National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People
Disabled People Call for Political Recognition and Action
Applications open for the NCPEDP Bajaj Finserv Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities 
Category A: Role Model Person with Disabilities
Dr. Sharad Philip (Kochi, Kerala)
Dr Sharad is a psychiatrist and family medicine practitioner trained from prestigious institutions like NIMHANS, Bangalore and CMC, Vellore. He has severe visual impairment and has continued to work in psychiatric rehabilitation after his training. He has also been an ardent disability rights champion, being a member of the institute’s accessibility audit and persons with disabilities committees during his tenure. He has also been supporting other doctors and health care professionals with disabilities in pursuing their education and practice goals.
Dr. Jayanthibhai Bhim Patel (Gandhinagar, Gujarat)
Dr.Jayanthibhai Bhim Patel got B. A, B. ED and Diploma in physiotherapy and succeeded in getting job as a Physiotherapist in Civil Hospital Himatnagar and Gandhinagar and served as many as 4.5 lakhs patients during his tenure. He also helped in getting employment to about 51 candidates in sectors like banking, physiotherapy, higher education and self-employment. Presently he is rendering his invaluable service to the School for the Blind, Gandhinagar as a General Secretary.
Ms. Natasha Pinto (Bengaluru, Karnataka)
Natasha Pinto is the Global Co-Lead of the Accessibility Network at LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) based in Bangalore, leading a passionate and a diverse team at LSEG. She is an advocate of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) and is involved in enabling, supporting, and promoting a disability-inclusive environment within and outside her organization with a focus on invisible illnesses.
Jury Award (Special Mention)
Ms. Manasi Girishchandra Joshi (Ahmedabad, Gujarat)
Manasi Girishchandra Joshi is an Indian para-badminton player, current world champion and a changemaker. She aims to drive a shift in the discourse around disability and para-sports in India and across the world. A software engineer by profession, Manasi started her sporting journey in 2015, and at present, she is ranked world no. 2 in Women’s Singles. Her contribution to the Paralympic movement in India has been significant. She has successfully advocated for the use of sports as a tool for changing lives and contributing to an all-inclusive society as a game changer.
Ms. Kanchanmala D Pande (Nagpur, Maharashtra)
Kanchanmala D. Pande is an international Para swimmer with 100 percent visual impairment, class I officer in Reserve bank of India and crusader for employment of persons with disabilities. Kanchanmala was adjudged World Champion in World Para Swimming Championship 2017. She has won about 112 medals at international, National and State levels Her work has impacted about hundred disabled persons directly and innumerable number have been indirectly inspired through her speeches and precept.
Category B: Role Model Supporter of Increased Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities
Ms. Chumki Datta (Bhubaneswar, Orissa)
Ms. Chumki Datta is a hands-on entrepreneur of an advertising agency, a right activist for vulnerable communities, and an advocate of women's empowerment.She has designed and managed many campaigns to promote awareness among PwDs.She is the founder-secretary of VriddhiTraining cum Production Centre, an SHG owned &managed by differently-abled people including the person with intellectual disabilities
Ms. Shashwati P (Bengaluru, Karnataka)
Shashwati P empowers organizations in their Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) journey. As a D&I consultant she presents business cases for Disability Inclusion at Workplace. She is continuously assessing & bridging gaps for disability inclusive policy adoption along with undertaking several interventions and initiating innovative ideas to ensure that all employees with disabilities are provided an encouraging and supportive environment at their workplace. An alumnus from FMS, Delhi, Shashwati is passionate about disability Inclusion at the workplace and conversations around bias and intersectionality of identities.
Dr. Sharanjeet Kaur (Panchkula, Haryana)
Dr Sharanjeet Kaur has been associated with Haryana Welfare Society for Persons with Hearing & Speech Impairment (HWSPSHI) for over 27 years now, in various capacities from a trainee to the Vice President and Chairperson of the Society. She has made humongous efforts for quality education and accessibility for deaf students. Her vision of ‘From Charity to Dignity’, her strong advocacy for sign language, education of deaf girls and inclusion of deaf employees in the organization has resulted in heightened sensitivity and awareness towards deaf empowerment.
Category C: Role Model Companies/NGOs/Institutions
Sarthak Educational Trust (New Delhi)
Sarthak Educational Trust is an NGO which is working towards the empowerment of persons with disability. Today inclusion, empowerment, and mainstreaming of persons with disabilities is the guiding principle of Sarthak Educational Trust through its dedicated efforts in the areas of early intervention, inclusive education, skill building, placement and advocacy.Capacity Building Program, Accessible Event Management Support, Online Parents Interaction Forum, etc are some of the other initiatives, where Sarthak is actively engaged and is making immense contributions to the cause of persons with disabilities.
Kenduadihi Bikash Society (Bankura, West Bengal)
Kenduadihi Bikash Society, is an NGO working for the cause of Disability in Bankura district of West Bengal, since 1996. Operating in rural areas, there is always a dearth of livelihood opportunities. Thus, they adopted the motto “Early childhood to Livelihood”, focussing on early identification and intervention of children with disabilities and provide them with special education and rehabilitation services. Consequently, many persons with disabilities trained by the Kenduadihi Bikash Society have now become income earners through employment as well as self- employment and are supporting their families instead of being dependent on others for sustenance
Alliance to Promote Abilities & Rehabilitation (ATPAR, New Delhi)
Alliance to Promote Abilities & Rehabilitation LLP (ATPAR) is a Social Enterprise that enables to Start, Sustain and Scaleentrepreneurial ventures of Persons with Disabilities for economic empowerment, social inclusion and rehabilitation. ATPAR sensitized over 2000 PwDs and family members and trained over 450 persons with disabilities on Entrepreneurship through NSIC / NIESBUD.
Spastics Society of Karnataka (Centre for Developmental Disabilities, Bengaluru, Karnataka)
Spastics Society of Karnataka (SSK) [Centre for Developmental Disabilities], Bangalore, established in 1982, provides comprehensive rehabilitation services for Children with Developmental Disabilities. Annually 6000 children and to date more than 61,000 children and their families have received services.
New Category: Role Model Entrepreneurs with Disabilities
Anand VS Kulkarni (Mumbai, Maharashtra)
Anand’sventureFlop Films - is India’s first and only production house founded by a blind film maker. Over the past 6 years, they have made over 350 commercial films for 150+ clients. Anand’s vision for Flop Films is not only to be a pioneer in film making but also to play a pivotal role in making the world of entertainment more accepting and accessible for people with disabilities. His aim is to strive towards building a platform of inclusion & equality in film making, to hand craft a future where talent is not handicapped by prejudice.
Santosh Sharma (New Delhi)
Diti Trade was established in October 2018, Ms. Santosh Sharma founded the company with her husband, Rajinder M Sharma. In the beginning Diti trade manufactured machine made as well as handmade cotton wick. Sooner the company started producing other related products used in religious rituals like Chandan tikka, roli, mouli, ghee wicks, fancy kalava etc. As Diti’s business is growing, Santosh plans to generate more employment to women and persons with disabilities, which will not only give them financial freedom but also help them to be a part of social-eco system.
Tariq Ahmad Mir (Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir)
Special Hands of Kashmir is a pioneering and path-breaking enterprise that creates livelihood through specialized skills with special focus on persons with disability. The work is related to embroidery needle work and does not need any specific education; hence it is neither gender nor age bound. Tariq Ahmad Mir, the founder of special Hands of Kashmir quips, “Our future vision is to bring a change in society in general and in disability sector in particular by providing skill to younger generation especially persons with disability who are either jobless or cannot do hard labour due to their physical circumstances".