This country/region is part of the Global Law and Policy Page, which contains information about laws that protect disabled people’s rights to participate in the digital world.
- Guidelines for Indian Government Websites include resources for ensuring that websites meet standards based on WCAG 2.0.
- The Manual for Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 is written for people without a law background to easily under stand the Act.
- Digital accessibility in India is controlled, enabled and regulated through the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Section 40 together with Section 100(2)(g) requires the Central Government to develop standards of accessibility for physical and digital spaces/ecosystems across the country.
- Rules have been issued under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act by a notification dated June 15, 2017. (This PDF document has the Notification in both Hindi and English. English starts on Page 27).
- Rule 15(1)(c) of the 2017 Notification requires that with respect to Information and Communication Technology, the standards as specified in the guidelines for Indian Government websites, linked above, as adopted by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India are complied with by all establishments.
- Rule 15(1)(c) also requires that all documents which are placed on websites should either be in Electronic Publication (ePUB) or should be PDFs which are capable of being converted into accessible documents through Optical Character Recognition (OCR).
- On July 26, 2022, amendments were proposed to Rule 15(1) to incorporate Indian Standards 17802 Parts 1 and 2 issued by Bureau of Indian Standards. These are designed to be in line with European Standard EN 301549 and WCAG 2.1 containing exhaustive guidelines to make Information and Communication Technology Accessible. The amendment is under active consideration as of April 10, 2023.
- Section 46 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 requires all service providers, whether public or private, to ensure compliance with ICT Standards of Rule 15(1) within two years from the date of the notification of the rules. This date has passed yet there is still not full compliance.
- August 2025 Public Consultation on Draft Accessibility Standards for the PRODUCTS Sector. This links to the July 2025 Draft Non-Negotiable Rules for Products for Persons with Disabilities
- Additional articles on digital accessibility in India include:
- Making the Digital Eco-System Disabled Friendly: An Evaluation of the Accessibility of Ten Widely Used Apps in India (2023)
- Shaping a More Disabled Friendly Digital Ecosystem (Feb. 15, 2023)
- Few Indian websites are technically accessible to disabled people – despite the law requiring this (Nov. 4, 2022)
- Why Deny the Disabled Population Digital Access?, (Dec. 3, 2019)
- Improving Access to Entertainment Content (Oct. 27, 2022)
- A 9-step plan for ‘curb-cutting’ disability access in India’s news and newsrooms, (Sept. 6, 2022)
Accessibility in the Financial Sector in India
- July 31, 2025 Circular by the Stock Exchange Board of India titled Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and rules made thereunder- mandatory compliance by all Regulated Entities. This was issued after a landmark human rights case before the Indian Supreme Court finding the absence of digital accessibility violated the 2016 Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act in that country.
- August 2025 article by Barrier Break titled “SEBI Makes Digital Accessibility Mandatory: A Step Towards Inclusive Finance in India.” Article updated May 2026. Includes standards and requirements.
- May 2026 article from accessibility consultancy Barrier Break titled SEBI Issues Clarification on Digital Accessibility Requirements: Guide for Regulated Entities