BIS Issues New Norms for Walking Sticks to Braille Signage—What Changes

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has published six new standards for assistive products from walking sticks to portable ramps and Braille signage under the National List of Essential Assistive Products (NLEAP) initiative of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The move is part of a broader push to bring India's disability-aid manufacturing sector in line with global benchmarks, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said in a statement.

The standards, notified today, cover products persons with disabilities and elderly Indians depend on daily. Two of the six — the walking sticks standard (IS 5145: 2026) and the portable ramps standard (IS 19631: 2026) — are indigenous standards developed through consultation with Indian industry experts, not simply adopted from international templates.

What the Six Standards Cover

The new norms address elbow crutches, single walking sticks, multi-legged walking sticks (three or more legs), and portable ramps for wheelchair users. Each lays down specific requirements around safety, ergonomics, performance, materials, finish, and manufacturer-supplied information.

The remaining two standards deal with accessible design — one governs the content, layout, and display of tactile guide maps that help blind and low-vision users navigate public spaces and transport hubs; the other sets dimensional and material requirements for Braille markings on signage, equipment, and appliances.

BIS said the standardisation push supports the government's Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyaan), run by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Meeting these standards will also make Indian-made assistive products eligible for export to international markets.

Accessible Design

IS 19189: 2025, aligned with ISO 19028, sets out what information tactile guide maps must contain and how they should be designed and displayed. The standard is intended to help people who are blind or have low vision navigate public buildings, transport hubs and parks independently and with confidence.

A separate accessible design standard, IS 19190: 2025, aligned with ISO 17049, addresses the use of braille on signage, equipment and appliances. It lays down dimensional parameters for braille characters, specifies the material characteristics to be used, and provides practical implementation guidelines for use across public and commercial settings.