While the Internet transforms many people’s lives, the disabled
are often left behind. For the visually handicapped, looking up
government and corporate websites is still very
challenging—there are hardly any audio cues that help them
navigate these. “Even government websites, via which information
on jobs, facilities and welfare schemes are put out, it is
ironic that though they are empowered with access to laptops and
computers, they cannot ‘read’ the information as they run into
literal blind alleys,” says Anuradha Biswas, who heads Prakat, a
software testing company that is educating corporations and
governments on how to make their sites more widely accessible.
Prakat has teamed up with a Bangalore-based NGO, Mitra Jyothi,
that works with the visually impaired to help analyse and test
deficiencies. Biswas got the idea after noticing several
visually challenged youngsters taking up jobs in ITeS companies
and the corporate world. Prakat has even employed a visually
handicapped person to pinpoint such short