Twenty-three-year-old Purushottam Kumar was born blind to a middle-class family in Bihar. His parents enrolled him in a special school from an early age where he grew up reading and writing in the Braille script. When he applied to move to a mainstream school after Class 8, he was denied admission on grounds of disability.

He lodged a complaint with the grievance cell in the district and the school was instructed to admit him. He scored exceedingly well in Class X and XII, forcing his school principal to alter his misconceived views about the ability of blind students.

Purushottam earned a student’s scholarship and he bought an android phone that could further assist him in studying as well as navigating through the world. Assistive technology on smartphones and computers can help blind people read, write, browse, identify and do several things to engage with the mainstream society.

When Purushottam tried to access the Google Pay app on his phone, he realized that he needed an ATM card and internet banking. He approached the bank but was denied those facilities citing his blindness. He then reached out to the Eyeway Helpdesk where the counselor shared a copy of the RBI guidelines that mandate no discrimination based on disability.

The bank finally gave in, and issued ATM card and internet banking facility to Purushottam. He can now independently make UPI transfers without depending on sighted assistance.