“The Manobal Project is a testament to our commitment to inclusivity, equality, and opportunity for all. Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the term ‘Divyang’ to dignify persons with disabilities. This initiative embodies that spirit and will nurture the limitless potential of meritorious students from marginalised communities by providing access to education at all levels, including specialised free coaching for UPSC and other competitive exams,” said Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at the inauguration of Deepstambh Foundation’s Manobal Centre at New Maharashtra Sadan, Delhi on August 11, 2025.
He further said that, “The National Education Policy 2020 has repeatedly emphasised the importance of accessible education and inclusive education. Today, Deepstambh Foundation Manobal has given us a true glimpse of this vision. However, this will not be achieved only through strong infrastructure, but by giving respect and opportunities to every section of society. In this direction, the work of institutions like Deepstambh Foundation truly stands as a milestone”.
Manobal is a dedicated residential facility offering free education, training, and coaching for competitive exams such as UPSC, MPSC, SSC, Banking, Railways, and higher education support to students from differently abled, orphaned, transgender, and economically disadvantaged communities.
Union Minister for State, Youth Affairs & Sports Rakshtai Khadse while addressing the gathering noted that differently abled, orphaned, and transgender communities have historically been excluded from mainstream development and called for collective national efforts to ensure their upliftment.
Rajesh Agarwal, Secretary of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, highlighted significant progress over the past decade in integrating differently abled persons into the mainstream, driven by changing societal attitudes and coordinated efforts between Government, NGOs, and the private sector.
Founder-Director of Deepstambh Foundation, Yajurvendra Mahajan said that, within the next 25 years, no individual from these communities should be deprived of higher education opportunities and competitive exam success. Presently, only 0.02 per cent of differently abled and transgender individuals pursue higher studies. The Foundation aims to change this by building accessible infrastructure, providing free residential coaching for UPSC, MPSC, Banking, SSC, and other exams, and supporting higher education, ensuring that by 2047 people from these communities achieve leadership positions across all sectors.
Deepstambh Foundation is a non-profit organization (NGO) working towards holistic quality education for all since 2009 with a vision to build an ecosystem for the development of physically, socially, and economically deprived youth and promote an inclusive society with equal opportunity for all.
It provides residential training for competitive exams, higher education, personality, and career development. It has also set up rural libraries and initiated reading drives in schools and colleges to inculcate reading habits among students. It inspires, guides, and creates awareness about education among students, teachers, and parents through various lectures and workshops.
Deepstambh Manobal is also India’s first residential institute providing training for competitive examinations, technology, and personality development to persons with disabilities, orphans, transgender individuals, and economically weaker students. Manobal also assists students in pursuing higher education and is dedicated to providing accessible and inclusive quality education.
Students from all castes and religions, and persons with disabilities (14 types) including visually impaired, low vision, hearing impaired, locomotor disability, dwarfism, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, thalassemia, hemophilia, acid attack victims, speech and language disability, and multiple disabilities including deaf-blindness benefit from Manobal.
Its modules of training are:
- Competitive Examinations Courses: UPSC, State PSC, SSC, Bank, Railway, etc.
- Higher Education: CET, Law, MBA, NID, Ph.D., Graduation & Post-graduation courses in all streams, etc.
- Technology Training: Basic & advanced computer training for visually impaired students.
- Training Programs: Personality Development, Career Counseling.
A Yashotsav programme, featuring the felicitation of divyangs and meritorious achievers including UPSC and MPSC rank-holders, sports champions, and professionals from diverse fields was also held. Honourees included: Manu Garg (IAS), Ravi Raj (IRS), Ashvini Parkale (IFoS), Shritej Patel (IRMS), Sampada Wanage (AIR-839), Praneet Gupta (IIM Udaipur), Tushar Chougule (Executive Engineer), Kavita Desale (MPSC), Rakesh Guha – visually impaired and orphan (Bank), Vishal Shelar – Gold Medalist, National Cycling, Vina (PSI), Mauli (BMC), Vijaya (MPSC), and Prateek Jindal (IDBI Bank).
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