India Case study report

Executive Summary

This summary presents findings from a 12-month research study conducted by the Centre for Accessibility in the Global South (CAGS) at IIIT Bangalore, in partnership with the Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) at University College London. The study examined the potential of Android smartphones to function as assistive technology (AT) for people with visual and hearing impairments in India.

Three hundred participants with visual or hearing impairments were recruited through Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPD) across Karnataka, a southwest state of India. Each received a Samsung Galaxy A14 5G smartphone and attended structured digital skills training designed to build confident, independent use. Across both qualitative interviews and usage monitoring, the study found meaningful impacts on participants' daily lives, particularly for those with visual impairments, who described gains in independence, communication, financial management, navigation, and access to education and employment.

The training model, which combined in- person delivery with sustained peer and trainer support through WhatsApp, proved effective at building skills across varied baseline abilities and generated rich insights into what accessible digital skills training requires in this context.

For participants with hearing impairments, outcomes were more varied. Apps such as Live Transcribe were valued and well-received, but broader adoption was shaped by language barriers and the relative scarcity of applications designed with Deaf users in mind. Survey data collected at baseline offer descriptive context for these findings and point to areas, including longitudinal usage patterns and how future studies might better capture participants' confidence with technology, that inform the design of subsequent research.

The study's findings speak not only to the potential of smartphones as AT, but also to the conditions under which that potential can be realised: adaptive, sustained training; peer-learning structures that persist beyond formal sessions; and a digital ecosystemthat includes rather than excludes disabled users. 

Study Partners

Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled

Bangalore-based organisation working across education, livelihood, and rehabilitation for people with disabilities. It served as an OPD partner for participant recruitment and training delivery

Enable India

Non-profit organisation focused on creating sustainable livelihoods for people with disabilities. It contributed to participant recruitment and supported training delivery.

Winvinaya Foundation

Working at the intersection of disability, technology, and inclusion. It contributed to participant recruitment and training support