Washington: India’s specially-abled population can actively contribute USD 1 trillion to the country’s economy by 2047, according to a prominent Indian-American leader in the sector. Pranav Desai, the founder of the Voice of Specially Abled People, recently travelled to India and met top leaders of the ruling BJP in New Delhi including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and BJP president J P Nadda; the Gujarat Chief minister in Ahmedabad to present his vision document for the cause. He also travelled to Goa for a volunteer meeting.

In an interview with PTI, Mr Desai said that with proper strategy, policy and action, India’s specially-abled population can actively contribute to the nation’s economic growth, ultimately achieving a USD 1 trillion contribution to the disability sector by 2047 in Viksit Bharat. Mr Desai said, referring to his conversations with the top leadership in India,

“India can be a leader in this sector. My proposal was well received in New Delhi.”

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Mr Desai said in his meeting with Ms Sitharaman, he presented a comprehensive Tax Incentives Package for empowering divyangjan, a term used to refer to specially-abled persons.

This package is designed to support the achievement of the USD 1 trillion goal by 2047 by jump-starting economic activities and direct/indirect hiring for the disability sector, he said.

In his meeting with BJP president JP Nadda, Mr Desai presented Vision 2047 for Divyangjan. He said,

“I also explained the strategic importance of the economic argument to transform the disability sector instead of the traditional viewpoint of looking at the disability sector from a welfare perspective only. He requested to promote awareness about the Ability of specially-abled people.”

He said,

“In my meeting with (Road Transport and Highways Minister) Shri Nitin Gadkari, I presented to him accessibility and transportation issues faced by individuals with disabilities.”

The measures proposed in the vision documents aim to improve mobility and ensure their active participation with “accessibility everywhere” in transportation,” he said, adding,

“I also proposed mandating /recommending the level of hiring of Divyangjan by the ministry and outsourced vendors.”

Mr Desai said he met Priti Adani, chairperson of the Adani Foundation to explore and create opportunities for employment of persons with disabilities across various business units.

They are working on a memorandum of understanding which aims to leverage the strengths and resources of the Adani Foundation to hire up to 10,000 people from the disability sector for sectors like solar installation, he said.

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The discussion with the Gujarat Chief Minister, he said, focused on creating an inclusive and accessible Gujarat, empowering specially-abled people, and harnessing their potential to contribute towards the USD1 trillion economic goal of the Disability sector in Viksit Bharat by 2047.