Students with visual impairments, often face challenges which does not end with finding books or study material. On exam day, many of them still need a scribe to write their answers, and finding one is not always easy.A school student, Zeus Lalani in Gujarat, noticed these difficulties and started two projects to make things easier for visually impaired students.
Meet Zeus Lalani, the Class 12 student building support for visually impaired students
Zeus Lalani is a Class 12 student at Navrachana International School in Vadodara, Gujarat. According to an India Today report, he noticed that students with visual impairments often face problems in education. Even when study material is available, they may still need help during exams because finding a scribe can be difficult.
He began Project Eklavya to help focus on learning
Zeus then started off by beginning two projects. The first, Project Eklavya, focuses on learning. As per the report, it provides tactile learning materials, books, small libraries, and workshops for parents. The project has reached more than 500 people across three districts of Gujarat.
Project Saksham is to help students write the exam
Zeus then spotted a second gap. Students may have learning materials, but still struggle to find someone to write their answers during an exam. That led to Project Saksham, which connects visually impaired students with volunteer scribes.According to the report, Saksham has more than 50 scribes and over 100 users so far, and it has been tested with some national NGOs. Zeus has also suggested a system to train and certify scribes, because he believes volunteers should be prepared before they help students in exams.
Research behind the work
Zeus has studied these problems and published a study on inclusive education in Gujarat in August 2026, and his earlier research on the challenges faced by visually impaired students received a CREST Gold Award.A 2025 paper by Zeus Prayesh Lalani was published on the IJSSRR journal website. According to its abstract, the study used an online survey and interviews with 50 visually impaired students aged 15 to 33. It found difficulty in getting reliable scribes, costly and underused assistive technology, and uneven policy implementation. The study calls for standardised scribe training, better digital access, and teacher training.
Zeus has presented his work at UC Berkley
Zeus has taken part in Yale Young Global Scholars 2026. He has also presented his work at UC Berkeley, the UN ECOSOC Chamber, and NVIDIA headquarters. He hopes to study economics and public policy and to build partnerships that will help his projects continue.
