It was a fruitful coincidence that while Shahab Naqvi was representing the mainstream vocational operations of a corporation in the state of Uttarakhand, his interest in social justice and acquaintance with various academic institutions and personalities led to defining a need for an exclusive project designed for adults with special needs, particularly in context of sustainable vocational enablement.

A study was then commenced with the support of senior special educators and in coordination with the special schools from June 2016 through November 2017, and this led to the creation of the Saahas Foundation Inclusive Resource Centre in December 2017.

The ‘special needs’ term may be used in different ways and generally refers to the persons known to have additional needs because of developmental delays, learning difficulties, a disability, sensory impairment – vision or hearing, a specific risk or a disadvantage. This was kept as the base definition and of the study with the ambition to identify the key areas of adult vocational and employment interventions.

The study observations indicate that the interventions carried out are in the form of support services for the person who needs them; diagnosed either at an early age or during adulthood. The early intervention framework refers to the support system for infants and young children addressing their optimal developmental needs, well- being and community participation. In a typical Indian urban cosmopolitan setting, early childhood interventions are quite seamless. However, there is a recognized dearth of these services among rural or lower income group setting.

While there are known achievements in early childhood intervention, in a typical urban Indian cosmopolitan setting, adult interventions seem to be minimal, particularly in the context of livelihood-centric vocational development. In addition, such adults seem to be also limited by their long- term condition, deprivation from work, transition from a regular early intervention program to education or productive work engagement. This missing link leads to depreciation in the sense of self- worth, dignity and well-being both from a psychological point of view as well as the human right perspective.

It is important to note that the philosophy and the purpose of economic growth is people welfare; therefore, during this process of development there must be enough testimony in support of the methods and the policies applied – mostly because the element of social justice and empowerment should be the integral part of achieving and targeting high growth rates and then perhaps be conceived as an outcome of the economic growth.