Accessibility isn't charity, it's India's USD 1 trillion GDP booster, says Sminu Jindal

India must embed accessibility into its infrastructure from the outset rather than treating it as an afterthought, potentially unlocking a trillion-dollar economic opportunity, according to Sminu Jindal, founder of accessibility organisation Svayam and managing director of Jindal SAW Limited.

Speaking after her wheelchair was damaged on an IndiGo flight recently, Jindal called for mandatory monthly training for airline staff and steeper financial penalties for mishandling assistive devices.

"A wheelchair is almost like a body extension," Jindal told PTI in an interview.

"It takes about a year to remake a custom wheelchair. No amount of compensation can take care of that."

The aviation industry's high attrition rates demand recurring training, she said, adding that financial penalties remain "the only bit that hurts us all deeply".

As India prepares bids for the 2030 Commonwealth Games and 2036 Olympics, Jindal argued accessibility must be embedded from the blueprint stage.

"When people from around the world come to India, they'd like to see a little bit more of the country," she pointed out.

"When transport is accessible, when hotels and the whole framework are accessible, India would have this great opportunity of earning foreign exchange."

Svayam's collaboration with UN India and UNESCO made this year's Pandhara Road Durga Puja in Delhi fully inclusive, creating what Jindal hopes becomes a replicable model for mass gatherings.

"If 10 people can enjoy in America, in India, we can definitely do it for at least a thousand," she said.

"You start with a role model, and if that becomes successful, people have the courage to follow through," she added, noting discussions are underway in Kolkata to make puja pandals accessible.

Jindal rejected framing accessibility as disability-specific, instead positioning it as a universal infrastructure for pregnant women, elderly citizens, and anyone with temporary or permanent reduced mobility.

"We all have to go through maybe temporary or permanent periods of reduced mobility," she said.

"That's where accessibility comes into play."

As the chair of CII's India Business Disability Network, Jindal advocated for including accessibility in ESG reporting, though she cautioned against companies pursuing numerical targets without creating meaningful employment.

"People will just start reporting numbers, maybe they'll make them a lift operator or tell them to serve water to fulfil the numbers," she said.

"True job opportunities come only via accessible education systems."

The forthcoming National Accessibility Summit 2025 on November 6 will highlight emerging employment opportunities in sectors from access auditing to assistive device manufacturing, Jindal said.

"This is an opportunity area that has been overlooked for the longest time," she added.

"Look around us, we need help, we need household help, we need better assistive devices, we need assistance. There are so many things that we need to keep our toilets clean, making them accessible. There are a whole lot of job opportunities that are just waiting to happen," she added.

She dismissed reliance on technology alone, stressing physical infrastructure remains paramount, particularly for rural India, where 70 per cent of the population lives.

With India's ageing population set to double by mid-century, Jindal identified infrastructure and last-mile connectivity as the biggest barriers, followed by regulation and mindset.

"If each one of us starts being a little bit of a visionary, we would realise that accessibility is like that hidden substance called salt in our food," she said. "If it's there, it makes it tastier, but if it's not there, we all miss it."

Jindal also pitched for shifting policy language from "disability" to "reduced mobility" to broaden perspective and preserve dignity.

"Being disabled myself, sometimes it can be a little hurtful kind of terminology, and to shift focus so that people can see wider, we should add a terminology called reduced mobility. It gives us the dignity of leading a life," she noted.

"As I become older, I may have reduced mobility, but it still doesn't make me disabled, and that's what I want people to understand and to live with dignity. There is nothing wrong with a body that ages. In fact, we should be proud of it because we gather experience as we age," she added.

The shift reflects universal vulnerability across the human life cycle, she noted.

"We all have to go through maybe temporary or permanent periods of reduced mobility. That's where accessibility comes into play," Jindal said.

Working with partners, including UNESCO and the Paralympic Committee, Jindal said India should aim to set international standards rather than import them.

"I want my India to actually create best practices. There are a lot of things that we have in India that I feel we can beat the world and become a superpower and become a Viksit Bharat by 2047," she said.

Looking ahead to 2030, Jindal called for collective mobilisation around what she termed an "accessibility revolution".

"I really would implore everybody to move in and chip in," she said.

"This needs to be a revolution that will make not just India, but a better world for each one of us, no matter what circumstances life chooses to bring us to."

She compared accessibility's understated importance to a culinary staple.

"Accessibility is like that hidden substance that is called salt in our food. If it's there, it makes it tastier, but if it's not there, we all miss it," Jindal said.

Jindal was recently recognised in Fortune India's Most Powerful Women 2025 list and received the Mahatma Award 2024.