal participation of the section of Persons with disabilities with a special focus on gender equality, equal participation, and networking and advocacy interventions.

Rainbow Society for Differently-abled
Rainbow Society for Differently-abled from Lucknow is a registered NGO, Vocational Centre and Skills Training & Employment Centre working with special needs. They work with children and adults with Autism, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. The organisation is working for early intervention services for delayed development children and provide speech therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychological assessment, behaviour modification, one on one teaching, group teaching, yoga, music, sports training and vocational training to make them self dependent.

Shristi
Shristi came into existence in 1995 to fulfil the need for a centre where children with developmental and learning disabilities could be managed holistically. For more than two decades now, we have contributed in a significant way to the process of learning and striving towards excellence in the field of management of learning and developmental difficulties. The mission of the organisation is to sensitise the system, reach out to the most vulnerable groups, provide professional services to build up their self-esteem and help them to live a sustainable life.

Vishwaas
Vishwaas is a not-for-profit organisation located in Gurugram and working in the field of Disability and Inclusive Development. Their programmes are rooted in the fundamental belief in EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND INCLUSION and respecting the right of every individual to live their life to the fullest with dignity. All their programmes cater to children and young adults from the most marginalised communities. Even within vulnerable groups, those with disabilities are most likely to get excluded and discriminated against.

Umang
Umang was established in 2006, Umang is an initiative started by parents and professionals, striving for an inclusive society that provides equal opportunity for all, by enhancing the quality of life of individuals with various disabilities. Umang reaches out to individuals with: Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Intellectual Disability & Multiple Disabilities
2.1 Programme Overview
The new project on fellowship, following the ethos and principles of the first successful programme, intends to focus on the Northern part of India from the year 2024 – 2025, followed by developing youth with disabilities in the next year for the southern part of the country.
20 youth with disabilities will be selected from the aforementioned part of the country who
will engage themselves in the following activities: –
- Identify a thematic area of intervention of disability inclusion to be addressed, in consultation with local community members and local civil society organisations or any other stakeholder.
- Likewise, filter a very specific area of intervention within the larger theme of intervention.
- Develop a plan of action which involves research-based study to generate evidence on the current scenario of inclusion. It will be helpful to realise the factors affecting disability inclusion positively as well as negatively.
- Create a neutral report highlighting gaps and best practices which will help in development of detailed policy briefs for policy makers.
- Participate actively on platforms and opportunities related to networking and collaboration to liaison with stakeholders.
- Simultaneously, build relationships with the community to make them aware of the findings, get their feedback on policy recommendations and attain their endorsements for building a strong case of policy transformation.
- Likewise, develop relationships with key policy makers of government as well as private organizations with legislative members and executives to effectively propose for policy transformation.
- Pursue the case of advocacy actively with the policy makers supplementing the efforts with media campaigns.
- Record the development in collaboration with NCPEDP to highlight stories of transformation.
*To know more and to apply, please go through the application and detailed program section. Please also go through the work of our alumni fellows available on the website.
2.2 Details of Fellowship Application
- Eligibility Criteria
- The person must have a minimum educational qualification of completing matriculation.
- The person must be from the Northern part of the country when applying for the first term of the fellowship that is from 2024 to 2025 i.e. preferably from states like Assam, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh and Delhi and in the next year from the southern region.
- The person must be from the age group of 18 to 28 years at the time of filling the form.
- S/He must be a person with Disability as defined by Rights to Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
- The person must have worked with / for the communities in rural areas or urban slums towards development of marginalised groups. Or, must have been part of a cause that required online intervention like in any case of Digital Accessibility. Or they must have worked with organisations focussing on policy reform.
*Please note that merely making regular posts on social media will not qualify as working with the community. Internships will qualify as experience.
- They must have experience in some form of fictional or artistic or research-based documentation.
- The person must have intermediate proficiency in reading or writing or speaking English or Hindi language.
- Programme Details
Click Here to access Detailed Programme Document before applying for the fellowship.
c. Application Form
Click Here to access Word (.docx) form. This is the sample form for reference for you to
know the kind of information and documents required to fill the google form.
Click Here to access Guide to fill the form
Click Here to access and submit Google form