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Svayam Founder featured on AXSChat

Dear Colleagues,

#AXSChat is an open online community of individuals on Twitter, dedicated to creating an inclusive world who believe that accessibility is for everyone. Every week, #AXSChat features a different guest who is contributing to making the world a more inclusive place through technology or innovating to enable wider participation in society for people with disabilities.

In this series, on 24 February 2018, our Founder-Chairperson Ms. Sminu Jindal was invited by AXSChat team for an online interview.  The live interview conducted by Mr. Neil Milliken (England), Mr. Antonio Santos (Ireland) and Ms. Debra Ruh (United States) focused on a number of issues around accessibility, sustainability, ICT, Smart Cities and Svayam’s contribution towards an inclusive world.

Ms. Jindal spoke at length on importance of raising awareness about accessibility and how it benefits everyone and not merely the persons with disabilities. She highlighted the grey areas in transport sector especially the aviation sector where long haul flights still did not consider accessible toilets as a necessity and why the stakeholders across the world continue to suffer in silence without making a hue and cry about it! She emphasized that on-board accessible toilet isn’t a luxury but a basic human right for persons with reduced mobility!

She also said that youth need to be sensitized as they can become change makers for a more sustainable and accessible world. Ms. Jindal emphasized on the importance of accessible toilet at every school in rural areas, so that the people still not exposed to the benefits of the accessibility are able to experience the benefits and be inspired to make their own toilets accessible. This would also enable the persons with reduced mobility such as older adults to contribute to national building.

Watch the full interview here and continue to support #Accessibility4All

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A near-fatal accident couldn’t restrain her

A near-fatal accident couldn’t restrain her

Reeba Zachariah & Vipashana V K, TNN | Apr 7, 2014, 12.35AM IST

Silver spoons need to be nurtured so that they remain silver,” says the heiress of Jindal SAW. The eldest of three sisters, she was aware that if she wasn’t good enough, opportunities would be taken away from her. But proving her mettle wasn’t tough, as business was in her blood. At the tender age of 6, when most children had games on their minds, Sminu Jindal had business on hers.

Her ambition was not undermined even by a near-fatal accident, which left her paralyzed below the waist and turned her world upside down. With her parents standing rock solid behind her, Jindal overcame her disability. “The mishap made my belief in God stronger. If not for my wheelchair, I would have been married off before getting a shot at my career,” says the iron lady, adding, “My parents wanted me to be independent first.”

At 19, soon after her class XII, she started her career as a trainee with one of the companies of Jindal SAW, eventually rising to be the boss of the flagship firm. “People were surprised to see a woman in the male-dominated steel business. Many also thought that I was a guy because of my unusual name (Sminu incidentally means ‘the one who keeps smiling’). Some presumed that I was the ‘fifth’ Jindal brother,” chuckles the 39-year-old managing director of Jindal SAW.

She has battled both personal and professional challenges with resilience. During her early days at the company, she faced opposition from male staff who refused to report to her, with some even quitting. “Many thought I had joined the family business to while away time, but there are other better ways to while away my time,” says Jindal, pointing out how silver spoons can go against you.

The wheelchair-bound Jindal, a mother of two school-going boys, says that she is used to curious looks and questions. “I prefer curious minds to an apology. At least curiosity will encourage people to believe that if I could achieve something, they too can.” When Jindal joined the business, she was the only woman besides the receptionist and, in a way, opened doors for other women to join the organization.

The number of women employees has increased, but it’s nothing to boast about, rues Jindal, who is flummoxed by the skewed gender ratio in the steel industry. “Women have it in them equally, may be they don’t have equal opportunities. Every woman, like every man, can’t be a CEO. But women shouldn’t be scared of pursuing their dreams,” says Jindal, who is also a classical singer and painter.

For her own inspiration, Jindal looks up to at all those women who sacrifice careers without feeling guilty, turning homemakers. “Men are successful because they have well-run households. They (housewives) have the most thankless jobs,” says Jindal, who attributes her success partly to her husband, who is also the managing director at Jindal SAW. “We try hard not to get the boardroom into the bedroom,” she says.

News Paper format of the news from The Times of India dated 07th April 2014

 

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“Svayam Accessibility Awards” announced

Media Release:

Svayam (an initiative of Sminu Jindal Charitable Trust) and the host of the 13th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled People- TRANSED 2012, today announced institution of the first ever Accessibility awards.

To host these awards at TRANSED – 13th international conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and the Disabled persons to be held from September 17th -20th 2012 at New Delhi, India.

Svayam (an initiative of Sminu Jindal Charitable Trust) and the host of the 13th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled People- TRANSED 2012, today announced institution of the first ever Accessibility awards. To be given on the sidelines of the conference, the awards will be conferred on agencies involved in development and maintenance of most accessible public places. These awards will play a pivotal role in encouraging the development of policies, practices and relationships to ensure that achievements on accessibility are sustainable and meaningful.

The Theme of TRANSED 2012 is – “Seamless access for all: Universal Design in Transport system and built infrastructure, a key element in the creation of livable cities.’’

“It is an effort to recognize committed businesses and organizations that go significantly beyond the legal requirements of providing excellent accessibility initiatives to accommodate people with disabilities. The three different categories of the award will be – Transport, Heritage Site /Place of Tourist Interest and Hospitality. The awards will acknowledge agencies taking social initiative and will motivate others in the community to step up and take positive action,” said Sminu Jindal.

Svayam was awarded the bid for the 13th TRANSED at Transport Research Bureau of USA against Germany and South Africa. TRANSED 2012 is designed to review advances in research, profile international breakthroughs and explore perspectives for technological innovations in response to the mobility challenges of an ageing population and persons with disabilities. It also aims to examine ways to address challenges associated with improving mobility and transportation needs for the elderly and disabled.

Svayam has been making tremendous efforts for making India accessible to all. It has been closely working with various groups/ agencies to provide an inclusive infrastructure for all. Svayam was also awarded the National Tourism Award of Excellence jointly with ASI for making the World Heritage Site of Qutab Minar in New Delhi as Most Accessible & Disabled Friendly Historical Monument.

About TRANSED 

Founded in the 1970’s by Professor Norman Ashford (University of Loughborough) and Professor William Bell (University of Florida), the International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled People has been held twelve times in ten countries. From its roots as a small, specialized meeting among a handful of researchers, the conference today attracts between 200 and 600 delegates from up to 40 nations on six continents. Conference proceedings are a standard reference for researchers, planners and operators alike, and are referenced in the TRB Transport Research Information System TRIS.

Professionals and consumers throughout the world recognize the TRANSED series conferences as the key forum for scientific and philosophical advances in the pursuit of mobility and access for elderly and disabled people.

About Svayam and its founder Ms. Sminu Jindal

Svayam an Initiative of Sminu Jindal Charitable Trust has been working towards providing independence and dignity to people with reduced mobility. Svayam has been engaged in making various public places accessible to all especially the elderly and disabled.

As the result of an accident at the age of eleven, the founder of Svayam, Ms. Sminu Jindal became a wheelchair user but this did not deter her spirits and she is dedicated to the cause of improving the lives of people with reduced mobility. She devotes extensive time, resources and energy to realize Svayam′s mandate to work towards making public infrastructure accessible to all including reduced mobility people.
Discharging a dual role of being a successful businesswoman, as the Managing Director of Jindal SAW Ltd., and a person dedicated to creating social consciousness by way of Svayam, Sminu Jindal was undeterred by time or familial constraints. She has and continues to carry out all her roles, including being a mother of two children, beautifully. Every new role adds a new facet to her personality.

Svayam aspires to make India barrier free and provide universal access to all. It aims at not only generating awareness about the trials and tribulations of people with reduced mobility (that includes the elderly, expecting mothers, mothers with new born babies as well as toddlers and persons with disabilities) but also mould the opinions of public and policy makers in favour of public private participation in providing and executing accessibility solutions.

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The Hindu covers Launch of Svayam Portal: 01 October 2000

A website for disabled

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, OCT. 01, 2000.

Though a small step towards helping the disabled people reap the benefits of Internet, a non-governmental portal was launched by the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Digvijay Singh, at a function here today.

Providing an interactive platform for the disabled to voice their opinion, concerns and hopes, the website svayam.com claims to act as a bridge between the disabled and over 2,500 institutions working for the cause to improve quality of life of physically and mentally challenged people. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Singh hoped that the website would go a long way in helping the cause of the disabled.

“The aim is to provide information regarding education, rehabilitation, vocational training, employment, legal and other such issues to the disabled and their families to enable them to be aware of the avenues available to them,” said Ms. Sminu Jindal, the brain behind the website. Physically challenged, Ms. Jindal is the director of the Saw Pipes.

According to Mr. Indresh Batra who has developed the site, svayam.com would soon have large text option for people with low vision and voice enabled sections. The portal would soon be available in different languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Oriya, Marathi, Gujarati and Malayalam.

“In the next phase the portal would also offer services like on-line shopping centre, on-line bookings and e-payment,” he said.

Source: The Hindu