National conference on AI for empowering persons with disabilities held in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the landscape of accessibility and inclusive development, a message that stood central at the National Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Empowering Persons with Disabilities, held today in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
The landmark event brought together an impressive array of government officials, academicians, technologists, and accessibility advocates to explore how AI is enhancing the lives of persons with disabilities.
Delivering the special address at the conference, Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary of the Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, described the emergence of AI as the dawn of "a new era of inclusion."
His keynote highlighted transformative advances in Deep Learning, Robotics, and Computer Vision, underlining their enormous potential to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities.
As part of his address, Aggarwal also launched four key initiatives aimed at integrating AI into the accessibility ecosystem:
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Mission AI Accessibility
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Mission AI: Implementation of AI in Assistive Technologies and Tools for Empowering People with Disabilities
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National Disability Support AI Chatbot
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United Benefits Interface (UBI)
These initiatives seek to establish inclusive digital infrastructures and offer scalable AI-driven solutions in assistive technologies, marking a significant step towards digital inclusion.
The conference was jointly organized by the Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) and the Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO), a Mini Ratna Central Public Sector Enterprise operating under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Praveen Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director of ALIMCO, reaffirmed the organization's commitment to advancing innovation in assistive technology and promoting inclusive design practices.
He emphasized that AI can serve as a force multiplier in building a more accessible India and praised the multi-sector collaboration the event fostered.
The event drew participation from several leading voices across academia, industry, and government, including:
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Venu Govindaraju, Distinguished Professor, Department of Computer Science, University at Buffalo, USA (via video conference)
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P.V.M. Rao and Rohan Paul, Professors at IIT Delhi
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Buddha Chandrashekhar, CEO, Anuvadhini
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Pragya Misra, Partnerships Lead, OpenAI – India
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Aalekh Sharan, Head, Enterprise AI & Strategy, Sarvam AI
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Manu Chopra, CEO, Karya Inc.
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Sandeep Alur, CTO, Microsoft Innovation Hub, India
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Chandrika Jain, Director of Marketing, Lenovo
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Shekhar Naik, Padma Shri awardee and Inclusion Advocate, IIM Bangalore
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Arshad Sayyad, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer, StackGen
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Ananthalakshmi Venkitaraman, CEO, EquiBeing Foundation
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Prateek Madhav, Co-Founder and CEO, AssisTech Foundation (ATF)
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Amit Prakash, Professor and Head, Department of Human-Centered Computing, IIIT Bengaluru
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Amrita Kamat, Representative, Google India
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Ekroop Caur, Secretary, Department of Electronics, IT, BT, and S&T, Government of Karnataka
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Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Director General, National Informatics Centre (NIC), New Delhi
The conference spotlighted how cross-disciplinary collaboration can harness AI to empower millions of persons with disabilities.
A National Conference on Artificial Intelligence For Empowering Persons with Disabilities was held today at Hotel The Lalit, Bengaluru. The conference was jointly organized by the Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD),
— PIB in Karnataka (@PIBBengaluru) May 30, 2025
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3 Indians arrested in Canada for shooting outside home
Ottawa (PTI): Three Indian nationals have been arrested by Canadian police on an anti-extortion patrol and charged after bullets were fired at a home.
Harjot Singh (21), Taranveer Singh (19) and Dayajeet Singh Billing (21) face one count each of discharging a firearm, and all have been remanded in custody until Thursday, the Surrey Police Service (SPS) said in a statement on Monday.
The suspects were arrested by patrol officers after an early morning report of shots fired and a small fire outside a home in Surrey's Crescent Beach neighbourhood, the LakelandToday reported.
On February 1, 2026, the SPS members were patrolling in Surrey’s Crescent Beach neighbourhood when reports came in of shots being fired and a small fire outside a residence near Crescent Road and 132 Street.
The three accused were arrested by SPS officers a short time later, the statement said.
SPS’s Major Crime Section took over the investigation, and the three men have now been charged with Criminal Code offences, it said.
All three have been charged with one count each of discharging a firearm into a place contrary to section 244.2(1)(a) of the Criminal Code.
The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges may be forthcoming. All three have been remanded in custody until February 5, 2026.
The SPS has confirmed they are all foreign nationals and has engaged the Canada Border Services Agency, it said.
One of the suspects suffered injuries, including two black eyes, the media report said.
Surrey police Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said on Monday that the suspect had refused to comply with instructions to get out of the ride-share vehicle and started to "actively resist."
"As we were trained, he was taken to the ground and safely handcuffed," said Houghton.
A second suspect with a black eye was also injured in the arrest after refusing to comply, Houghton said.
The arresting officers were part of Project Assurance, an initiative that patrols neighbourhoods that have been targeted by extortion violence.
Houghton said the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is also involved because the men are foreign nationals, and the trio may face additional charges.
It's not clear if the men are in the country on tourist visas, a study permit, or a work permit, but Houghton said CBSA has started its own investigation into the men's status.
Surrey has seen a number of shootings at homes and businesses over the last several months, but there's been an escalation since the new year.
