The Artificial Limb Centre in Pune has marked its 82nd Raising Day, renewing attention on one of India’s most important institutions for amputee rehabilitation, prosthetic care and the long-term rebuilding of lives after limb loss.
In a personal reflection published by Ambreen Zaidi in ThePrint, the centre is described not simply as a place where artificial limbs are fitted, but as an institution where soldiers’ lives are rebuilt physically, psychologically, socially and economically. For BharatCPO readers, the article is also a reminder that prosthetic rehabilitation is never only about the device. It is about restoring confidence, family life, work, mobility and identity.
Founded on 19 May 1944, during the final years of the Second World War, the Artificial Limb Centre was established to help wounded Indian soldiers regain mobility, dignity and livelihood after war injuries. Eight decades later, the centre has supported more than 60,000 patients, according to the account in ThePrint. Its motto — “No Wheelchair, No Crutches” — reflects an ambition that remains highly relevant for modern prosthetic and rehabilitation practice: to help people return to active, independent and socially meaningful lives.
The centre’s role is deeply connected to India’s military medical heritage. It serves soldiers, veterans and, in many cases, civilians who require specialist prosthetic and rehabilitative care. A 2011 study published in the Medical Journal Armed Forces India described the Artificial Limb Centre as a provider of comprehensive rehabilitation care for disabled soldiers of the Armed Forces, based on a large retrospective review of more than 16,000 cases. Read the study on PubMed Central.
The timing of the 82nd Raising Day is also significant. According to the Directorate General Armed Forces Medical Services, the occasion reaffirmed the centre’s commitment to holistic amputee rehabilitation. The centre also inaugurated “Saksham”, a holistic mobility clinic, underlining a model of care that goes beyond prosthetic fabrication to include mobility training, functional support and long-term rehabilitation planning.
Recent developments suggest that the Artificial Limb Centre is entering a new phase. The Armed Forces Medical Services has announced plans to transform the Pune centre into an international centre of excellence for amputee rehabilitation, with emphasis on indigenous prosthetic development, research collaboration and disability inclusion. The Times of India reported that the initiative aims to expand the centre’s role not only for Indian patients but also as a global rehabilitation hub.
For India’s orthotics and prosthetics sector, this matters. The Artificial Limb Centre represents a model in which surgery, prosthetics, physiotherapy, gait training, psychological recovery and social reintegration are treated as connected parts of one rehabilitation pathway. This multidisciplinary approach is essential for amputees, especially those recovering from traumatic injuries, conflict-related injuries, road traffic accidents or complex orthopaedic conditions.
The centre has also begun strengthening advanced technology capacity. In December 2025, the Government of India’s Press Information Bureau reported the inauguration of an Additive Manufacturing Lab at the Artificial Limb Centre. The lab is intended to support rapid manufacture of prosthetics and orthotics, enable multiple limbs to be produced simultaneously, retain digital data for replication and serve remote locations that can scan and transmit data for manufacturing.
This digital direction is especially relevant for India. The country faces vast geographic variation in access to prosthetic and orthotic care. A centre that can combine clinical expertise with digital workflows, 3D printing, remote scanning and localised fabrication could influence future models of rehabilitation access across military and civilian healthcare systems.
Another important development is the movement toward earlier prosthetic intervention. In December 2025, The Times of India reported that Armed Forces hospitals are expected to adopt a protocol for fitting prosthetic limbs within two days of amputation, aiming to support faster physical recovery and stronger psychological resilience. For clinicians, this reinforces a growing understanding that timely prosthetic rehabilitation can have major benefits for confidence, mobility, mental health and reintegration.
ThePrint article also highlights something that clinical language often underplays: the emotional weight of amputation and rehabilitation. For a soldier who loses a limb, recovery involves more than learning to walk again. It may involve returning to family life, redefining masculinity or identity, confronting trauma, building new routines and finding a way back into society. For spouses and families, the rehabilitation journey is also deeply personal.
This is why the Artificial Limb Centre’s work should be viewed as part of India’s broader rehabilitation ecosystem, not only as a defence medical institution. Its approach carries lessons for civilian amputee care, public hospitals, charitable limb programmes, private O&P clinics, rehabilitation centres and disability inclusion initiatives. Prosthetic care must be planned around the whole person, not only the residual limb.
India already has a strong and diverse prosthetic landscape, from military rehabilitation institutions such as the Artificial Limb Centre to public-sector providers, private clinics, educational institutions and charitable organisations such as Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti / Jaipur Foot. The challenge now is to connect these strengths into a more consistent national pathway for amputee rehabilitation, including assessment, prosthetic prescription, fabrication, alignment, gait training, follow-up, repair and replacement.
The story of Pune’s Artificial Limb Centre is therefore more than a celebration of institutional longevity. It is a reminder of what comprehensive amputee rehabilitation can look like when technical skill, clinical care, discipline, innovation and human dignity are brought together.
As India invests in digital prosthetics, indigenous components, early fitting protocols and advanced rehabilitation models, the Artificial Limb Centre’s 82-year journey offers a powerful benchmark. The goal is not simply to fit a limb. The goal is to restore movement, confidence, participation and the belief that life after limb loss can still be active, purposeful and dignified.
- Original ThePrint article by Ambreen Zaidi
- DGAFMS update on the 82nd Raising Day of Artificial Limb Centre Pune
- Times of India report on AFMS plan to transform ALC Pune into an international rehabilitation hub
- Press Information Bureau report on Artificial Limb Centre Pune and additive manufacturing lab
- Medical Journal Armed Forces India study on disabled soldiers treated at Artificial Limb Centre Pune
- Times of India report on early prosthetic fitting protocol in Armed Forces hospitals
- Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti / Jaipur Foot official website
- Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India
- Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Government of India