The Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri has presented Smart Solutions Challenge & Inclusive Cities Awards 2022 recently. An initiative of the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and the United Nations (UN) in India, these awards are in recognition of tech innovation that aims to address city-level accessibility and inclusion challenges faced by persons with disabilities (PwD), women and girls, and the elderly. The UN Resident Coordinator in India, Mr. Shombi Sharp, the Joint Secretary, and Mission Director, Smart City Mission, MoHUA, Shri Kunal Kumar, and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Highlighting the innovative role played by technology, Hardeep Puri said “I am thoroughly impressed at the creative capacity of the innovative solutions as well as their potential to change lives of persons with disabilities, women & older persons. The best solutions are always simple, cater to specific pain points, have clear benefits, and are widely accepted by users. These solutions will be instrumental in integrating universal design, which will help achieve SDG target 11.7- to provide safe, inclusive & accessible, green & public spaces for all vulnerable communities.”
“We are moving from Sarvodaya to Antyodaya – leaving no one behind or putting farthest first, he said. The success of SDG will come because they have succeeded in India. For the success of SDG, it is important that India performs well on these goals,” he added.
Category 1: Early-stage Innovations
- Fifth Sense by Glovatrix Pvt. Ltd
- Digital Mobility Subsidy by Ola Mobility Institute
- AxcesAble Places by AxcesAble Designs LLP
Category 2: Market-ready Solutions
- Mouseware by Dextroware Devices
- Signer.AI by Incluistic Pvt. Ltd. / Friends for Inclusion
- IncluMaps by Vikas Upadhyay, Research Scholar, IIT Delhi
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Category 3: Implemented Solutions
- Multi-Dimensional Inclusiveness: Using Advanced Technologies for Education and Literacy by Belagavi Smart City Ltd.
- myUDAAN by Tekra Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
- ‘Moving with Pride’ (Mo Bus and Mo E-Ride) by Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), Odisha
- Nirbhaya App by Sagar Smart City Ltd.
