Mumbai disability rights activist Nilesh Singit honoured with NCPEDP-Mphasis role model award
Nilesh Singit, who lives with cerebral palsy, has worked for accessible rail and bus services and sat on the Supreme Court's accessibility committee from 2022 to 2025.
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Efforts are under way at many levels in the country to make public spaces, transport systems and essential services easy for persons with disabilities to use, yet they still face many barriers in practice. Mumbai-based activist Nilesh Singit, who has consistently fought for the rights and equal opportunities of persons with disabilities, has built a distinct identity through his work. His journey to make the lives of persons with disabilities more self-reliant through accessibility, inclusion and rights is proving inspirational.
Singit lives with cerebral palsy. He has taken the firm position that the issues of persons with disabilities should not be viewed only through the lens of sympathy and that they must get equal rights. His main insistence has been that public spaces and transport systems should be accessible to persons with disabilities.
He gave impetus to efforts to improve accessibility in Mumbai's suburban rail services and to introduce low-floor buses. He has also contributed to preparing accessibility guidelines in public institutions.
He currently works as a Distinguished Research Fellow at NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad. Through research, policy advocacy and community participation, he works on the issues of persons with disabilities. He has organised accessibility audits, awareness programmes, conferences and training sessions based on disability rights. He has also served as a trainer and coordinator in India for an empowerment course organised in collaboration with Disability Equality in Education in the United Kingdom.
Singit's work has been recognised at the national level as well. From 2022 to 2025 he served as a member of the Supreme Court's accessibility committee. The Election Commission of India had also appointed him State Disability Icon for Maharashtra.
This year he was honoured with the Role Model Person with Disabilities award under the 17th NCPEDP-Mphasis Universal Design Awards 2026. The award is regarded as recognition of his long-standing work and his efforts to build a more inclusive society for persons with disabilities.
