Revamped Sugamya Bharat App Empowers Accessibility

The Sugamya Bharat App, a flagship digital tool under India’s Accessible India Campaign, was recently revamped to enhance its usability and impact. It is designed to empower persons with disabilities (PwDs) and elderly citizens by enabling them to report accessibility issues and access vital information on schemes and resources.

About the Sugamya Bharat App

• Launched in 2021 by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
• It functions as a crowdsourcing platform to identify, report, and remediate accessibility barriers in built environments, transportation systems, and ICT (Information & Communication Technology) domains
• It aligns with the broader Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan), which aims for universal accessibility across public infrastructure, transport, and information systems.

Key Features & Recent Upgrades

The revamped version brings several enhancements aimed at usability, responsiveness, and inclusion.

1. User‑friendly interface & design

The app now features simplified navigation, accessible drop‑down menus, videos guiding complaint registration, and support for assistive options like font size adjustment, screen reading, and colour contrast.

2. AI‑powered chatbot support

A chatbot integrated into the app offers real-time assistance, helping users with queries about schemes, registration, and complaint procedures.

3. Geo‑tagged complaint uploads

Users can upload photographs of inaccessible infrastructure along with location data so authorities can precisely locate and address the issue.

4. Notifications & circulars

The app sends updates about new accessibility initiatives, scheme announcements, status changes on complaints, and relevant advisories.

5. Registration tracking & reminders

Users can monitor their lodged complaints, receive email acknowledgments, reminders, and track resolution status in real time.

6. Multilingual support and accessibility tools

The app supports multiple Indian languages (23 languages as per official site) and is designed to work with screen readers, text-to-speech capabilities, accessible UI features, etc.

Usage & Impact So Far

• As of 25 June 2025, the app had 14,358 registered users and 83,791 downloads (82,291 on Android, 1,500 on iOS)
• The platform has received 2,705 complaints since its inception, of which 1,897 cases have been successfully resolved
• The app is available on Google Play Store (Android) and Apple App Store (iOS)
• The app has been redesigned to be more intuitive, responsive, and resource-integrated to better serve its users