India today speaks confidently about becoming a developed nation by 2047. We speak of digital public infrastructure, semiconductor missions, defence manufacturing, artificial intelligence, medical technology and global supply chains. Yet one of the most important questions of development remains under-discussed: How does a nation restore mobility, dignity and productivity to citizens who have lost a limb? This question is not only medical. It is economic. It is social. It is moral. It is also strategic.AI (REUTERS)For too long, prosthetics in India have been viewed through the narrow lens of welfare or charity. A limb is distributed, a photograph is taken, a file is closed. But for the person receiving it, the story does not end with fitting. It begins there. A prosthetic limb is not a one-time device. It is the difference between dependency and livelihood, isolation and confidence, immobility and participation.A soldier who loses a limb in service does not need sympathy. He needs the best technology the nation can provide. A worker injured in an industrial accident does not need pity. He needs rehabilitation, skilling and a pathway back to work. A diabetic patient facing amputation does not need fragmented support. She needs an integrated health system that sees mobility as a right, not a privilege.India has made visible progress in assistive device access. The Pradhan Mantri Divyasha Kendra initiative is designed to provide assessment, evaluation, counselling, distribution and post-distribution care under one roof, and the government has already expanded these centres through ALIMCO. It has been noted that the 75th PMDK was inaugurated in Badaun and that the initiative had benefited more than 1.40 lakh individuals with assistive devices. The Union Budget 2026–27 has also placed stronger emphasis on technology-enabled empowerment for Divyangjan and senior citizens. It has been observed that ALIMCO has been entrusted with a role in expanding access to high-quality assistive technologies, deepening research and development, and integrating advanced technologies including artificial intelligence into product design and services. These are important steps. But India now needs to move from scheme-based delivery to mission-mode transformation.The core problem is not intent. The core problem is fragmentation. Prosthetic care sits across multiple policy silos: social justice, healthcare, defence rehabilitation, insurance, skilling, MSME manufacturing, medical devices and disability rights. Each of these speaks to a part of the problem. None of them alone can solve it.What India needs is a National Prosthetics Mission. Such a mission must begin with a simple principle: no amputee should be denied mobility because of income, geography or lack of awareness. Prosthetic access must be treated as an essential component of public health and human capital, not as a discretionary benefit. Devices should not merely be distributed; people should be rehabilitated, trained, counselled, followed up and economically reintegrated.The current model often measures success by the number of aids distributed. That is an incomplete metric. The real question is whether the prosthetic is still being used after one year. Whether the person has returned to school, work or community life. Whether the device is comfortable, durable and appropriate for Indian terrain. Whether a woman amputee in a rural district has the same access as a man in a metro hospital. Whether a child receives timely replacement as the body grows. Whether maintenance and upgrades are covered. India cannot build an inclusive future with an outdated understanding of mobility. A national mission should focus on five priorities.First, prosthetics must be fully integrated into health care coverage. Ayushman Bharat, ESIC and state health schemes should cover not only basic devices but the full lifecycle of prosthetic care, including fitting, physiotherapy, maintenance, replacement and follow-up. Mobility cannot be restored through a one-day camp alone.Second, India needs district-level prosthetic and rehabilitation hubs. PMDKs are a strong foundation, but the next step must be deeper decentralisation. Every district hospital should eventually be linked to prosthetic assessment, fitting, physiotherapy and referral services. Rural India cannot be expected to travel hundreds of kilometres for mobility.Third, indigenous manufacturing must become a national priority. Advanced imported prosthetics remain unaffordable for most Indian families. At the same time, low-cost devices are often not enough for long-term comfort, productivity and confidence. India has the engineering talent, MSME base and material science capability to build rugged, affordable, high-quality prosthetics designed for Indian users. This aligns directly with the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision and the broader push for domestic medical technology manufacturing.Fourth, rehabilitation must be connected with livelihood. A prosthetic limb should not be seen merely as a medical device. It should be seen as a bridge back to education, work and entrepreneurship. Skill India, Mudra loans, CSR initiatives and employment incentives should be linked with prosthetic rehabilitation. Every restored limb can mean a restored worker, a restored taxpayer and a restored family income.Fifth, India must invest in technology. Artificial Intelligence, 3D printing, smart sensors, lightweight composites and modular designs can reduce costs, improve fit and make prosthetic care more adaptive. But innovation cannot remain confined to laboratories. Users must be involved in design, testing and feedback. The amputee is not a passive beneficiary. The amputee is the most important expert in the room.This is where industry must step up. Indian companies cannot treat prosthetics as a small assistive-device category. It is a sunrise sector at the intersection of healthcare, manufacturing, defence, social impact and export potential. India can become the affordable prosthetics hub of the Global South, just as it became a global force in vaccines, generic medicines and digital public infrastructure.But this will require quality standards, certification, clinical validation and public procurement support. MSMEs need testing labs, design support, patient feedback networks and predictable demand. Startups need regulatory clarity and innovation grants. Hospitals need trained prosthetists and rehabilitation teams. Policymakers need transparent data on amputees, device usage, outcomes and gaps. The case for prosthetics is therefore not only humanitarian. It is economic.Every person who regains mobility reduces dependency. Every worker who returns to employment strengthens household income. Every soldier who receives world-class rehabilitation reinforces national commitment. Every child who walks back into school represents the true meaning of inclusive development.India’s development story cannot be measured only in expressways, airports, digital transactions and GDP growth. It must also be measured in restored dignity. In the confidence of a person standing again. In the freedom of a citizen no longer dependent on others for every movement. In the national resolve to ensure that disability does not become destiny.Artificial limbs are not charity. They are human capital infrastructure. If India is serious about Viksit Bharat, prosthetics must move from the margins of welfare policy to the centre of national development strategy. The time has come for a National Prosthetics Mission that combines access, affordability, technology, manufacturing and rehabilitation. A developed India must not only build for those who run the fastest. It must also stand with those who are trying to walk again.(The views expressed are personal)This article is authored by Nagender Parashar, director, Parashar Industries and Pilot Neeraj Sehrawat, chief strategy officer, Kailash Kher Foundation.