HT Bureau
Guwahati, Sept 30: Amazon India inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sarthak Educational Trust to skill people with disability for equal work opportunities. The company signed the Letter of Intent (LoI) with the department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to engage with employable youth with a disability. The MoU which extends until March 2024 will aim to provide skilling and employment opportunities through Job fairs to tens of thousands of PwD across the country. The tripartite agreement between DePwD, SCPwD, and Amazon focuses on skilling, certification, and entrepreneurship designed to uniquely enable and position PwD participation in mainstream society in line with the PMO vision on inclusive development, and self-reliance to build an Atmanirbhar Bharath.
Dr. Virendra Kumar, Union minister of Social Justice and Empowerment said, “This initiative will empower and create a brighter future for People with Disabilities. The private sector’s empathy and participation will assist in providing more job and entrepreneurship opportunities. The social and financial empowerment of PWDs is extremely important in realising the Prime Minister’s vision for a self-reliant nation. I welcome Amazon India’s initiative towards building a more inclusive workforce.”
Akhil Saxena, vice president, Customer Fulfilment – APAC, MENA, LATAM, and WW Customer Service, Amazon, added, “At Amazon India, we foster a culture that is conducive to growth and offers people equal opportunities to unlock their full potential. Persons with Disability in India face many challenges when looking to develop employable skills and in gaining meaningful employment. With this project, we aim to focus on skilling and livelihood-oriented empowerment for PwDs, over 12 to 24 months. This complements our existing programs to provide direct employment opportunities to under-represented cohorts.”