Policy on Web Accessibility
Article 9 
and Article 21 mandates access to information, and makes particular reference to access to the Internet.
“10 Big Ticket Item”—Demand for a Policy on Web Accessibility
On the occasion of the World Disability Day, NCPEDP
had organised a huge demonstration at India Gate, New Delhi where over
10,000 disabled people participated from all over the country. A
delegation went to the Prime Minister’s Office and raised the issue of
non implementation of CRPD & the XI Plan. Prime Minister’s Office asked NCPEDP to give them a list of “10 Big Ticket Items” that are do-able within the next 2-3 months left of this Government.
One of the demands given in the 10 Big Ticket Items was “An Ordinance to ensure that all government and other websites used by the public comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).”
NCPEDP also highlighted the issue in the media. An Appeal for Web Accessibility was sent to all media houses on 18th December 2008, which resulted in several newspaper articles on the subject.
Department of Information Technology responds to letter from Prime Minister’s Office
The Prime Minister’s Office wrote to over ten different Ministries on various issues, raised by NCPEDP. The Department of Communications and Information Technology reacted first.
24th December 2008 – Meeting with Senior Director, Department of Information Technology (Department of IT)
Dr. Govind, Senior Director of the Ministry visited NCPEDP on 24th December 2008. He promised to call for a meeting at the Department of IT to take this issue forward. He asked NCPEDP to recommend names of experts in the field for the meeting.
30th January 2008 – Meeting of NCPEDP Core Group on Web Accessibility with the Department of IT
NCPEDP had already set up a Core Group to look into the issue of web accessibility and therefore, it was an easy task to recommend the names for the meeting which was held on 30th January, 2009.
16th February 2009 – Web Accessibility Guidelines Modified
On 16th February, NCPEDP received the news that the web access guidelines have been changed! Henceforth, all Government websites will be WCAG 2.0 Level 1 compliant.
17th February 2009 – India’s First accessible Website Launched!
On 17th February, the IT Minister launched India’s first fully accessible portal – http://india.gov.in
On 19th February 2009, the IT Ministry issued the official Minutes of the Meeting on Web Accessibility for Visually Impaired and others with Special Needs. The highlights are as follows:
- All existing websites be mandated to become standards compliant by a certain timeline and all new web sites be compulsorily mandated to begin only if these are made compliant with latest standards.
- Accessibility should be an integral part of all new tenders and WCAG 2.0 standards be adhered to. All existing websites (Government, Private Sector or NGOs etc.) should conform to access standards with staged approach to be in the time frame 2010-2012.
- Government should consider coming out with a National Policy for Electronic Accessibility, since this will overarch all existing legislations and be applicable to accessing information over all types of mediums ranging from the mobile phones to computers.
Read the entire minutes from the Meeting on Web Accessibility for Visually Impaired and others with Special Needs.