When a routine software update rolled out for a leading banking app last year, a person with visual impairment found himself suddenly locked out of his finances. The update had removed screen reader compatibility—a basic accessibility feature that allowed him to navigate the app independently. Overnight, he lost access to his salary account, savings, and credit cards, all because accessibility was not part of the design team’s considerations.

Unfortunately, this experience is not an exception. It is a symptom of a systemic issue—one where accessibility is rarely integrated into the digital products that have become essential to everyday life.

The invisible digital divide

India’s digital ecosystem is expanding rapidly, but millions remain excluded due to inaccessible design. The 2011 Census records over 2.68 crore persons with disabilities in India, a figure that has only grown since. If we were to look at visual impairment alone, according to the National Blindness & Visual Impairment Survey India 2015-2019, there are around 4.95 million blind persons and 70 million vision-impaired persons in India, out of which 0.24 million are blind children.

For this population, digital platforms that are not designed for diverse needs create daily barriers—barriers that could be avoided if accessibility was considered from the start.

Despite the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which mandates digital accessibility, compliance remains poor. In February this year, more than 150 establishments, including central ministries, were fined for failing to meet digital accessibility standards.

A 2022 study by IIIT Hyderabad found that only 5% of Indian government websites meet global accessibility standards like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. These are a set of international standards developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities. These guidelines help designers, developers, and content creators build websites and apps that are usable by people with visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities.

Popular private apps fare no better. A 2021 review by BarrierBreak revealed that banking, healthcare, and e-commerce apps in India routinely ignore accessibility, forcing users to depend on others for access to essential services.

Globally, the World Health Organisation estimates that 16% of the population lives with some form of disability. Digital exclusion, then, is not a niche problem. It impacts millions, including the elderly and people with temporary impairments.

The problem begins in our classrooms

One of the most significant reasons for this exclusion is a lack of awareness among those building the digital world. Computer science and design students in India graduate with skills to create sleek apps and websites. Yet, few learn about accessibility standards, assistive technologies, or inclusive design principles.

Digital accessibility is often treated as a post-production fix—if it is considered at all. By then, the cost and complexity of retrofitting accessibility lead many organisations to skip it altogether. As a result, barriers get coded in by default.

It is time to change this approach. Accessibility must be embedded into the core curriculum of computer science, engineering, and design courses—not as a token module but as a fundamental skill.

Students must graduate understanding that building with accessibility is not just good practice—it is a legal and moral obligation. Familiarity with guidelines like WCAG 2.1, awareness of how screen readers or alternative input devices work, and assignments that simulate designing for diverse users should become standard.

For design programmes in particular, this shift demands going beyond aesthetics and usability for the average user. Accessibility must be reframed as integral to good design thinking—a process that begins with understanding the diverse needs and lived experiences of all users, including persons with disabilities. Students must be trained to critically evaluate their choices around colour contrast, typography, iconography, and interaction design through the lens of accessibility. Concepts like universal design should form the backbone of the curriculum, helping young designers see that good design is not what looks good but what works well—for everyone.

Equally important is exposure to tools and methods that support inclusive design. Students must learn to prototype with accessibility in mind, test their work with assistive technologies such as screen readers or voice input, and incorporate user feedback from persons with disabilities into their iterative design process. Participatory design practices, where users with disabilities are engaged as co-creators rather than afterthoughts, can offer invaluable perspectives and shift mindsets from sympathy to empathy.

Institutions like the National Institute of Design (NID) and the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore (IIIT) have already begun exploring inclusive design as part of their curriculum. However, these efforts remain isolated. For meaningful change, such initiatives must move beyond electives and workshops and become core requirements across all design and technology programmes in India.

Such an approach also strengthens design thinking itself, reinforcing the principle that truly effective design solves real problems for real people. By embedding these practices early in design education, India’s creative and technology sectors can begin producing professionals who see accessibility not as a checklist but as a core design value.

This shift is not just about compliance. Accessibility improves usability for everyone. Features like captions, simplified navigation, and voice commands benefit users across contexts—from a crowded metro commuter to an elderly person learning to use a smartphone.

The role of policy and industry

While India’s policy framework is robust on paper, enforcement is weak. Change must begin with education but extend to the tech industry and government alike. Bodies like UGC, AICTE, and NCERT have a critical role in setting new standards for accessibility education.

There is also a business case. According to the Global Economics of Disability report, accessibility opens up significant market opportunities—reaching not just persons with disabilities but also ageing populations and families seeking simpler, more usable platforms.

Accessibility is not charity, nor is it optional. It is a right, enshrined in our laws and international commitments. More importantly, it is good design—creating digital products that serve everyone, not just the majority. The journey toward a truly inclusive digital India must begin where digital products are first imagined—in our classrooms.

Previously published on : www.thenewsminute.com