New Delhi, Aug 23, 2022, IANS

New Delhi, Aug 23 (IANS) Microsoft on Tuesday collaborated with non-profit organisation EnAble India to empower persons with disabilities (PwDs) by engaging more than 100 organisations.

The initiative, called 'Inclusion to Action', aims to bring together more than 100 organisations across financial services, manufacturing, retail and tech sectors to work together on tech skilling, mentorship, internship and employment initiatives to "unlock 100,000 opportunities" for PwDs.

"This collaboration marks the beginning of a continuous endeavour to engage with multiple stakeholders across industry, advocates, experts, policymakers, and the disability community to empower and transform employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities," said Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India.

The technical skilling programmes are designed to enhance understanding of digital accessibility that can create a cultural shift as organisations are increasingly shaping their hybrid work strategies.

The company said that an increased representation of PwDs will lead to inclusive product development, which can aid technology users with disabilities.

In addition, persons with disabilities get access to training curriculum on modern workplace applications for higher productivity and effective collaboration.

"There is an urgent need to unlock opportunities for persons with disabilities whose social circles are 10 per cent of that of non-disabled," said Dipesh Sutariya, Co-Founder, Enable India.

EnAble India has catered to the needs of 19 disabilities thus far, impacting more than 325,000 individuals including persons with disabilities and their families in 28 states and 7 union territories in the country.