The organisation behind the Jaipur Foot has signed new agreements with the Uttar Pradesh government and a specialist rehabilitation university to strengthen disability services, assistive technology research, professional training and livelihood support across the state.
The Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) will work with the Uttar Pradesh Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and Dr Shakuntala Mishra National Rehabilitation University in Lucknow under two separate memoranda of understanding.
The partnerships could expand access to artificial limbs and assistive devices while creating closer links between government services, academic institutions, researchers and rehabilitation providers.
Assessment and assistive-device camps across Uttar Pradesh
Under its agreement with the Uttar Pradesh government, BMVSS will collaborate through the Rajya Anusandhan Kendra to promote academic and research cooperation in disability-related areas.
The partnership includes plans to organise assessment and distribution camps for artificial limbs and other assistive devices in districts across Uttar Pradesh. These camps could help identify people who have not previously been able to access prosthetic, orthotic or mobility services because of cost, distance or limited awareness.
BMVSS will also support public outreach campaigns promoting disability rehabilitation and available services.
District-level camps can provide an important entry point into rehabilitation, particularly for people living far from specialist hospitals or prosthetic and orthotic centres. However, sustainable outcomes will depend on connecting beneficiaries to follow-up services for fitting reviews, repairs, physiotherapy and device replacement.
Joint development of disability technologies
The agreement also provides for joint research and development of technologies and practical solutions for persons with disabilities.
BMVSS and the state government plan to collaborate on:
- Assistive technology development.
- Disability-focused innovation.
- Capacity and faculty building.
- Knowledge sharing.
- Rehabilitation awareness and outreach.
- Research in areas of mutual interest.
The collaboration creates an opportunity to develop technologies that reflect the daily needs, environments and economic circumstances of users in India.
Assistive devices developed for international markets may not always suit Indian users, particularly where people need to walk on uneven ground, sit cross-legged, squat, work in agricultural settings or manage devices without easy access to specialist maintenance.
The Jaipur Foot system was itself developed around these functional and cultural requirements. BMVSS describes the prosthesis as designed to support activities including walking on uneven terrain, squatting and sitting cross-legged, while being durable and relatively easy to maintain.
Partnership with rehabilitation university
BMVSS has separately signed an agreement with Dr Shakuntala Mishra National Rehabilitation University in Lucknow.
The partnership will focus on academics, research, innovation, professional capacity, skill development and livelihood opportunities for persons with disabilities.
Planned activities include:
- Joint academic programmes.
- Collaborative research projects.
- Training workshops.
- Assistive technology development.
- Student internships.
- Community and field engagement.
- Knowledge-sharing initiatives.
The agreement was signed by BMVSS Secretary (Technical) Deependra Mehta and university registrar Rohit Singh. The government agreement was signed by Mehta and Rajesh Kumar Singh on behalf of Uttar Pradesh.
Creating stronger clinical training pathways
The university partnership could be particularly valuable for students and emerging rehabilitation professionals.
Prosthetics and orthotics is a practical profession requiring supervised experience in patient assessment, prescription, measurement, casting or scanning, fabrication, fitting, alignment and follow-up care.
Internships and field placements can help students understand how academic knowledge is applied in real clinical environments. Exposure to BMVSS services could also give trainees experience with high-volume rehabilitation programmes and patients from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds.
Collaboration between universities and service organisations can help reduce the gap that sometimes exists between classroom education and the skills expected by employers after graduation.
Joint workshops and faculty-development programmes may also allow clinicians, academics and technicians to exchange experience in conventional fabrication, digital workflows, rehabilitation outcomes and service management.
Research that reaches patients
India has a growing assistive technology research community, but promising projects do not always move beyond laboratories or academic publications.
Partnerships between universities, government departments and established service providers can create a clearer route from research to patient use.
BMVSS can contribute practical knowledge about clinical demand, user preferences, production requirements and long-term maintenance. The university can provide academic expertise, research infrastructure and students, while the government can support coordination and implementation across districts.
This structure could help new ideas progress through design, testing, user evaluation and eventual delivery.
Research priorities could include lighter prostheses, improved socket systems, paediatric devices, low-cost orthoses, digital manufacturing, mobility aids and technologies supporting independent living.
Supporting livelihoods alongside mobility
The university agreement also includes skill development and livelihood support for persons with disabilities.
This is significant because providing an assistive device is often only one part of rehabilitation. A prosthesis, orthosis or wheelchair can improve mobility, but users may still require vocational training, accessible workplaces and support returning to education or employment.
Connecting rehabilitation with livelihood programmes can help ensure that improvements in physical function translate into greater independence and economic participation.
Training initiatives should also involve persons with disabilities in the development and evaluation of programmes. Their direct experience can help organisations understand whether a device or service produces meaningful improvements in daily life.
Expanding the Jaipur Foot model
Registered in 1975, BMVSS is the parent organisation behind the Jaipur Foot and provides artificial limbs, calipers, wheelchairs, tricycles, crutches, hearing aids and other assistive devices free of charge.
The organisation says it has supported more than 2.5 million beneficiaries and conducted 111 international fitment camps across 44 countries. It also operates a centre in Kanpur, giving it an existing service presence in Uttar Pradesh.
The new government and university partnerships could allow BMVSS to expand beyond direct device provision into a broader role covering research, education, workforce development and disability inclusion.
For Uttar Pradesh, the agreements offer an opportunity to build a more coordinated rehabilitation ecosystem in which district outreach, university education, technology development and specialist clinical services reinforce each other.
The long-term success of the initiative will depend on sustained funding, trained personnel, reliable follow-up and clear measures of patient outcomes. If implemented effectively, the partnerships could create a replicable model for closer cooperation between state governments, universities and prosthetic and orthotic service providers across India.
- ThePrint: Jaipur prosthetics organisation signs agreements with Uttar Pradesh
- Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti – Jaipur Foot
- Dr Shakuntala Mishra National Rehabilitation University
- Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Uttar Pradesh
- Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Government of India
- Rehabilitation Council of India
- WHO standards for prosthetics and orthotics
- WHO: Assistive technology