Nipun Malhotra was born on 1st September 1987 – blue, fractured and bleeding. His parents weren’t really sure why, so they compiled a list of doctors to see and assess him. It took a while (including a visit to a doctor who said he’d live the ‘life of a wooden... Read more
Nipun Malhotra was born on 1st September 1987 – blue, fractured and bleeding. His parents weren’t really sure why, so they compiled a list of doctors to see and assess him. It took a while (including a visit to a doctor who said he’d live the ‘life of a wooden doll’, not sure what that meant) before he was finally diagnosed with a disability called arthrogryposis which basically meant that the muscles in his arms and legs were underdeveloped and would stay that way through life.
His parents wanted to give him a normal life. That meant ordinary school, normal exams and boring teachers. He topped the country in Business Studies in class twelfth, It helped that he was studying when his classmates were playing Cricket. He went on to attend St. Stephen’s College, Delhi School of Economics and the Indian School of Business.
Nipun Malhotra decided to sit up for his rights in 2012, starting the Nipman Foundation that works in the area of health and advocacy for Persons with Disabilities where he serve as CEO. He is visiting Research Fellow at World Enabled, a Pineda Foundation initiative. He is also a member of the CII National Committee on Special Abilities that promotes inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in the corporate sector. Umoja Travels, India’s first accessible travel company chosen him as their brand ambassador. He is on the board of Directors at Vishwas, a non-profit working on disability and development. He also get a chance to wear my business suit for Board Meetings of of Nipman Fastener Industries – He is a Executive Director at a leading automotive fastener manufacturing company in India.
He worked with Zomato to add wheelchair access filters to their restaurant listings. His Foundation has been an access partner at the NH7 Weekender, the Jaipur Literature Festival and the Serendipity Arts Festival. He took the Delhi Government to Court getting the Disabled exempted from the Odd-Even car rule. Since August 2016 he has been advising the NITI Aayog’s (formerly the Indian Planning Commission) on various issues related to disability. He has worked with the CISF to ease security procedures for Persons with Disabilities at airports. He is the Curator of the Nipman Foundation Microsoft Equal Opportunity Awards that recognise institutions employing PWDs and a Global Shaper at the World Economic Forum.
Nipun Malhotra is the founder of ‘Wheels for – a crowdsourcing platform connecting those who need wheelchairs to donors who can financially contribute for them. He write regularly on Disability and other issues. His writing has appeared on Scroll.in, the Indian Express, NDTV Blog etc. He also authored a comic titled ‘No red card for the disabled’.