Companies across India will soon have an incentive to participate in the 'Accessible India' campaign by taking up disabled friendly initiatives. They will be rated on the basis of disabled-friendly office buildings, number of employees with disabilities and more.
Companies across India will soon have an incentive to participate in the ‘Accessible India’ campaign by taking up disabled friendly initiatives. They will be rated on the basis of disabled-friendly office buildings, number of employees with disabilities and more.
As part of ‘Accessible India’ campaign, a new index will give all private and public sector companies in the country an incentive to design disabled-friendly buildings and human resource policies.
The index will rate different companies on the basis of disabled-friendly initiatives.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia
It likely to be released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 3, which is celebrated as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. According to a report in The Economic Times, the exercise will be started by rating ten private companies from different sectors, like textiles and manufacturing.
Credits will be given for factors including disabled-friendly office buildings, number of employees with disabilities, how the company invests for the training and career development of staff with disabilities, and the quality of facilities provided. Other than these, the sensitisation of peers towards people with disabilities and provision of facilities like toilets will also play a very important role. This step is being taken with the view of giving the corporate sector an ethical push towards participation in the ‘Accessible India’ campaign.
“If you score high you can be seen as a socially responsible player in the corporate world. This could work as an incentive for the private sector to invest in the Accessible India campaign and help the government,” an official told The Economic Times.
The department of disability affairs under the social justice and empowerment ministry has worked on a framework for an audit of HR policies of companies, which will also form a major part of the index.
The department of disability affairs is also proposing tax incentives for private companies if they invest in the campaign.
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