From inclusion to impact: How ITC’s skilling programme for differently-abled is unlocking potential

Kavali Jyothi, a 33-year-old woman with 65 per cent locomotor disability from Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, faced severe social and financial challenges with limited exposure to employment opportunities due to her mobility constraints. Today, she works as a Customer Support Associate at Kempegowda International Airport, earning Rs 16,000 per month. She now supports her family and lives with greater confidence and independence, becoming a role model in her community. Jyothi’s story is not an isolated.

Across India, many such journeys of resilience and transformation are taking shape. In Pune, Jayram Ramesh Sonune, from Shikrapur village in Pune district, with 40 per cent visual impairment has received employment at the Pune Airport after being equipped with computer proficiency, communication, and workplace readiness skills. He earns Rs 25,000 per month, supporting his family’s household needs, easing agricultural income pressures, and beginning to build personal savings and assets. Sunil Kumar, a youth from Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, with 90 per cent locomotor disability, now works as an Accountant earning Rs 15,000 per month. In less than four years, over 2,370 differently abled young people have already been trained, with women making up over 30 per cent of participants.

Having started in January 2023 in Bengaluru, today, ITC’s focused programme to skill the specially-abled operates across five cities (Bangalore, Mysuru, Lucknow, Howrah and Bhubaneswar) through eight centres in partnership with specialised implementation organisations -Youth4Jobs, Anudip, Cheshire Disability Trust, Science & Technology Park, Sarthak, and Dr Reddy’s Foundation.

Another unique initiative by ITC is the Mangaldeep Sixth Sense programme, designed for the visually challenged to train them on fragrance evaluation by honing superior olfactory abilities.

Prabhakar Lingareddy, Executive Vice President and Head - Social Investments, ITC Limited, said “At its core, our programme is about nurturing dignity and self-belief among the specially-abled, enabling individuals to see themselves as contributors to their families and society at large.”