It is now branching into more advanced technology.These prosthetics allow amputees to work in muddy fields, sit cross-legged on the floor and comfortably use Indian-style squat toilets without needing to remove the limb."I am getting my fourth leg and I didn’t have to spend a penny.A year later, the 22-year-old is preparing to walk again with the aide of a "Jaipur Foot” — a no-frills prosthetic made locally.As the prosthesis endures wear and tear, or the shape of the leg changes over time, new fittings can be arranged quickly and free of charge.Made from durable plastic piping the limb — available for above and below knee amputees — requires little maintenance and can be fitted in hours.”Prostheses cost thousands of dollars and take weeks to manufacture in many parts of the world, but for 50 years the creators of the "Jaipur Foot” have been making dozens of limbs a day for roughly 60 apiece.A unique design allows movement in the ankle and unlike models elsewhere they can be worn without shoes — a huge plus in a region where everyone goes barefoot in kitchens and temples or mosques.Wearers can leave the clinic able to run, swim, climb trees and ride a bicycle, Mehta said.Just a fraction of those maimed in accidents have access to artificial limbs or other aides.

It is common to see amputees begging at traffic stops or dragging themselves about on wheeled carts."These limbs have given me new hope.An estimated 10 million Indians live with some form of movement impairment according to government figures.The advent of 3-D printing has opened new possibilities, too.Created in collaboration with Stanford University in the US, the artificial knee is considered so cost effective it was named one of 50 best inventions in the world by Time magazine. Fifty-year-old Rajkumar Saini (second from right), who suffered a road accident in 2004, gets his fourth prosthetic leg at the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti in Jaipur.More than than 25,000 artificial limbs and other aides have distributed worldwide since Mehta’s charity first rolled the Jaipur Foot off the assembly line in 1975.Funding remains a constant challenge, but Mehta was confident his thrifty operation would continue to reach those in desperate need.

Vishnu Kumar had barely reached adulthood when he lost his limbs in a freak electrical accident, seemingly condemning him to the life of penury endured by millions of amputees in India.One of its most successful new creations is a self-lubricating, oil-filled nylon knee replacement that can be manufactured for 20, a mere fraction of the 10,000 charged for models elsewhere in the world.The design has been so successful that it has found its way abroad, assisting amputees in countries from Africa and Asia to the Pacific Islands.A year later, the 22-year-old is preparing to walk again with the aide of a "Jaipur Foot” — a no-frills prosthetic made locally.The charity has teamed up with a 24-year-old Indian engineer Prashant Gade to print inexpensive artificial hands using the revolutionary printing technology he was gifted at an MIT conference."I was devastated thinking I will have to spend the rest of my life on crutches,” said Kumar, fighting back tears as he waited for a fitting at Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti, the charity behind the unique design.The manufacturers can churn out 50 prosthesis a day from a simple workshop in Rajasthan and, thanks to donations, fit them for free.Mehta credits frugal engineering for the success of the design and its proliferation across India.Kumar, who worked as an electrician, feared he would endure a similar fate after his limbs were blown off in a catastrophic accident Iro weft accumulator involving a high-tension wire.. It’s just like getting an all new gumboot,” said 50-year-old Rajkumar Saini, who lost his leg in a road accident 13 years ago."The technology we use is such that the limb can be made very, very quickly,” said Devendra Raj Mehta, the 80-year-old founder of charity behind the "Jaipur Foot”

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