London: Co-Founder and CEO of Bangalore-based AssisTech Foundation (ATF), Prateek Madhav, who is establishing the largest AT innovation ecosystem in India has said that he would put up The Royal Society, London’s Global Disability Technology Report on How Data and Digital Assistive Technologies can Support Independent, Fulfilled lives, launched on Monday, to the Government, think-tanks and civil society in the country to initiate action to radically better the lives of Persons with Disability (PwDs) and ensure practical and positive outcomes for the community. Madhav expressed his views while speaking at the launch of the Report at The Royal Society London. He holds the distinction of being the sole Indian member on the Royal Society’s Steering Committee who came out with the report. The Committee is chaired by renowned Professor of Statistics from Oxford University, Sir Bernard Silverman FRS, and includes the legendary co-founder of the Internet, Dr Vint Cerf, FRS.
Articulating his views on the Report and Disability Technology, Madhav said: “There is a clear need for accurate data collection in India relating to disability. India is a land of 1.4 billion people, including 90 million PwDs, 22 official languages with around 1600 dialects. Every 100 miles, the language changes in India. The country is a vast geography with high cultural diversity and nuances. Hence, collecting data to build solutions and technology to help PwDs is challenging”. He also commented on internet access within the Indian context. “We are aware that internet access in India and the Global South is expensive, and accessible mostly to the English-speaking. Making the Internet affordable and responsive to diverse cultural idioms and languages will ensure that PwDs would use technologies developed for them to their best.”
Madhav noted that India’s rapidly growing start-up ecosystem offers a promising pathway for advancing Assistive Technology and driving inclusive innovation. “When we started building the AT ecosystem in India, we just had 15 start-ups who were trying to bridge the gap of accessibility. Today we have 500+ startups just in India, building Assistive Technology for the world. We are in fact well set to establish reverse innovation and bring technologies from India to the West for PwDs.” He added that digital exclusion is not just a technological issue but a failure of design, policy and imagination. Designing technology for limited people is not the right approach and co-design should be a method.
Madhav, who contributed to the conceptualization and direction of the report, emphasized that despite cultural nuances and contextual specificities, certain technologies—such as voice-control—hold universal value for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) across the world. He particularly highlighted voice-control as a feature he greatly appreciates for its empowering potential.
The Report outlines a forward-looking vision for enhancing the lives of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) through inclusive policy, technology, and design practices. It recommends that national statistics bodies shift from focusing solely on disability identity to collecting data on functional limitations, enabling more nuanced and effective policymaking. It also urges governments to recognize smartphones as legitimate and powerful forms of Digital Assistive Technology (DigAT), given their built-in accessibility features such as voice-to-text, screen magnifiers, and navigation tools. The Report underscores the importance of meaningful involvement of disabled individuals in the entire lifecycle of digital product development—from ideation to deployment—to ensure accessibility is embedded from the outset.
Additionally, the Report calls for the promotion of low-cost, interoperable, and sustainable DigAT solutions through collaborative initiatives involving governments, technology companies, and research funders. It stresses the need to preserve high-quality analogue alternatives and human support systems, acknowledging that digital solutions may not suit all users. Finally, the Report emphasizes that the effective use of DigAT requires skill-building; thus, training programs for disabled people and caregivers must be prioritized to ensure they can fully benefit from both mainstream and assistive technologies.
Sir Bernard Silverman, FRS, who rendered the concluding remarks at the event, observed in the Forward for the Report that the vision of Stephen Hawking was crucial to the development of disability technologies. “Some fifty years ago, I was introduced to Stephen Hawking and told that he would be lucky to live another year. In fact, he had a long and influential life ahead of him and became one of the Royal Society’s most famous Fellows. Writing in his own foreword for a 2011 World Health Organization report, he described the removal of barriers to participation for disabled people as a ‘moral duty’. In his view, achieving this would unlock the vast potential of disabled people and, as exemplified by his own life as a highly accomplished disabled academic, technology can play an important role. This report aims to push forward Hawking’s vision by considering how we can accelerate the development of digital technologies to help disabled people live independent, fulfilled lives.”
The Royal Society’s Global Disability Technology Report marks a pivotal moment in the global discourse on disability inclusion and digital equity. Grounded in data, design thinking, and a deep understanding of lived experiences, the report sets a clear agenda for governments, technology developers, and civil society to act with urgency and empathy. Prateek Madhav’s powerful intervention underscores India’s unique position—rich in cultural diversity yet poised for leadership in assistive innovation through its burgeoning startup ecosystem.
