On 28th November 2025, Godrej DEI Lab hosted the first-ever Assistive Tech Conference at Godrej One, Vikhroli, to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. We organised this conference in collaboration with AssisTech Foundation (ATF), the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), and Atypical Advantage. Within Godrej, group companies like Godrej Capital, Godrej Properties, Godrej Consumer Products, as well as Godrej AI Lab, Godrej Corporate IT, and Godrej Good & Green participated too. It was a day packed with tech demos, conversations with accessibility advocates like Arman Ali, and Ira Singhal, and playful activities like making tactile study aids.
Excitement was in the air from hour one, as the Godrej One atrium hosted an exhibition locating accessibility in a historical and cultural context. Access For ALL’s Access Denied / By Design — a pop-up museum experience — showcased a rare Braille typewriter and exhibits that highlighted how everyday design can include users with disability.
Inclusive design was also the focus of the exhibit by Godrej AI Lab, which showcased its AI-enabled assistant, Godrej EVVA. Tobii Dynavox, Microsoft, and SHG Technologies also displayed their latest innovations in tech like an eye-controlled computer and smart vision glasses. They were accompanied by an exhibition showcasing twelve ingenious startups working on assistive technology on solutions like, customised wheelchairs, an AI sign-language interpreter, and adaptive clothing and utensils.
But it was not all play, and no talk.
In the auditorium, the conversation focused on a rarely-spoken field of disability inclusion – manufacturing. Emphasising that inclusion is a cultural value at Godrej, Sumit Mitra, Group HR Head, Godrej Industries Group, said, “Our purpose today stands for people and planet alongside profit.” His address was followed by a fireside chat with Ira Singhal, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Education, Government of India. They spoke of Singhal’s personal experience of being a bureaucrat with disability while working in some of India’s most challenging geographies, and where they spoke of India’s journey towards a systemic, rights-driven framework, and India’s journey towards a systemic, rights-driven framework. The need for our infrastructure to be made more inclusive, with greater skilling pathways and progressive leadership, was also emphasised by the panel which followed after, featuring industry leaders like Saurabh Jhawar (GCPL) Tapan Bhatt (Nestle) Aditi Gupta (Tata Motors) and Vineet Saraiwala (Atypical Advantage).
As an interlude for the audience, we screened our film capturing the Godrej DEI Lab at the International Purple Fest 2025.
What of invisible disabilities that show up at the workplace? How can an organisation be empathetic towards them? “For so long we have been discussing persons with disabilities as a broad category of people, and I want to shift out specifically to the concerns of autistic people in particular, and neurodivergent individuals at large,” is how Paras Arora, anthropologist and Stanford scholar, began his talk on neurodiversity and vocational training as pathways to inclusive workplaces.
And finally, on the menu for the day, was a question that had been on everyone’s mind. What does an inclusive India look like? And what can each of us do to usher in that future? “There is growing awareness about assistive technology. It creates a level playing field, a bridge between my capability and a task that I have to do, whether I have to be a part of an educational institution, or workforce, or in social life,” said Arman Ali from NCPEDP. Adding to it, Bhavya Mishra, Godrej Capital’s Chief Human Resources Officer, said, “For people without disabilities, technology makes things easier. For people with disabilities, technology makes things possible.”
This sense of possibility and how people with disabilities must be included in the assistive tech conversation was emphasised by para-badminton champion, Manasi Joshi, who said, “As a sport person and a badminton player I'm not able to use my knee because [the prosthetic] will buckle when I move back [while playing badminton]. And that is why we need end users at the beginning of creating those technologies.”
After the panel, Godrej AI Lab introduced Godrej EVAA, a voice-enabled browser extension that allows users to navigate any webpage using natural language commands. Launching the extension, Shirin Shinde, Lead, at Godrej AI Lab said, “It is a proud moment for us. Because this product was built entirely in-house and will make the web accessible for those who cannot use traditional input devices.” The launch was attended by Nadir Godrej, Chairman & MD at Godrej Industries Group, Burjis Godrej, MD, Astec Life Sciences, and Manish Shah, MD and CEO, Godrej Capital as well.
So, what would it take to build a future that’s accessible for everyone? Parmesh Shahani, Head of the Godrej DEI Lab laid out the challenges ahead. “Our goal at Godrej is that we want to be a truly inclusive, and a fully accessible workplace for all our employees. We want our colleagues with disabilities – both present and future – to feel truly at home, and we promise you that we are taking that journey to inclusivity seriously. What has always stood out to me is how revolutionary assistive tech is for disability inclusion, and how with assistive tech, people with disabilities are living independent, and dignified lives.”
The day ended with many questions, fresh ideas, and above all, a searing sense of hope – for a future where accessibility simultaneously fuels innovation, and is also an everyday reality.