India, 24 September 2026: Mainstream consumer technologies are increasingly functioning as assistive technologies for persons with disabilities, finds a new report by the public policy firm The Quantum Hub (TQH).

Titled “Incidental Accessibility: How Mainstream Technology Is Expanding Accessibility in India”, the report examines five categories of widely available technology: Smart home devices, dictation software, AI-enabled smart glasses, haptic feedback, and noise-cancelling headphones. It terms the phenomenon “incidental accessibility”: accessibility benefits that emerge from the everyday use of mainstream consumer products, even when some of those products were not designed with such use cases in mind. The report draws on interviews with persons with disabilities, industry stakeholders and published research.

This comes at a time when Indian courts have already begun treating accessibility as a matter of right. In November 2024, the Supreme Court's ruling in the Rajive Raturi argued for mandatory accessibility standards, giving fresh legal weight to arguments that policy and technology frameworks need to catch up with how people actually use everyday products.

The report was launched in New Delhi at an event held in collaboration with the Broadband India Forum (BIF), The Purple Economy Movement (EnAble India), The Accessibility Coalition (TAC) and The Ability Network (TAN) as Partners. Smt. Manmeet Nanda, Additional Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, participated in a fireside conversation, while Shri Vikash Chourasia, Scientist, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, delivered a special address. The event also featured technology showcases by Meta and ElevenLabs.

Speaking at the launch, Smt. Manmeet Nanda said, “For a long time, we've thought of accessibility as a separate category of design. This report shows that's not true. A smartwatch's vibration, a smart glass camera, a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, these are already doing the work of assistive technology for millions of people, whether or not they were built for that purpose. Our policies and standards must recognise this convergence and ensure that accessibility is built into technology and innovation from the outset.”

Shri Vikash Chourasia added, “Many of these technologies process a lot of personal data. This makes it important that accessibility and inclusion are considered at the design and policy stage itself. As we shape the policy framework for emerging technologies and data protection, these considerations will remain a key priority for the government.”

From convenience products to tools of independence

The report documents how mainstream products are being repurposed as tools of independence:

• Smart home devices can allow people with locomotor disabilities to operate lights, fans and appliances without reaching for switches or asking another person for help.

• Haptic feedback - the vibration built into phones and wearables – is already part of a large mainstream device ecosystem in India. The country shipped 114.2 million wearable devices in 2025, including 28.9 million smartwatches, according to IDC. For deaf and hard-of-hearing users, it can replace ringtones and alarms; for blind users, distinct vibration patterns can provide navigation cues or confirm actions such as payments.

• AI-enabled smart glasses can read menus, medicine labels and presentation slides, describe surroundings and objects, support navigation and even help users check their appearance, giving blind and low-vision users hands-free access to visual information and greater independence in everyday life and at work.

• Dictation and speech technologies can help people with limited hand mobility, visual impairments or dyslexia write without a keyboard, allow text to be read aloud, and enable people who lose their speech to preserve a familiar voice through voice cloning.

• Active noise-cancelling headphones can help people with sensory processing differences, including autistic and ADHD users, manage environments that would otherwise be overwhelming, making workplaces and public spaces navigable.

Policy frameworks are still organised around what a product is, rather than what it enables

Speaking at the launch, Nipun Malhotra - Director at TQH and one of the report’s authors - said, “The report identifies a central policy gap: India’s regulatory and support frameworks largely classify products according to their intended market and design, rather than the assistive function they may perform in practice. This has consequences for affordability, support and access.”

Mainstream consumer products can fall outside fiscal concessions, procurement mechanisms and workplace accommodation frameworks even when they materially enable independence and participation for a person with a disability. The report, therefore, does not advocate for simply reclassifying consumer products as assistive devices. Instead, it calls for fiscal, procurement and accommodation frameworks to recognise and support assistive use systematically.

At the same time, many of these technologies increasingly rely on cameras, microphones, health data and AI, creating new questions around privacy and safety. The report calls for stronger guardrails that protect users without restricting the technologies that enable greater independence, while making accessibility a standing consideration in technology policy alongside affordability, security, interoperability, safety and innovation.