Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited is committed to the cause of education & livelihood for persons with disabilities
Mumbai: Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited and its CSR Associate Youth4Jobs Foundation launched “SwarajAbility” – Artificial Intelligence (AI) triggered Jobs Platform for Persons with Disabilities at New Delhi on 12th October 2022.
The launch event was attended by Rajesh Yadav, IAS, Joint Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice, Micheal Fembek, CEO, Zero Project, Austria, Dr. Pratima Murthy, Director, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Dr. B. S. Murthy, Director IIT Hyderabad, Raghavendra Singh, President, Public Affairs, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Meera Shenoy, Founder, Youth4Jobs.
“SwarajAbility” is a combination of two words Swarajya – which means independence – and Ability. The development of SwarajAbility is a multi-stakeholder collaborative effort for betterment of life of persons with disability.
The partners are the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) for Artificial Intelligence (AI), Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Govt. of India (PSA) for monitoring & Reviewing the portal, NIMHANS for its expertise in intellectual disabilities, CII IBDN for enabling Industry engagement. Youth4Jobs brought its rich experience in skilling, disability, and job linkages, and Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited, under its CSR Project for Education and Livelihood, has funded the entire SwarajAbility Project.
SwarajAbility, will provide independence to persons with disabilities, through 21st century training and jobs. Accessibility and ease of use for youth with disabilities is key. The portal will in phases incorporate all 21 disabilities as listed in the RPWD Act 2016. On the occasion, the CII-IBDN signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Youth4Jobs to commit and enable the Indian industry’s engagement with PwDs.
Rohit Rao, Joint President & Group Chief CSR Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited said, “Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited is committed to the cause of education & livelihood for persons with disabilities. The Bank’s collaboration with Youth4Jobs Foundation to develop India’s First AI Triggered Jobs Platform for Persons with Disabilities -“Swarajability” has a common goal of betterment of lives of persons with disabilities. It is our sincere effort to create equal livelihood opportunities for persons with disabilities to enable them to lead a dignified and independent life.”
Meera Shenoy, Founder-CEO, Youth4jobs said, “We are proud to say it is a Atmanirbhar project with the best of Indian creativity and innovation, to ensure the most vulnerable section of society, youth with disabilities get linked to organized sector jobs. It deepens and scales our work. While Kotak Mahindra Bank has generously supported us, it is our gift to the nation for NGOs, Companies, and Parents of People with disabilities and to youth to register, get trained, linked to jobs, to improve their quality of life”
