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
Thaneshwar
Thaneshwar is networking with local authorities, NGOs and community-based organizations for conducting a primary study on the existing livelihood-based schemes in the region, and the lacunae that excludes persons with disabilities from participating actively. He is looking forward to collaborating with state departments with the guidance of local disability activists.
Sakshi
Sakshi
Sakshi started her fellowship in Rishikesh to work on accessibility in public places. She has met local legislators to gain their support. She is studying building byelaws in Uttarakhand to check for discrepancies, and will soon submit a report. She is also carrying out an access audit for a recently constructed public buildings to reinforce the issue
Nikhileshwar
Nikhileshwae
Nikhileshwar primarily wants to focus on strengthening inclusion cells and student bodies at colleges in Betul,MP. He has created awareness among college authorities and student cells, sensitizing them on cross disability. He has initiated a survey on the gaps which impact an inclusive environment in higher education. Nikhileshwar plans to use qualitative studies to develop his baseline study, for implementation of the existing policy. He is developing a portal which seeks to reduce the information gap on disability rights
Manish
Manish
Manish from Sahibganj, Jharkhand has done civil engineering and his area of work includes addressing policy gaps that leads to inaccessible infrastructure for persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in New Delhi.
Krishna
Krishna
Krishna wants to work for the betterment of persons with disabilities in rural areas. She reached out to village schools to understand their essential infrastructure and amenities to ensure a right environment for students. She plans to work with local authorities, students and school management to conduct a baseline study and hence, an inclusive environment in schools.
Jayant
Jayant
Jayant hails from Delhi and is currently pursuing LLM from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University. His topic of work is Challenges / barriers faced by people with disabilities in electoral processes despite the technological advancements.
Ferdinand
Ferdinand
Ferdinand has been in a leading role with a disability rights organization for years now. He intends to make the transportation in his city accessible to all, and then replicate it to different parts of Meghalaya. He utilized his experience to establish connections with government departments and recently conducted a city-based live campaign to get mass support for his cause.
Chaitanya
Chaitanya
Chaitanya has plunged into the area of disability abuse and is involved in a secondary study for an in-depth understanding of the issue. He is engaging with a number of local NGOs. He is also interacting with PWDs to get a first-hand account on this issue which extensively exists but is rarely reported.
B Kavya Poorninma
B Kavya Poornima
Kavya is focusing on Architectural curriculum to promote universal accessibility in beaches in Vishakhapatnam. Being from a technical background, advocacy was a new avenue. But she used networks and connections to promote universal designs in architecture through associations, colleges and disability discussion forums. She has reached out to various local institutions for feedback on the accessibility issue. Kavya is in the process of carrying out an access audit and filing an RTI for further data.
Saurabh
Saurabh
Saurabh is exposing the challenge for visually impaired students to pursue a degree in engineering. His objective is to make STEM education accessible to visually impaired students, who are often sidelined from mainstream higher education. He is extensively engaging with school authorities to bring collaborative solutions for existing students, as also using his ongoing primary study to document the barriers for STEM. He intends to create an inclusive model and start his own channel to teach coding to visually impaired students.
Priya
Priya
Priya from Aliganj, Lucknow is working on importance of care giver.
Masoom
Masoom
Masoom from Champaran, Bihar is a law graduate and is working towards making E-data bases accessible. He has proceeded with his primary research to collect data on his area of work
Kumar Mahavir
Kumar Mahavir
With an education in development studies, Mahavir intends to utilize his knowledge close to his home district. He organized a local summit on disability in Deoghar, in order to connect with disability rights activists and PWDs. He is conducting a study in 3 villages of Deoghar in order to develop an on-ground understanding of the issues and challenges faced by person with disabilities in acquiring disability certificates.
Kavya Mukhija
Kavya Mukhija
Kavya is working on the issue of accessible tourism in Jaipur. She is networking with residential societies, restaurants and cafes, using access audits to advocate for accessible social places. An active speaker, she has been able to put forward her viewpoint on various forums and social networking platforms, campaigning for disability rights.
Javid
Javid
Javid joined the fellowship, intending to use his understanding of ground realities gained from a past stint with journalism. He gradually identified the villages of intervention, upon interaction with government executives and disability rights advocates. He has initiated a survey to understand the requirements of various government schemes which affect the social security of persons with disabilities. He intends to advocate on the outreach of government schemes and their implementation.
Deepak
Deepak
Deepak from Delhi is a postgraduate and is working on Problems faced by women, queer, and trans people with disabilities in pursuing higher education. He has proceeded with his primary research to collect data on his area of work. He also worked on a short documentary film that depicts the life of queer disabled individuals.
Balram
Balram
Balram from Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh is a non disabled fellow and is working on Ensuring Social Security To Individual Affected Leprosy. He has proceeded with his primary research to collect data on his area of work.
Anjali
Anjali
Anjali joined the fellowship to look closely into the issue of invisible disabilities- those which aren’t physically apparent, and therefore not given the same consideration as other disabilities. She is looking, in particular, into the employment opportunities available to Multiple Sclerosis patients. Anjali uses tools like RTI to understand the level of skill development and employment schemes. She also actively uses platforms like LinkedIn, and disability networks to connect and engage.
Amit
Amit
Amit initiated his fellowship during UP elections, campaigning with the state and district departments for inclusive elections, and the enrolment of persons with disabilities in the electoral rolls. He is now networking with the state education departments to survey how accessible the infrastructure is in secondary and intermediate schools.
Aarti
Aarti
Aarti developed an interest in health issues for persons with disabilities after an NCPEDP workshop. Looking at the importance of early diagnosis amongst persons with disabilities, she began her work with Primary health centers, primary responders and health workers, to identify the existing needs and gaps. Aarti has been conducting a survey at the community level for her baseline study, simultaneously sensitizing the Asha and Anganwadi workers and disabled people. She intends to further use the insights gained to advocate for the implementation of health rights of persons with disabilities.
Abhishek
Abhishek
Abhishek was interested in looking at the rather unusual, but emergent issue of climate change and its impact on persons with disabilities. The topic is largely unexplored and often…
Ishwar Prasad Chhatta
Ishwar Prasad Chhatta
Ishwar Prasad Chhatta is from Viklang Manch, Chhattisgarh. He was also working as a District Social Security Coordinator Chhattisgarh at Sight Saver.
Yogesh Kumar
Yogesh Kumar
He is the manager and secretary of Creative Education and Development Society, Etah (U.P.)
Arun Kumar Singh
Arun Kumar Singh
Arun Kumar Singh is a disability rights activist and the Secretary General of Rashtriya Viklang Manch. He is also the President of Jharkhand Viklang Manch.
Prof. Sudesh Mukhopadhyay
Sudesh Mukhopadhyay
Prof. Sudesh Mukhopadhyay has over four decades of experience in teaching, research, teacher education and educational administration at all levels of school and higher education at State and National level covering many areas such as capacity building of all stakeholders such as PwDs, Educational and other policy makers and all levels of educational administrators and service providers. As RCI Chairperson she has contributed to regulating the rehabilitation professionals and initiating many proactive steps in Inclusive Education and Cross Disability. She started her career as lecture in NCERT in 1976 in RCE/RIE, Ajmer. She has been one of the first initiators for Integrated Education of the Disabled (IED as was referred to in 1983 onwards) after being selected by NCERT for TCTP Fellowship in London Institute of Education qualifying for Associate of London University in Special education (1984) covering all significant disabilities. She initiated work on Women with Disabilities in 1990s and also availed Shastri Indo-Canadian Fellowship in Women in Development at the University of Winnipeg, Canada and has been working for this cause since then. She has experience of working with many International organizations such as UNICEF, UNESCO, USAID, AUSAID, NORAD, BRAC & National organizations ADAPT. AADI, AGF, CRS, ASER/ Pratham, BRA, CARE, NAB, Vishwas, Young Lives India, etc. She is Ph.D. (Education) from M.S. University of Baroda; Associate of London University Institute of Education in Special Education and a Visiting Fellow to Manitoba University, Canada and Macquarie University Sydney, Australia.
Shazia Qureshi
Shazia Qureshi
An Associate for the Narrative program of Point of View, Mumbai. She has completed her masters in social work with a specialisation in Disability Studies and Action. As a believer in the strengths-based approach, she often engages with various aspects in the ecosystem through understanding strengths and unique potentials. She is a certified accessibility auditor from IAAP and has also done other certifications in Graphology and Neurolinguistic Practice. Her current areas of work are gender, tech and sexuality and is further exploring the themes through institutes and courses. One such course is the Sexuality and Mental Health Institute (SAMHI) 2023 by Anjali Mental Health Organisation which she will be attending in November 2023.
Amvalika Senapati
Amavalika Senapati
A lawyer by profession she has been actively associated with Shishu Sarothi, a premier disability NGO based at Guwahati for the past over 11 years. She heads the Disability Law Unit at the organization, which is a unique program to create awareness, advocate for disability inclusion and provide legal aid to persons with disabilities. She is also an expert on built-environment accessibility and have conducted access audits of over 200 government buildings in Guwahati and Aizawl under Accessible India Campaign, Phase I & II and a member of the State Advisory Board on Disability for the Govt. of Assam and the Gauhati High Court Legal Services Committee.
Ashish Kumar
Ashish Kumar
He is from Orai, Uttar Pradesh and is currently working on youth leadership. He Personally believes in social justice, equality, freedom & fraternity.
Joe John George
Joe John George
A development professional who has been working in the field of disaster risk reduction and climate action for over 16 years. He has worked with the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, Government of Kerala for around 8 years in the capacity of State Project Officer as well as with UN organisations and NGOs including UNICEF, UNDP and World Vision in different parts of the country. He has also taken up short term international assignments in the US, Malaysia, Sri Lanka & Nepal. He is an alumnus of the International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) of the US government and a cohort of Climate Action Champions Network (CACN) in the south Asian region. While working with Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), he provided leadership in implementing the Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction project and became an expert in preparing persons with disabilities and their caregivers to face disasters or climate extreme events like floods & landslides. He has authored a handbook on disability & disaster risk reduction and also developed a toolkit for the training.
Smitha Sadasivan
Smitha Sadasivan
A person with Multiple Sclerosis, one of the 21 disabilities specified under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016. She is an accessibility and inclusion consultant working with the Election Commission of India, Civil Society Engagement Mechanism to UHC2030 platform of the UN, Disability Rights Alliance TN, Multiple Sclerosis Society of India Chennai and Indian Forum for Rehabilitation & Assistive Technology, Independent living project of Vidya Sagar.A development professional who has been working in the field of disaster risk reduction and climate action for over 16 years. He has worked with the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, Government of Kerala for around 8 years in the capacity of State Project Officer as well as with UN organisations and NGOs including UNICEF, UNDP and World Vision in different parts of the country. He has also taken up short term international assignments in the US, Malaysia, Sri Lanka & Nepal. He is an alumnus of the International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) of the US government and a cohort of Climate Action Champions Network (CACN) in the south Asian region. While working with Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), he provided leadership in implementing the Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction project and became an expert in preparing persons with disabilities and their caregivers to face disasters or climate extreme events like floods & landslides. He has authored a handbook on disability & disaster risk reduction and also developed a toolkit for the training.
Dr Rajiv Nandy
Dr Rajiv Nandy
RCI registered practising psychologist specialised in the domain of child and adolescent well-being for the last two decades. Worked at leading medical colleges including, AIIMS and Lady Hardinge medical college, Delhi. He is the Founder and Chairman of Shristi Institute for Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Sensorium. He is the founding member and General secretary of Association of Rehabilitation Psychologists and Professionals, India (ARPPI). He has been an active participant with the government on various disability issues during the pandemic and on many key decisions on mental health. He has provided inclusive models to schools in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand & Rajasthan. He has worked extensively with the Indian army. He has many research publications and books to his credit on inclusion and disability.A development professional who has been working in the field of disaster risk reduction and climate action for over 16 years. He has worked with the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, Government of Kerala for around 8 years in the capacity of State Project Officer as well as with UN organisations and NGOs including UNICEF, UNDP and World Vision in different parts of the country. He has also taken up short term international assignments in the US, Malaysia, Sri Lanka & Nepal. He is an alumnus of the International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) of the US government and a cohort of Climate Action Champions Network (CACN) in the south Asian region. While working with Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), he provided leadership in implementing the Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction project and became an expert in preparing persons with disabilities and their caregivers to face disasters or climate extreme events like floods & landslides. He has authored a handbook on disability & disaster risk reduction and also developed a toolkit for the training.
Nikita Sarah
Nikita Sarah
She spearheads The Leprosy Mission-India’s advocacy and communication efforts through a spectrum of initiatives with the aim to redefine the landscape, striving relentlessly to reduce leprosy transmission, disabilities, and discrimination from the very fabric of India.
Amar Jain
Amar Jain
A corporate lawyer with over 10 years of experience in banking and finance, capital markets and contract management. He has been a Certified Professional on Web Accessibility (2019-2022) from International Association of Accessibility Professionals which makes him a subject matter expert on how to make websites and mobile applications accessible to persons with disabilities. Among many other prestigious awards, he has been a recipient of NCPEDP Mphasis Javed Abidi Public Policy Award in 2018 for his outstanding work in the area of advocacy and public policy for persons with disabilities.
TMN Deepak Kumar
TMN Deepak Kumar
An assistant Professor of social work in Loyola College; Disability rights activist, State President of December 3 Movement, Member – TN government welfare board for persons with disabilities. He is also a Steering Committee Member of World bank project TN Rights, Member – Social justice committee of Kalaigner centenary celebrations. He is interested in political participation and politicisation of persons with disabilities.
Subhash Chandra Vashishtha
Subhash Chandra Vashishtha
A Lawyer and a Specialist in Accessibility, Universal Design & Diversity Inclusion. He is a Certified Professional in Accessible Built Environments Level III Expert (CPABE Level III). As an advocate, Subhash litigates in the High Court of Delhi & Supreme Court of India and is a member of International Legal Alliance and currently is Director with Centre for Accessibility in Built Environment Foundation (CABE Foundation).An Associate for the Narrative program of Point of View, Mumbai. She has completed her masters in social work with a specialisation in Disability Studies and Action. As a believer in the strengths-based approach, she often engages with various aspects in the ecosystem through understanding strengths and unique potentials. She is a certified accessibility auditor from IAAP and has also done other certifications in Graphology and Neurolinguistic Practice. Her current areas of work are gender, tech and sexuality and is further exploring the themes through institutes and courses. One such course is the Sexuality and Mental Health Institute (SAMHI) 2023 by Anjali Mental Health Organisation which she will be attending in November 2023.
Swati Sharma
Swati Sharma
B.ed in special education, diploma course in Autism spectrum disorder and Master trainer in A.D.H.D and Learning disorder. She is the founder and director of Rainbow society for differently abled, Lucknow . Her idea has been selected by Janhit Jagran and I.I.M Kolkata in India’s top twelve ideas. She is passionate for her work and has delivered many lectures and talks to create awareness in the the field of special education as a Resource person Writing is her hobby and have written so many poems and one book on General awareness named “Gyan Deep”.
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