Accessible India Campaign

Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan)

The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) launched the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) as a nationwide initiative to achieve universal accessibility for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) on December 3, 2015.

Built Environment Accessibility

An accessible physical environment benefits everyone, not only persons with disabilities. Efforts must be made to remove barriers in both indoor and outdoor spaces, including schools,healthcare facilities, and workplaces.

Transportation System Accessibility

Transportation plays a vital role in independent living. Persons with Disabilities (PwDs),like all citizens, depend on accessible transportation systems. This includes air travel, buses, taxis, and railways.

Information and Communication Ecosystem Accessibility

Access to information empowers individuals and enables full participation in everyday life. Information must be provided in accessible formats so that no one is excluded. This includes access to price labels, event information, healthcare materials, train schedules, and web content. The campaign aims to eliminate societal barriers related to infrastructure and information formats. Targets in this area focus on improving website accessibility, audiovisual media, and the availability of sign language interpretation.

Enhancing the proportion of accessible and usable public documents and websites that meet internationally recognized accessibility standards This objective ensures that public documents published from a specified year onward and all existing government websites comply with standards set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), specifically
ISO/IEC
40500:2012 – Information Technology – W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. Public documents include laws, regulations, reports, forms, and brochures issued by national and subnational governments.
Enhancing the pool of sign language interpreters
Increasing the number of trained and certified sign language interpreters to ensure inclusive communication across public and private services.
Enhancing the proportion of daily captioning and sig-language interpretation of public television news programmes
Ensuring that more public television news programs provide daily captioning and sign-language interpretation in accordance with agreed accessibility standards. Public television refers to content produced, funded, or supported by the government.
SATYA – Accessibility Testing Tool
SATYA is a Google Chrome extension designed to assist in testing and evaluating website accessibility. The tool helps identify accessibility issues in web pages in alignment with established accessibility guidelines, supporting the development of inclusive and user-friendly digital platforms. SATYA can be used by developers, designers, and content managers to assess compliance with accessibility standards and enhance the overall accessibility of government websites.
SATYA Tool Link
SATYA Tool Website

Apply for Empanelment of Access Auditor

Accessible India Campaign sub-scheme guidelines
Title	Date	View / Download
Expression of Interest (EOI) Phase 2 for the empanelment of web accessibility auditors with the Department	10/10/2025	Accessible Version : View (622 KB)
Expression of Interest (EOI) Phase 2 for the empanelment of Built Environment auditors with the Department	10/10/2025	Accessible Version : View (806 KB)
Revised Guidelines of Accessible India Campaign Sub-scheme of SIPDA	31/10/2023	Accessible Version : View (503 KB)

Standards/Guidelines notified under the Rights for Persons with Disabilities Rules 2017
Title	Date	View / Download
Accessibility standards and Guidelines for Banking Sector	02/07/2024	Accessible Version : View (746 KB)
Accessibility Guidelines and Standards for Higher Education Institutions and Universities by Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education.	25/06/2024	Accessible Version : View (10 MB)
Accessibility Code for Educational Institutions by Dept. of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education	20/06/2024	Accessible Version : View (5 MB)
Accessibility Standards and Guidelines for MHA Specific Built Infrastructures & Associated Services for Police Stations, Prisons & Disaster Mitigation Centres by Ministry of Home Affairs	22/03/2024	Accessible Version : View
Guidelines on accessibility of Indian Railway stations and facilities at stations for differently abled persons (Divyangjan) and passengers with reduced mobility by Ministry of Railways	08/03/2024	Accessible Version : View (4 MB)
Guidelines on accessible and inclusive piped water supply for persons with disabilities and for other population groups with access challenges by Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation	15/02/2024	Accessible Version : View (4 MB)
Guidelines for Accessibility Standards in Port Sector by Ministry of Port Shipping and Waterways	15/02/2024	Accessible Version : View (4 MB)
Rural Sector Specific Harmonized accessibility Standards/ guidelines by Ministry of Rural Development	16/11/2023	Accessible Version : View (1 MB)
Accessibility standards for Health Care by Ministry of Health and family Affairs	09/08/2023	Accessible Version : View (5 MB)
The accessibility standards and guidelines for Civil Aviation 2022 by Ministry of Civil Aviation	21/07/2023	Accessible Version : View
Guidelines on accessible sports complex and residential facilities for sports persons with disabilities by Department of Sports	17/07/2023	Accessible Version : View (4 MB)
Culture sector specific harmonised accessibility standards by Ministry of Culture	13/07/2023	Accessible Version : View (2 MB)
Accessibility for the ICT products and services (Part I and II) by Bureau of Indian Standards(Department of Consumer Affairs)	11/06/2023	Accessible Version : View (5 MB)
Harmonised guidelines & standards for universal accessibility in India 2021 by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs	05/06/2023	Accessible Version : View
Accessibility for the ICT products and services	11/05/2023	Accessible Version : View
Accessibility Standards for Bus Body Code by Ministry of Road Transport and highways	16/09/2016	Accessible Version : View (5 MB)

Number of Ministries/Departments that have adopted the guidelines/standards of other Ministry/Department as notified under Rule 15 of the RPwD Rules.
*RPwD Rule Clause (as Amended)*	*Standards/Guidelines*	*Concerned Ministry/Department*
No separate guidelines	Adopted BIS Standards: Accessibility for ICT Products and Services (Part I and II)	Department of Telecommunication
No separate guidelines	Adopted MoHUA’s Harmonised Guidelines 2021 and BIS Standards: Accessibility for ICT Products and Services (Part I and II)	Department of Law and Justice
No separate guidelines	Adopted BIS Standards: Accessibility for ICT Products and Services (Part I and II)	Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)

Guidelines awaited for notification in Gazette of India by concerned Ministry/Department – Action to be taken by the concerned Department/Ministry
*Serial Number*	*Name of the Guidelines*	*Date of Public Consultation*	*Date of Completed CCPD Consultation*	*Concerned Ministry/Department*
1	Accessibility Guidelines for Bus Terminals and Bus Stops	16 November 2021	03 September 2021	Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
2	Accessible Tourism Guidelines for India 2022	15 June 2022	31 August 2022	Ministry of Tourism
3	Accessibility Standards for TV Programmes for Hearing and Visually Impaired	3 November 2021	Draft accessibility standards/guidelines for persons with disabilities under the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, 2023 have been circulated for public consultation. CCPD consultation was completed on 2 May 2024.	Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
4	Accessibility Guidelines for Pension, Other Financial Institutions and Insurance Sector
	Pension Reforms	30 May 2023	25 August 2023	Department of Financial Services
	Insurance	9 May 2023	15 May 2024
	Financial Institutions	25 October 2023	13 June 2024

Initiatives by DEPwD
Title	Date	View / Download
List of 10 Basic Features of Accessibility for Buildings.	22/11/2023	Accessible Version : View (167 KB)
Accessibility in Public Centric Buildings (PPT).	22/11/2023	Accessible Version : View (1 MB)
Example of Accessibility in Public Centric Building (Vedio).	22/11/2023	Accessible Version : View

Empanalled Access Auditor
Title	Date	View / Download
List 4 of Empanelled Web Accessibility Auditors with Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, MSJE, Govt. of India.	26/11/2025	Accessible Version : View (403 KB)
Empanelled Access Auditor with Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India.	08/10/2025	Accessible Version : View (496 KB)
Expression of Interest (EOI) Phase 2 for the empanelment of web accessibility auditors with the Department	10/10/2025	Accessible Version : View (622 KB)
Expression of Interest (EOI) Phase 2 for the empanelment of Built Environment auditors with the Department	10/10/2025	Accessible Version : View (806 KB)
List 3 of Empanelled Web Accessibility Auditors with Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, (25.0.2025) Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India.	25/09/2025	Accessible Version : View (265 KB)
List 2 of Empanelled Web Accessibility Auditors with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (07.07.2025), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India	06/08/2025	Accessible Version : View (23 KB)
List 1 of Empanelled Web Accessibility Auditors with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (04.02.2025)	04/02/2025	Accessible Version : View (486 KB)