Cure SMA India Announces the Soft Launch of e-Swayam – India’s First Digital Accessibility Map

Hyderabad: On the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) 2025, Cure SMA Foundation of India, a national parent-led nonprofit working for individuals with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), unveiled the Preview and Soft Launch of “e-Swayam” — Digital Accessibility Map was held at Hotel Red Fox, Hi-Tech City, Hyderabad.

Designed as a community-powered, technology-enabled public platform, e-Swayam aims to transform accessibility across India by providing reliable, real-time, lived-experience–based data about the accessibility of physical infrastructure. The initiative begins with mobility accessibility in 2025 and will expand to include all disabilities by 2027.

Graced by Y Sayapa Reddy, Chief Engineer, Hyderabad Metro rail Limited (HMRL). Alagappan, Development Goals Specialist – Sustainable Transport & Mobility, UNDP, Archana Suresh, Former Director, T-SIG and CEO, Sunlit Path Consulting, Dr. Vidya Sagar, Paediatric Orthopaedician, Rainbow hospital, Praveen Prakash Ambashta, Deputy Chief Commissioner, Dept. of PwD, Govt. of India (Virtua). Speakers emphasized the urgent need for universally accessible environments and the critical role of digital tools in bridging policy-practice gaps.

Experts from Microsoft, Google, Indian Coast Guard, HMRL, ICICI Bank, CSIR-CCMB, South Coast Railways, and civil society discussed the transformative potential of a national accessibility mapping ecosystem. The Program brought together policymakers, technologists, disability-rights leaders, medical experts, accessibility champions, SMA warriors, caregivers, and youth leaders.

About e-Swayam — Digital Accessibility Map of India

Conceived and developed by caregivers of wheelchair-using children and adults living with SMA, e-Swayam addresses the widening gap between policy intent and lived experience. Despite progressive disability laws in India, millions still face barriers in education, healthcare, mobility, recreation, and public services. Through community mapping, user-generated data, and digital tools, e-Swayam empowers, Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), Senior citizens, Caregivers and families, Policymakers, urban planners, and institutions. The platform is being developed in collaboration with Chennai-based Y Square Technologies.