Indian consumers can finance smartphones, household appliances and vehicles through monthly instalments, yet obtaining comparable finance for a customised prosthetic limb, wheelchair or other essential assistive product remains extremely difficult.
That contradiction is examined by Arman Ali, Executive Director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People, in an opinion article published by The Week.
Ali argues that India’s consumer-lending system largely overlooks assistive technology. This leaves many persons with disabilities and older people dependent on personal savings, family support, charitable donations, government schemes or corporate social responsibility programmes.
The central question is therefore not merely whether a prosthesis can be purchased on EMI. It is whether India can build a financing system that treats assistive technology as essential infrastructure rather than an occasional act of charity.
Access involves more than buying a device
The cost of a prosthesis does not end with the delivery of its components.
A professionally provided prosthesis may involve clinical assessment, prescription, socket design and fabrication, trial fitting, static and dynamic alignment, gait training and continuing review. The user may later need socket adjustments, replacement liners, repairs, consumables or an entirely new socket as the residual limb changes.
Children require particularly regular review because growth can quickly affect device fit and alignment.
Financing only the initial product, without covering these associated services, risks creating a device that the user cannot comfortably or safely maintain.
The same principle applies across assistive technology. A wheelchair provided without individual assessment may not offer adequate posture or pressure management. A hearing aid requires programming and follow-up, while an orthosis may require adjustment as the user’s condition, activity or body shape changes.
A global access problem with Indian consequences
The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 2.5 billion people need one or more assistive products. Nearly one billion do not have access, and provision in some lower-income settings meets as little as 3% of assessed need. Affordability, insufficient services, workforce shortages and supply-chain problems are among the barriers identified by WHO and UNICEF. WHO and UNICEF global assistive technology findings.
India has government and charitable programmes supplying assistive devices, but availability remains uneven. People living outside major cities may have difficulty finding qualified professionals, suitable components and dependable repair services.
The central government’s Assistance to Persons with Disabilities for Purchase/Fitting of Aids and Appliances Scheme has long supported eligible people through organisations including ALIMCO, national institutes, Composite Regional Centres, District Disability Rehabilitation Centres and approved non-governmental organisations. The scheme’s stated objective includes providing certified aids and appliances that improve independent functioning and rehabilitation. DEPwD information on the ADIP Scheme.
However, public distribution programmes cannot by themselves meet every clinical requirement or provide every technology level. There is a substantial gap between free or subsidised provision and the private purchase of advanced or individually selected devices.
India’s missing middle
The people most likely to fall into this gap are those who earn too much to qualify for some forms of assistance but cannot afford a large one-time payment.
A family may be capable of paying a reasonable monthly amount but unable to fund the complete cost of a prosthesis immediately. Unlike consumer electronics, however, assistive products are rarely presented through standardised lending platforms.
This limits the user’s ability to compare options, choose an appropriate provider and plan for predictable expenditure.
It can also restrict the growth of Indian assistive-technology companies. Start-ups may develop useful products but struggle to reach paying customers when neither lenders nor insurers have mechanisms for financing them.
A 2026 NCPEDP white paper, prepared in partnership with Mphasis, estimated that India’s assistive-technology market could reach approximately $8–10 billion, or ₹75,000–95,000 crore, by 2030 under an enabling policy framework. The paper identified inadequate financing, fragmented responsibilities, weak service networks and insufficient lifecycle support as major barriers.
What responsible prosthetic EMI could look like
Monthly payment plans could improve access, but they must be structured around clinical care rather than treated like ordinary retail credit.
A responsible model could include:
- Assessment and prescription by an appropriately qualified professional
- A written explanation of the prosthesis and included components
- Clear disclosure of interest, processing charges and total repayment
- Socket fitting, alignment and initial rehabilitation within the financed package
- A defined warranty and repair process
- Scheduled clinical reviews
- Options for replacement sockets and consumable items
- Protection against inappropriate device repossession
- Freedom for the clinician to recommend the most suitable device without pressure from the lender
- Safeguards preventing unaffordable or exploitative loans
Zero-interest or low-interest arrangements could potentially be supported through manufacturers, banks, philanthropic capital, government guarantees or CSR funding. This would allow CSR expenditure to reduce borrowing costs while preserving the user’s ability to choose.
Nevertheless, EMI cannot replace publicly funded access. Credit-based models exclude people without stable income or a formal credit history—the same groups that may face the greatest barriers to obtaining assistive products.
Insurance, rental and blended finance
The Week article proposes several alternatives, including insurance coverage, rental arrangements, blended finance and stronger public procurement.
Insurance could be particularly valuable if policies cover the complete episode of prosthetic rehabilitation rather than treating the prosthesis as an isolated purchase. Coverage should recognise fitting, rehabilitation, repairs and medically necessary replacement.
Rental or subscription arrangements may suit some wheelchairs, communication devices and reusable electronic components. They are more complicated in prosthetics because sockets and several other parts are individually fabricated and cannot readily be transferred between users.
Blended finance could combine a public subsidy or charitable contribution with affordable personal payments. For example, a scheme might fund the essential device while allowing the user to finance an appropriate functional upgrade.
Public procurement also needs to evaluate clinical service, durability, repair capacity and patient outcomes—not simply select the lowest initial device price.
Implications for India’s CPO profession
Any expansion in assistive-technology financing must include certified prosthetists and orthotists in its design.
CPOs understand the clinical and technical variables that determine whether a device will remain usable. Their involvement is necessary to define appropriate packages, service intervals, outcome measures, warranties and replacement policies.
Financing could increase choice and reduce upfront cost, but it must never allow a payment platform or sales target to determine clinical prescription.
The most successful model would treat the user as an informed customer with rights, while recognising that prosthetic and orthotic provision remains a professional healthcare service.
The question “Can you buy a prosthesis on EMI?” exposes a much wider policy problem. India does not simply need more devices; it needs a coordinated system that finances assessment, appropriate technology, professional fitting, rehabilitation and lifelong support.
- The Week: Can You Buy a Prosthetic on EMI?
- NCPEDP Publications
- WHO: Improving Access to Assistive Technology
- WHO and UNICEF Global Report on Assistive Technology
- Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities: ADIP Scheme