Tech innovations for accessibility awarded

The National Institute of Urban Affairs and the UN in India are addressing city-level challenges of accessibility and inclusion for women, girls, senior citizens and those with disabilities

Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri honours an awardee during Smart Solutions Challenge and Inclusive Cities Awards 2022, in New Delhi, on Thursday. | Photo Credit: PTI

Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri on Thursday awarded the winners of the Smart Solutions Challenge and Inclusive Cities Awards 2022, which included a literacy tool by Belagavi Smart City.

The awards were an initiative of the National Institute of Urban Affairs and the United Nations in India for addressing the city-level challenges of accessibility and the inclusion for persons with disabilities, women and girls and senior citizens, a Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry statement said.

“Potential to change lives”

“I am thoroughly impressed at the creative capacity of the innovative solutions as well as their potential to change lives of persons with disabilities, women and older persons. The best solutions are always simple, cater to specific pain points, have clear benefits, and are widely accepted by users. These solutions will be instrumental in integrating universal design, which will help achieve Sustainable Development Goals’ target 11.7- to provide safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces for all vulnerable communities,” Mr. Puri said.

He said for the SDGs to be successful, it would be important for India to perform well, which according to him was sure to happen.

The challenge, which was launched in April, received over 100 entries, of which the top 10 were identified as winners, the statement said. In the category of early-stage innovations, the winner was a wearable technology product, Fifth Sense by Glovatrix Pvt. Ltd., that translates sign language gestures to speech and text using sensors and AI. In the second category of market-ready solutions, Mouseware by Dextroware Devices Pvt. Ltd. was the winner. Mouseware is a head-wearable device that enables hands-free control of computers and smart gadgets.

Belagavi Smarty City’s system for those with disabilities to access education and healthcare was awarded the top prize in the category of implemented solutions.