On reasonable accommodations: Why a rights-based approach is needed to make workplaces disability inclusive

December 3 marks the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, an annual observance established by the United Nations in 1992. The 2025 theme is "fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress".

In this episode, we examine India's Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, and the principle of reasonable accommodation. Under Section 2(y), reasonable accommodation means "any necessary and appropriate modification and/or adjustment" that enables PwDs to enjoy their rights equally with others, without imposing a "disproportionate or undue burden."Yet despite clear policy mandates, it remains treated as a "nice to have" by many organisations and public institutions. Why do implementation gaps persist? What costs—physical, emotional, and social—do employees with disabilities bear? And what will it take to move beyond tick-box compliance toward genuine inclusion?

Guest: Amran Ali, Executive Director, National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), and a prominent voice in the disability rights movement.

Host: Vibha B Madhava

Recorded by Jude Weston and Tayyab Hussain

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