An "Accessiblility Initiative" to employ over 2000 people with disabilities in IT-BPO industry was launched here today as part of helping the IT sector take forward the thrust on inclusion and diversity.

Collaborating for the two year advocacy and job placement campaign with a grant of Rs 48 lakh, the Washwani Foundation and NASSCOM Foundation aim at enabling IT-BPO companies to recruit and place the maximum number of young adults with disabilities.

Som Mittal, President of NASSCOM, told reporters that NASSCOM and NASSCOM Foundation had been actively working in the disability space since early 2010.

"The Foundation realises the importance of broadening the diversity agenda to include people with disabilities and approached the issue from perspectives of business imperative as well as 'rights-based' agenda. This dual focus is helping the industry become an equal opportunities employer in the true sense of the term.We now need to find ways to scale up this", he said.

Rita Soni, CEO NASSCOM Foundation, said accessibility was not just making workplace accessible for a person on wheelchair but was about creating an inclusive ecosystem which helps all employees feel connected to each other and to the organisation leading to productivity and efficicency.

A "Web Accessibility Handbook was also launched on the occasion to build barrier free workplaces- both physical and digital".

Ajay Kela, President and CEO of Wadhwani Foundation said the average employment rate of disabled people in private sector was only 0.28 per cent while the public sector showed marginally better statistics with an employment rate of 0.65 per cent even though the population of the disabled in the country exceeds six per cent.