For the 74 years that India has been a republic, the nation has been a beacon of diversity, embracing 22 languages representing every community in the country. However, we seem to have forgotten the one language that over 60 million people use to communicate daily.

While the cause of recognizing the Indian Sign language is imperative for the true inclusion of the speech and hearing-impaired community, the change in mindset needs to start in small ways.

As one of India’s leading banks, Axis Bank is committed towards its philosophy of ‘Dil Se Open’ (Open to all) and every initiative needs to be a reaffirmation of that commitment.

Axis Bank wanted to lead an act that bears testimony to its motto of including all and not leaving anyone behind in these exciting times of economic growth in India.

India celebrates January 26th as its Republic Day. A day India adopted its constitution that truly embodies inclusivity and debars discrimination.

How could the brand leverage the greatest day of inclusivity in India to bring in a new conversation around inclusion?

The Indian constitution recognizes 22 languages. Some of which are spoken by less than 10 million people. However, there is one language which is the sole means of communication for over 60 million people, which unfortunately hasn’t been recognized yet – The Indian Sign Language.

Republic Day 2023 presented us with the perfect moment to ignite a conversation around this forgotten language that is all-important to ensure equal opportunities and experiences for the speech and hearing-impaired community.

Could we recognize the Indian Sign Language as the 23rd official language of India in the year 2023?

With this audacious goal, we started out researching about the acceptance of the Indian Sign Language with experts in the domain. Our studies revealed a fascinating insight that this language has unique syntax, vocabulary and grammar that borrows from and builds upon everyday gestures that we all use.

This became the foundation of a story that elevates the cause into the mainstream, as also a simple, intuitive tutorial program that equips our frontline banking staff to transform everyday banking experiences for an entire community.

The online film instantly lent voice to the speech and hearing-impaired community as it was widely shared throughout the country.

While the desired change is much larger, the bank swiftly rolled out a program that would make a tangible difference a lot sooner – The ISL training module.

A first of its kind bank training module that equips frontline bank employees with proficiency and knowledge in the Indian Sign Language, so that the speech and hearing-impaired community can start feeling truly included in the financial world to start with.

This module seeks to make simple everyday banking interactions in branches a lot easier for the community.

The module is available across 4500 branches to over 60000 employees of the bank, translating the Bank’s philosophy of ‘Open to all’ into a delightfully inclusive experience.

We wanted to start the change in our own small way and nudge others to do their bit in taking this agenda of inclusivity forward.

With the ISL training module, Axis bank became the first in the category to usher in a new era of inclusivity in retail banking.

We also became the first ever brand to translate advertising communication into the Indian Sign Language.

The online film was widely shared on Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and garnered a huge share of conversations around brands and initiatives during the Republic Day period.

Axis Bank was seen as a champion of inclusivity driving a forgotten agenda. With this campaign, the brand sparked a movement to make people with speech and hearing impairment no longer feel excluded from India’s growth narrative.

National publications and influential voices hailed this move as a much-needed push and a wake-up call for policy makers.

With #23in23, the brand actioned an online petition urging all Indians to support the cause of making ISL an official language of India. Over 127,000 petitions have already been signed in a major nod to this campaign.

Impressions Delivered: 208 Million

Reach Achieved : 109 Million

Views Achieved : 55 Million

26th January is India's Republic Day. A day when India's constitution came into effect.

Republic day in India is day of pride and happiness for every Indian. It commemorates the adoption of the Constitution and celebrates unity in diversity because this was the day that India, a potpourri of different cultures and languages became a modern republic.

On a day like Republic Day, we set out to address an issue that the bank could truly deliver on with an appeal to amend the constitution.