I attended the India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF) 2025 yesterday and today. India IGF is a multi-stakeholder platform that brings together representatives from the government, private sector, technical community, academia, civil society, and youth to discuss key public policy issues shaping the Indian Internet ecosystem through panel discussions and workshops. The Chief Guest was Shri Jitin Prasada, Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India. Several senior government officials were present, including the Hon’ble Joint Secretary of MeitY, the Chief Scientist of MeitY, and many others. High-level executives from major companies such as Google, Microsoft, Meta, NIXI, and Airtel etc also participated. As I have repeatedly seen accessibility issues reported about the Airtel Thanks app on social media, I raised this concern. I highlighted that although the Accessibility rules mandates accessibility teams within private companies for Persons with Disabilities, many companies still do not comply—including Airtel. Many of my friends with disabilities have been facing accessibility challenges in the Airtel Thanks app for a long time, and customer care has been unable to provide any solution. I asked: How can this issue be fixed? A senior representative from Airtel clamed that Airtel does have a nodal officer for disability-related accessibility issues, and she assured me that she would connect me with the right person. Today, I received a call from Airtel. I personally do not use any Airtel service, so I informed him that I would compile and share the list of accessibility issues reported by the community. I also raised accessibility problems faced by Persons with Disabilities when applying for new SIM cards, especially due to mandatory biometric authentication, which creates challenges for persons with visual impairments. He assured me that if I provide the details, he will talk with the Store management and work toward fixing the issues. I also asked whether Airtel has its own OTT platform. He clarified that Airtel does not have a standalone OTT platform, but it offers Airtel Xstream Play, an app that aggregates content from multiple OTT services. I then asked whether the app supports audio description for users with visual impairments; however, he was not sure and said he would check. In a nutshell: If you or anyone you know is facing any accessibility issues related to Airtel—especially the Airtel Thanks app—please share them with me. I will compile and forward them directly to the concerned team. — Ashutosh Singhal
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