In a landmark initiative to advance indigenous, affordable, and high-performance prosthetic, orthotic, and assistive technologies, AP Govt enterprise Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone Limited (AMTZ), India’s premier medical technology park, has signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Narayan Seva Sansthan (NSS), a nationally recognised non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of persons with disabilities.
The partnership aims to combine AMTZ’s state-of-the-art technology ecosystem, including R&D laboratories, prototyping, and manufacturing facilities, with NSS’s unmatched clinical expertise and rehabilitation experience.
Together, the organisations will work to advance indigenous, cost-effective, and high-quality prostheic, orthotic, and assistive technologies, while supporting NSS’s Vision 2030 of delivering 1 lakh high-quality artificial limbs to beneficiaries nationwide.
Geographically, 69.49% (1.86 crore) persons with disabilities live in rural India, highlighting the urgent requirement for affordable, accessible prosthetic and assistive technologies nationwide—aligning directly with the Vision 2030 goal of delivering 1 lakh high-quality artificial limbs to beneficiaries across the country.
While a standard NSS limb currently costs around Rs 10,000, an advanced limb with a pneumatic knee joint for above knee prosthesis and carbon foot offering enhanced strength, balance, durability, and energy return costs Rs 41,000 due to reliance on imported components.
Through this partnership and backward integration for indigenous manufacturing, the collaboration aims to reduce the cost of these advanced limbs to approximately Rs 10,000, without compromising quality or performance, marking a shift from basic limb provision to technology-enabled, performance-driven prosthetics.
Under the MoU, AMTZ will provide technical and operational support, access to R&D and testing infrastructure, and assistance in joint research initiatives. NSS will lead clinical validation, rehabilitation protocols, and nationwide assistive device camps. Both parties will also jointly pursue grants, patents, and support programs from national and international funding bodies to accelerate innovation and expand access to high-quality medical devices for underserved communities.
The collaboration encompasses a wide range of devices, including prosthetics such as powered, myoelectric, sports/recreational, and cosmetic restoration , ranging from partial foot to hip disarticulation. Orthotic solutions cover foot orthotics, diabetic foot management, off-loading shoes, modified insoles, and walking braces. The partnership also includes mobility and assistive aids such as walkers, crutches, canes, rollators, wheelchairs, standing frames, and twin devices, along with advanced hearing aids, representing a shift from basic limb provision to technology-enabled, performance-driven prosthetics.
