Indian ICT accessibility standard IS-17802 is now legally enforced
Saidarshan Bhagat
Scientist 'D' at Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) ICT Accessibility Specialist. Researcher in digital accessibility, assistive technology, and inclusive systems.
Initial journey
Digitalization has become an empowering tool in the lives of all, especially so in the lives of People with Disabilities (PWDs).?The digital spaces we live in range - from
?????????????? Mobile and Smart phones to TV with set-top box?????????????? Web and laptops, software, mobile apps, e-books, on-line content.
?????????????? Public facilities like ATMs, Ticketing machines, Kiosks and PoS devices.
?????????????? Digital applications in all areas of daily life at home, offices, and public places.
Hence, this march of technologies and innovations must be leveraged to support PWDs with accessible ICT products and services, and their adoption aided widely through standards.
More than a decade ago India had adopted accessibility standards and guidelines for different aspects like government websites, electronic devices, television content and built infrastructure. However, ?considering evolving and advancements in technologies, there was a strong need of having unified standard which can cater to a variety of ICT products and services. With this goal, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ?(MEITY) initiated a project, ‘Knowledge & Resource Centre for Accessibility in ICT’ dubbed as KAI with India’s premier research organization Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).
The main objective of the KAI was to prepare the Indian accessibility standard for ICT products and services and to carry out training and capacity building across the country.
Indian Accessibility Standard
Under the project KAI, C-DAC with Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) prepared the draft of the Indian Accessibility Standard. This was achieved jointly with various stakeholders like domain experts, N.G.O, academia, industry bodies, government officials, and users with disabilities. This draft went through multiple public consultations as per the standard development process of Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS). After completing the internal and public consultation, BIS gazetted and notified the Indian Accessibility Standard
IS-17802 part 1-?Requirements [P1] ?
IS-17802 part 2 – Determination of Conformance
in December 2021 and April 2022 respectively.
Structure and Highlights of IS-17802
?Indian Accessibility Standard for ICT Products and Services is divided into two parts ??separating the implementation and conformance process.
?Part 1 -?Requirements has detailed guidelines to design and develop the accessible ICT products and services whereas ?Part 2 has detailed procedures to evaluate the compliance of any product and/or service against ?Part 1 of an Indian Accessibility Standard.
The notified Indian Accessibility Standard is fully harmonized with global standards like ‘Web Content Accessibility Guidelines’ (WCAG 2.1), Section 508 of ADA and European Standard that is EN-301549. Apart from achieving harmonization with international standards, it also caters to ?numerous India specific needs like regional languages. The most important highlight of the standard is that it is a unified document applicable for a ?variety of products and services like open and closed ICT, web and non-web documents, ICT with video capabilities, hardware, software, emergency relay services and even the accessibility of support and help documentation.
Legal Mandate through Rights for PwDs Rule
The biggest breakthrough in the journey of accessibility standards achieved when on 11th May 2023, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE) notified the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Amendment) Rules, 2023 to amend the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017. These provisions came into force immediately on the same day.
Key Amendments:
1.???????????Rule 15 relates to Rules for Accessibility which says that every establishment must comply with the standards related to the physical environment, transport and, information and communication technology mentioned under this rule.
2.???????????New Provision has been inserted regarding the same which says ?the following:
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? Websites,
? Applications,
? Information and communication technology based public facilities and services,
? Electronic goods and equipment meant for everyday use,
? Information and communication technology-based consumer products,
? Accessories for general use with persons with disabilities,
? Products and services which are based on information technology,
? Other products based on information and communication technology, will have to comply with the following Indian Standards (IS):
? IS 17802?- Accessibility for the ICT Products and Services Part 1 Requirements and
? IS 17802 - Part 2 Determination of Conformance.
Accessible Digital India
The journey of the project KAI and standard preparation was kicked off in January 2020 and C-DAC along with its partners managed to?publish both parts in the record time of less than two years. Although, we can say that the real pace for this unique and most required movement has gained only when the IS-17802 is legally enforced through Rights for PWDs Rule Amendment 2023. India had many standards and guidelines related to accessibility however this??Indian Accessibility Standard is truly different due to its unified approach, international harmonization, and India specific customizations. The real force behind this standard is that it is not only applicable to government but also ?to the public and private sector establishments.
Digitization is the backbone of the growing economy and with the accessibility?standard developed for our country we are growing with all the elements of the society regardless of their physical, visual, auditory, cognitive and linguistic abilities.
We are extremely hopeful that with the correct implementation roadmap, sensitized stakeholders and accessibility friendly policies, ?we ?will make the ??digitally accessible and inclusive India.
Corporate Lawyer , Certified Professional on Web Accessibility (2019-2022) and Co-Founder, Mission Accessibility
1 年Sai-I am well aware of the role that Mahesh sir, you, Ramki sir and others played to shape this important reform along side the DPOs during drafting and finalisation. I would have ideally liked to only have IS17802 as the ICT standard and refer the same in GIGW to ensure wide coverage and less ambiguity but even the current formulation is fine. Now we are pushing for a mechanism of certification that the Government should adopt for certifying professionals and the ICT based products and services.
Banking Accessibility Enthusiast | CPACC | CAIIB | Senior Manager, Union Bank of India | National Award Recipient |
1 年Very well written article by Sai Bhagat The Indian Accessibility Standard for the ICT Products and Services amended in RPwD (Amendment) Rules, 2023 is surely going to provide a good momentum across ICT sectors in India in its adoption and implementation.
CPACC || DHS 508 TTV5 || PSM1| ICP-ACC
1 年Wow now I can see Digital India moving towards inclusion ??
Semi Retired. NLP applied to Indic scripts and languages
1 年Few may be aware that this idea was mooted by Mr Mahesh Kulakarni [much ahead of its time] and funded by MEITY which appreciated the importance of concept. Today it has become a corner-stone of policy making and has finally become legally enforced: a great achievement. Incidentally Mr Kulkarni continued to help formulate and review the standard post retirement (without any funding as a national cause). A closely allied area in which he worked to promote this important concept was through the W3C India office initiative, which in fact was a as a starting point towards this and which he ably steered as the then country manager w3c India office.
Founder CTO, EVARIS Systems LLP, ex-Senior Director (Corporate R&D) & HoD GIST, at CDAC, ex-W3C India Office country manager
1 年Nice to see that the work which was initiated by me at CDAC, through corporate R&D by way of funded project from MeitY has reached this stage. We need to appreciate MeitY's whole hearted support towards this. I am hopeful that at least Govt websites and applications will follow the same. It needs to be included in GIGW as well. Accessibility certification labs need to be established