SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

1Research and innovation for inclusion

UPES researchers and students design technology that removes barriers for people with disabilities and learners who are often left behind.

The figures below cover UPES research publications on reducing inequalities from 2021 to 2025 (source: Scopus, October 2026).

What the research covers

Number of 2021–2025 papers on each theme (a paper can appear under more than one).

Most cited work on inequality and inclusion

1. Digital Financial Literacy and Its Impact on Financial Decision-Making of Women: Evidence from India (Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 2024), cited 75 times.
2. Exploring the nexus between environment quality, economic development and industrialization in BRICS nations: the role of technological innovation and income inequality (Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2022), cited 37 times.
3. Does inflow of foreign direct investment stimulate economic growth? Evidence from developing countries (Transnational Corporations Review, 2021), cited 34 times.
4. Shades & shines of gender equality with respect to sustainable development goals (SDGs): The environmental performance perspectives (Total Environment Research Themes, 2023), cited 29 times.
5. Dimensions of financial inclusion in India: a qualitative analysis of bankers perspective (Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, 2024), cited 21 times.

The full list of 130 publications since 2008, with links, is on the reduced inequalities research publications page (also available as a spreadsheet).

Innovation for inclusion

• Sahayak Hackathon. In July 2020 the School of Computer Science, with UPES ACM and ACM-W, brought 816 participants from 110 institutions together with people living with visual and hearing impairment, autism, cerebral palsy and Parkinson's disease to build AI, AR, VR and biometric solutions to the barriers they face.
• Intelligent tutoring for learning disabilities. With support from the Department of Science and Technology's TIDE programme, UPES researchers built an intelligent tutoring system based on universal design for learners with and without learning disabilities, and studied its effect on their emotions and cognitive load (Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 2025).
• Dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia. Prof Neelu Jyothi Ahuja, who heads UPES's Computing Research Institute, leads projects on technology for children with these learning disabilities and contributes to international discussions on assistive technology.
• Learning made accessible. Project Educo uses augmented and virtual reality to make History and Civics more engaging for Class 10 students who learn in different ways.

Patents and intellectual property

UPES holds 2,314+ intellectual property rights, including 813 patents (139 granted), 943 designs and 558 copyrights (December 2025). Reduced Inequalities is one of the ten Sustainable Development Goals that the portfolio maps to.

2Fair and open admissions

UPES admits students on merit and uses targeted scholarships to widen access for women, low-income students and young people from Uttarakhand.

Scholarships that widen access

• Shakti, for women. Launched in 2020 to take young women "from classrooms to boardrooms", Shakti gives meritorious girl students a tuition scholarship. For 2022 UPES reserved half of its merit scholarships for girls, and it drew applicants from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
• 1,000 Women – 1,000 Dreams. To mark International Women's Day 2026, UPES announced 1,000 fully tuition-free online MBA scholarships for women across India.
• Jyoti, for low-income students. A 100% waiver of tuition and academic fees for 51 meritorious students a year from families earning up to ₹8 lakh.
• Uttarakhand domicile. For 2025–26, a quarter of seats are reserved for residents of Uttarakhand, each with a 25% tuition waiver, so local students can study close to home.
• Talented students from remote areas. Project Abhilasha brings meritorious students from marginalised parts of Uttarakhand to campus for a month-long residential coaching camp for engineering entrance exams, and Project Protsaahan funds the full degree of meritorious students from the Purkal Youth Development Society.

Planned outreach to under-represented groups

Each of these schemes is a planned action to bring in students from groups that are under-represented in higher education: women through Shakti and the 1,000 Women – 1,000 Dreams MBA scholarships, students from low-income families through Jyoti and Protsaahan, young people from Uttarakhand's remote areas through the domicile reservation and Project Abhilasha, and students with disabilities through accessible admissions under the Policy on Inclusion of Students with Disability. On the staff side, UPES's Principles of Engagement commit it to equal-opportunity hiring, and the Shakti leadership programme develops women employees for senior roles.

Measuring progress

UPES monitors applications, admissions, enrolment and graduation by gender, income and disability to shape its scholarships and support, and tracks the share of women among applicants.

3Zero tolerance for discrimination and harassment

UPES's Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy covers every student, faculty member, employee and staff member, and committees with clear duties enforce it.

The policy

The policy bans any preferential or adverse treatment based on personal characteristics, including race, colour, gender, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status and disability. It defines harassment as any verbal or physical conduct that undermines a person's dignity, in speech, writing, images or online, and commits UPES to investigate every report promptly, fairly and confidentially.

Who makes it work

• Committee on Anti-Discrimination. Oversees the policy, monitors campus practice, reviews reports and guides investigations into discrimination based on gender, race, caste, marital status, sexual orientation, religion, age or disability.
• Equal treatment at work. UPES's Principles of Engagement make it an equal opportunity employer: hiring, promotion, transfers, pay, benefits and training are decided without regard to gender, caste, religion, age, marital status, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability.
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Promotes fairness, gender equity and accessibility across the university.
• Internal Complaints Committee. Handles sexual harassment complaints under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013, in a time-bound and confidential way, with support for complainants.
• Prevention, Monitoring and Gender Sensitization Committee. Women faculty, a woman HR officer and two women students from each school visit classrooms, labs, libraries and hostels to check how safe women feel, recommend improvements such as better lighting, and work with the Dehradun Police Women Cell.
• Student Grievance Redressal. A mechanism under the UGC (Grievance Redressal) Regulations, 2018, with a dedicated email and online portal.

Every year all employees and Internal Complaints Committee members complete Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) training, in person and online.

4Support for under-represented groups

UPES pairs every student with a faculty mentor and offers free counselling, with extra support for women and for students who face barriers to higher education.

• Mentoring for every student. Each student has a faculty mentor for personal guidance, coordinated by the Dean of Student Welfare.
• Free, confidential counselling. A full-time psychological counsellor, a 24×7 helpline and Manoshakti, the student well-being club, support anyone who needs help.
• Women leaders. The Shakti leadership programme selects women employees for nine months of training in adaptive skills, emotional intelligence, business communication and team management, to prepare them for leadership roles. The fourth cohort, Shakti 4, ran from November 2022 to July 2023 for 12 women faculty members and managers, with guest speakers including Amarendra Bhat, Padmaja Korde, Alka Gupta and Asher Jesudoss.
• Students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Project Protsaahan covers tuition, hostel, uniform and laptop costs for meritorious students from the Purkal Youth Development Society.
• Support Centre for Minority Groups. A dedicated, clearly signposted space where students from minority communities can seek guidance, counselling or a supportive conversation on academic or other concerns, backed by the Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Internal Complaints Committee, a Committee for Students with Disabilities and the grievance redressal mechanism.
• Space for every faith. A Prayer Room open to students of all faiths, and a small campus temple, offer quiet places for prayer and reflection.
• Echoes of Inclusion. During Legal Odyssey 2025, the School of Law's induction for new students, a session on 9 July 2025 used skits and reflections to question stereotypes around language, region, class and gender and build a campus culture of empathy.
• Celebrating every shade. Anandotsav 2025, themed "Celebrating Every Shade of Us – Together", brought more than 1,000 employees from different schools, departments, cultures and roles, with their families, together in one celebration of diversity.
• Safe ways to speak up. Students and staff can report discrimination or harassment confidentially to the Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Internal Complaints Committee or the grievance portal.

5Disability inclusion

UPES has a formal Policy on Inclusion of Students with Disability, barrier-free campuses and tailored academic support.

• Mentoring
• Other targeted support

Accessible campuses

Both campuses have ramps, lifts, wide doorways, accessible toilets and reserved parking, so students, staff and visitors with disabilities can move around freely.

Support services and reasonable accommodation

• In exams. Extra time to complete papers.
• In class and labs. Note-taking help and assistance in classrooms and laboratories, with readers and captioning for students with visual or hearing impairments.
• One place to ask. A central point for disability-related services, so students know where to go for help.
• Mentoring. Faculty mentors and the Dean of Student Welfare help each student plan the support they need.

Innovation for inclusion

The School of Computer Science, with UPES ACM and ACM-W, ran the Sahayak hackathon, where students used AI, machine learning and augmented reality to design solutions for the challenges faced by people with disabilities.

6Inclusion beyond the campus

UPES works with communities facing economic, social and geographic barriers, from village schoolgirls to tribal women weavers.

• Daughters of UPES. Project Payal supports 49 underprivileged schoolgirls from villages near UPES with financial help, mentoring, time on campus and personal development.
• First-generation learners. Most Protsaahan scholars come from low-income families and are the first in their families to go to university; two more students from the Purkal Youth Development Society joined UPES on full scholarships in 2025–26.
• Children of workers. Project Samvedna supports the education and welfare of children of campus support staff and construction workers.
• Skills for the support workforce. Training in English, computers and life skills for support staff and community members with little access to formal training.
• Rural women. Project Vikalp trains women in nearby villages to make eco-friendly products such as recycled-paper pencils and to grow medicinal and aromatic plants, with design and marketing support.
• Tribal women artisans. Project Artisan gives women weavers in remote tribal communities design and skills support so they can earn more from traditional crafts without leaving home.
• Adopted villages. Project Utthan brings education, health care, digital literacy and livelihood support to villages in Dehradun district.
• Partners. With the Indian Development Foundation, UPES supports education for poor children, programmes for persons with disabilities and vocational training for women, and DaanUtsav each year collects clothes, books and essentials for families in need.

Events and activities

3 events from UPES schools and departments support this goal. Each links to the original LinkedIn post.

School of Law

Legal Odyssey 2025: Where Every Journey Begins with Connection

As our newest batch of future legal minds steps into UPES School of Law, Legal Odyssey 2025 presents two dynamic events that capture the spirit of inclusion,…

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School of Law

Spreading smiles, sharing awareness!

Students from our Pro Bono Club (under the Ministry of Law & Justice) visited Cheshire Homes for an awareness camp - engaging with the children and staff through…

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School of Liberal Studies and Media

The School of Liberal Studies and Media, UPES, hosted Shabd Setu on Hindi Diwas to reflect on the role of…

The School of Liberal Studies and Media, UPES, hosted Shabd Setu on Hindi Diwas to reflect on the role of language as a bridge between people, ideas, and cultures.…

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See all UPES events mapped to the SDGs

All sources

Every website and document used in this report, and the sections it supports.