About Us – National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People

National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) is a cross-disability, non-profit organization, working as an interface between the Government, Industry, International Agencies, and the Voluntary Sector towards empowerment of persons with disabilities.

NCPEDP advocates for the need to move away from traditionally held views of charity and welfare to those of productivity and enabling of disabled people.
Registered in 1996, NCPEDP has since then, successfully advocated several policy changes that have positively impacted the lives of people with disabilities, working across to encourage employment of disabled people; increase public awareness on the issue of disability; empower disabled people with knowledge, information and opportunities; and ensure easy and convenient access to all public places, products, services and technologies.

The mandate at NCPEDP has been to:

Encourage employment of people with disabilities
Increase public awareness on disability issues
Empower people with disabilities through appropriate legislation
Ensure public places are accessible to all

Headquartered in New Delhi, NCPEDP has a pan India presence through the National Disability Network (NDN). Formed in 1999, NDN has members from majority States and Union Territories across the country.

NCPEDP has also constituted the National Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (NCRPD) consisting of disability sector leaders and experts from across the country, that meets at regular intervals to discuss ongoing pertinent issues relevant to people with disabilities, and to plan a strategy to address the same.

NCPEDP works on six core principles, also called the six pillars of the organization, namely:

We believe that Employment is not possible without Education. Employment and Education are not possible without Accessibility. Employment, Education, and Accessibility need to be supported by appropriate Legislation and Policy, and it becomes imperative to create Awareness in order to achieve any of the above. Most importantly, we believe that the Youth will be the driving force behind all such initiatives.

Major General Ian Cardozo

A decorated war veteran, Major General Cardozo became the first officer with a disability in the Indian Army to be approved for command of an infantry battalion and brigade, after losing a leg during the battle of Sylhet in Bangladesh.He was also the first officer of the Indian Army to be awarded the Sena Medal for gallantry on a patrol in the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) in 1960. Major General Cardozo has been part of the Sino-Indian war of 1962, and the Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971. After retirement as Chief of Staff of a Corps in the North East of India,
he worked as Vice President of the War Wounded Foundation and was later appointed as the Chairman of the Rehabilitation Council of India. His books ‘Param Vir’, and ‘The Sinking of INS Khukri’ have been widely acclaimed.

Mr. Pradeep Gupta

Pradeep Gupta, a prominent figure in the IT industry, chairs the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP). He’s lauded for his leadership and mentoring, receiving the quot;National Entrepreneurship Award as the Best Mentor quot; from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India. He’s deeply engaged in fostering startups globally, evident in his roles as an Angel investor, Chief Mentor at Electropreneur Park, and co-founder of the Indian Angel Network.

Recognising Pradeep’s contribution to the startup ecosystem of India, the Government has put him on the Investment Management Committee of its 10,000 crore ($1.25 Bn) Fund of Funds.

As the Chairman of the CyberMedia Group, overseeing brands like Dataquest and PCQuest, Pradeep remains at the forefront of media innovation. His contributions have earned him prestigious awards, including the Distinguished Alumni accolades from IIT Delhi and IIM Calcutta, as well as the Helen Keller award for his work in the disability sector. He features in the book “100 Great IITians”.

Pradeep holds degrees from IIT Delhi (1975) and IIM Calcutta (1977), and has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Rai University for his remarkable contributions.

Mr Arvind Gupta

Arvind Gupta has dedicated the past three decades to leading and innovating within the digital space. As the Head and Co-Founder of Digital India Foundation, he has committed himself to digital inclusion and policy innovation.His role extends to academia, where he shares his knowledge as an Adjunct Professor at IIT-BHU.

Mr. Gupta’s extensive career spans sectors and continents, excelling in Consumer Internet, Digital Media, Payment Systems, Analytics, and the Data Economy. Recognized on the Global FinTech Top100 list, he also holds prestigious roles at the World Economic Forum and OECD.

He received the Eisenhower Global Fellowship for Innovation in 2014, the DataQuest Pathbreaker of the Year award, and the Distinguished Centenary Alumni award from IIT-BHU. As CEO of MyGov, he spearheaded efforts for digital inclusion through participative governance.

Mr. Gupta drives successful startups like amplify.ai and ApnaPay. As a Founder Member of iSPiRT, he champions nationwide Digital Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) initiatives, showcasing his commitment to digital progress. He’s a prominent speaker at global forums and contributes articles on the digital economy and governance to prestigious publications like The Harvard Business Review and The World Economic Forum. Recently, he joined an advisory council addressing digital monopolies.

Mr. Arun Seth

Board member, Narayana Health and Jubilant Pharmova Mr Arun Seth took early retirement from his corporate career to focus on bringing the benefits of IT/Telecom to real world businesses in energy, health, fintech, medtech, education, hospitality etc. via a vibrant innovative entrepreneurial eco system and a focus on giving back to society. He had been very active with Govt and Regulators on shaping Telecoms Policy and IT policy being an elected member of Nasscom for more than a decade. Currently an independent Director on FMRT, IITK and on the board of listed cos Jubilant Pharmova Ltd, Jubilant Ingrevia Ltd, Narayana Hrudalaya. An alumnus of IIT Kanpur and IIM Calcutta – he has worked in senior commercial positions in the BT, HCL, Usha Martin and the UB Group, in the last 40+ years.

Mr. A.S. Narayanan

Mr. Narayanan has been working with the deaf community for the past 25 years. He is the Secretary of National Association of the Deaf, India. He is actively involved in the setting up and functioning of Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre. Currently, he is leading the campaign for the recognition of Indian Sign Language as one of the official languages of India, issuance of driving licenses for deaf people, and captioning on TV, among other issues.

The mandate at NCPEDP has been to:

Latest on NCPEDP

NCPEDP - Javed Abidi Fellowship on Disability

Contact Us