Anita Krishnakumar

Indian disability rights activist who revolutionized accessibility in technology and urban planning

Anita Krishnakumar (born 1983) is a Mumbai-based advocate who pioneered accessible technology solutions for India's 268 million disabled citizens. As founder of Accessify India, she developed the Accessible India Mobile Toolkit, a free app now used by 2.3 million users to rate and improve public space accessibility. Her 2016 campaign led to landmark amendments in India's Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, mandating wheelchair access in all new commercial buildings.

A former software engineer at IBM, Krishnakumar invented the Braille Touch smartphone overlay - a low-cost tactile interface for visually impaired users that won the Rolex Young Laureate Award (2019). She advised the Indian government's Smart Cities Mission, ensuring 15 pilot cities adopted universal design principles. Her work inspired similar initiatives in Bangladesh and Nepal.

In 2021, she launched A11yHub, an online platform connecting disabled innovators with tech companies. This network has produced over 50 inclusive tech products, including a sign language translation AI used in 150 Indian schools. Krishnakumar's TED Talk "Designing for 1.3 Billion" has become a foundational resource in accessibility studies.