Losing 50 per cent of his vision at the age of four and complete eyesight at 16, did not deter Mohammed Asif Iqbal from chasing his dreams. Iqbal, now 35, bagged a commerce degree from St Xaviers’ College, Kolkata, and followed it up with an MBA from Symbiosis, Pune.

His talent was recognised by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC), where he was appointed as human resource (HR) consultant in charge of diversity and inclusion in 2005. “There have been times when I have felt depressed. But I did not give up and took things in my stride,” Mr Iqbal told Business Line .

He was talking on the sidelines of a knowledge forum — ‘Why hiring people with disabilities makes business sense’ — organised by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) India in Kolkata, .

India Inc seems to be warming up to the idea of hiring differently-abled people to keep up to its spirit of ‘inclusion and diversity’. Almost all sectors — including information technology; information technology-enabled services; banking, financial services and insurance; retail; telecom and others — hire persons with disabilities. There are two advantages — a diversified workforce and lower attrition rate. This also helps enhance the company’s brand image, senior HR managers said.

“Diversity is the buzzword in the recruitment space and a number of companies are trying to make their premise accessible. They are also sensitising their employees,” said Ms Vidya Rao, Programme Manager, Employment, EnAble India.

EnAble India is a non-governmental organisation that trains persons with disabilities and prepares them to join the mainstream workforce.

Where do they fit in?

IT major Wipro has been hiring between 80-100 employees with disabilities on an annual basis over the last couple of years. According to Mr Isaac George, Head (HR), Wipro Infotech, the company makes use of all possible channels, including technical and management campuses, direct enquiries and lateral hiring drives, for recruiting differently-abled individuals.

“The evaluation is also completely merit-based. We have found this approach has worked well for us and has also helped these employees build their career in mainstream roles,” Mr George said.

Individuals with hearing and speech impairment, cerebral palsy, orthopaedic problems and psycho-social impairment, are also making their way into the corporate world.

ITC Hotels is also known for having a large number of differently-abled employees. Mr Niranjan Khatri, General Manager, Welcomenviron Initiatives, ITC Welcomgroup, said, “If you identify niche opportunities they work very well,” he said.

Also, Ms Rao said Cafe Coffee Day employs close to 120 hearing-impaired people as brew masters across its various locations.

Key challenges

Lack of proper academic knowledge and certificates are considered as key constraints in hiring such people.

“If we had more schools and colleges with barrier-free infrastructure, an inclusive approach and assistive devices, and if our public transport and infrastructure also kept pace with the needs of persons with disabilities, we would see a big improvement,” Mr George said.

Sensitising fellow colleagues is an important task to ensure a healthy work atmosphere.

shobha@thehindu.co.in

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