SDG 10.1Research 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).
98reduced inequalities research publications, 2021–2025
1,787citations to these papers
47journal articles and reviews
24%open access
What the research covers
Number of 2021–2025 papers on each theme (a paper can appear under more than one).
| Theme | Papers |
|---|---|
| Economic inequality, growth and development | 22 |
| Inclusive education | 21 |
| Gender and women's empowerment | 18 |
| Financial inclusion and access to finance | 15 |
| Digital divide and inclusive technology | 9 |
| Migration, rural and marginalised communities | 6 |
| Disability and accessibility | 5 |
Most cited work on inequality and inclusion
- 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.
- 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.
- Does inflow of foreign direct investment stimulate economic growth? Evidence from developing countries (Transnational Corporations Review, 2021), cited 34 times.
- Shades & shines of gender equality with respect to sustainable development goals (SDGs): The environmental performance perspectives (Total Environment Research Themes, 2023), cited 29 times.
- 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. UPES researchers are developing an intelligent tutoring system for the inclusive education of learners with learning disabilities, and have compared data collection models for it (Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, 2023).
- Dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia. Prof Neelu Jyothi Ahuja, who heads the computing research institute at UPES's R&D centre, works on IT tools that help children with difficulties in reading, writing and numbers.
Patents and intellectual property
UPES holds 2,314+ intellectual property rights, made up of 813 patents, 943 designs and 558 copyrights, with 139 granted (December 2025).