Arunachal Pradesh presents one of India’s most distinctive challenges for the delivery of prosthetic, orthotic and rehabilitation services. Its mountainous geography, dispersed population and remote border communities mean that access to specialist rehabilitation can require significant travel, even as the state’s wider healthcare infrastructure continues to develop.
For India’s prosthetic and orthotic community, Arunachal Pradesh demonstrates why expanding rehabilitation cannot simply mean establishing services in major cities. Sustainable provision must connect tertiary expertise with district hospitals and community-level healthcare, while finding practical ways of reaching people living in some of the country’s most difficult terrain.
Arunachal Pradesh at a Glance
Arunachal Pradesh covers approximately 83,743 sq km, making it geographically one of India’s larger states despite its relatively small population.
According to Census 2011 figures cited by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the state had:
- Population: 1,383,727
- Persons with disabilities: 26,734
- Percentage of population recorded as disabled: 1.93%
- Literacy rate: 65.38%
- Capital: Itanagar
The state’s own Statistical Abstract provides further detail. Of the 26,734 people recorded as having disabilities, 3,235 were classified as having a disability in movement, while another 2,409 had multiple disabilities.
These historical Census figures should be interpreted cautiously. They pre-date the broader disability categories established under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 and do not necessarily represent today’s level of need for rehabilitation, mobility devices, prostheses or orthoses.
Geography Shapes Rehabilitation Access
Perhaps the defining issue for P&O provision in Arunachal Pradesh is geography.
Communities are distributed across mountainous districts, valleys and remote settlements, while specialist medical and rehabilitation expertise tends to be concentrated in larger centres.
This creates a different service-delivery challenge from densely populated states. A person requiring an AFO, spinal orthosis or prosthetic socket may need not only an initial assessment and fitting but repeated access for alignment, adjustment, gait training, repairs and replacement.
The consequences are particularly important in paediatric orthotics and prosthetics, where growth can necessitate regular reassessment.
A successful Arunachal Pradesh model therefore needs to consider decentralised assessment, outreach clinics, mobile services, tele-rehabilitation and strong referral pathways alongside permanent P&O facilities.
Healthcare Infrastructure
Arunachal Pradesh has an extensive public healthcare network relative to its dispersed population.
The state’s Department of Health & Family Welfare currently lists 6 general hospitals, 63 Community Health Centres, 143 Primary Health Centres, four Urban Health Centres and 587 sub-centres.
At the tertiary level, the most important institution is the Tomo Riba Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (TRIHMS) in Naharlagun.
TRIHMS is Arunachal Pradesh’s first government medical college. The state describes its associated hospital as a 500-bed facility, positioning it as a major centre for advanced healthcare, medical education and training.
Other important regional hospitals include facilities at Pasighat, Ziro, Bomdila, Tezu, Khonsa and Aalo, alongside district hospitals serving communities across the state.
For P&O development, these hospitals potentially provide valuable referral points from orthopaedics, surgery, paediatrics, neurology, physiotherapy and other services into specialist rehabilitation.
Disability Assessment and Certification
Disability certification is particularly important because it can determine access to government benefits and assistive-device programmes.
Arunachal Pradesh has recently been investing in this area. In March 2025, more than 400 doctors from across the state participated in online training on revised disability assessment guidelines, with the programme intended to strengthen implementation of disability assessment and improve access to benefits for eligible people.
The national Unique Disability ID (UDID) programme is also important for people seeking formal recognition of disability and access to eligible government schemes.
Access to Prostheses, Orthoses and Assistive Devices
At national level, one of the principal mechanisms supporting assistive-product provision is the Government of India’s ADIP Scheme — Assistance to Persons with Disabilities for Purchase/Fitting of Aids and Appliances.
The scheme supports eligible persons with disabilities with a range of assistive products, including relevant mobility and prosthetic devices.
Recent national ADIP guidance also provides for subsidies towards certain high-end below-knee, above-knee, below-elbow and above-elbow prostheses for eligible people with severe disability. Fitment under these provisions is undertaken through designated prosthetic centres operated by ALIMCO, National Institutes, Composite Regional Centres and government hospitals.
For Arunachal Pradesh, however, providing a device is only one part of the challenge. A prosthesis or orthosis requires appropriate clinical assessment, prescription, fabrication or configuration, fitting and follow-up.
State Support for Rehabilitation
Arunachal Pradesh also has evidence of state-level investment specifically directed towards people with disabilities.
State budget documentation identifies a State Programme for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disability (SPRPD) under the Department of Social Justice, Empowerment & Tribal Affairs.
This is important because rehabilitation provision in a geographically challenging state requires coordination between health services, disability programmes, social welfare, assistive technology and community services rather than relying on one sector alone.
Health Coverage
Arunachal Pradesh operates the Chief Minister Arogya Arunachal Yojana (CMAAY) alongside Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).
CMAAY currently states that eligible families can receive coverage of up to ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care. Its online statistics report more than 685,000 eligible beneficiaries and 86 empanelled hospitals.
Coverage of hospital treatment, however, should not be confused with comprehensive P&O coverage. Prosthetic and orthotic provision often involves separate eligibility, procurement and assistive-device pathways.
Developing the P&O Workforce
A major long-term issue is access to trained rehabilitation professionals.
Unlike some of India’s larger states, Arunachal Pradesh does not currently have a major established educational centre dedicated specifically to prosthetics and orthotics visible within the state’s medical-education network. The Directorate of Medical Education currently lists one medical college, nursing colleges and schools, and zonal general hospitals among its institutions.
This makes links with P&O institutions elsewhere in Northeast India and nationally particularly important.
There is also an opportunity to strengthen the knowledge of physiotherapists, orthopaedic teams, paediatric services and community health professionals so that patients who could benefit from prosthetic or orthotic intervention are identified and referred appropriately.
Opportunities for Arunachal Pradesh
The state’s geography makes conventional centralised rehabilitation particularly difficult, but technology creates opportunities to rethink the model.
Mobile P&O clinics could bring assessment, fitting and basic repair services closer to remote districts. Periodic multidisciplinary camps could be linked to district hospitals rather than operating as isolated device-distribution exercises.
Digital scanning and CAD/CAM could also have particular value. A patient could potentially be assessed and scanned at a regional facility while design or manufacturing takes place at a central fabrication centre, reducing the need to duplicate complete workshops across sparsely populated districts.
Tele-rehabilitation can similarly support follow-up between physical visits, although it cannot replace hands-on assessment where socket fit, alignment, pressure management or physical modification is required.
A hub-and-spoke approach centred on Naharlagun/Itanagar and key zonal hospitals, with district-level outreach and referral, could therefore be particularly relevant to Arunachal Pradesh.
Outlook
Arunachal Pradesh’s P&O needs should be considered within the broader transformation of healthcare and rehabilitation across Northeast India.
The state already has a growing healthcare network, a medical college and tertiary hospital, disability rehabilitation programmes and national mechanisms supporting eligible people with disabilities. The greater challenge is connecting those resources into an accessible rehabilitation pathway across an exceptionally difficult geography.
For prosthetics and orthotics, progress will depend not simply on increasing the number of devices distributed, but on ensuring that people can access appropriate assessment, prescription, fitting, training, maintenance and long-term follow-up.
Arunachal Pradesh therefore represents both a significant service-delivery challenge and an opportunity to develop more decentralised, technology-enabled models of P&O care that could have relevance across other remote parts of India.
- Government of Arunachal Pradesh – Health & Family Welfare Department
- Tomo Riba Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (TRIHMS)
- Chief Minister Arogya Arunachal Yojana
- Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities
- Unique Disability ID (UDID)
- Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO)
- Rehabilitation Council of India
- Bharat CPO State Profiles