Supply of Prosthetic Appliances to Differently Abled Persons

What is the Supply of Prosthetic Appliances scheme?

Supply of Prosthetic Appliances to Differently Abled Persons is an assistive device scheme run by the Directorate of Social Welfare, Government of Puducherry. The Directorate supplies the appliance a person with a disability needs: free of cost, so that mobility, hearing or vision difficulties do not keep them out of school, work or ordinary daily life.

The Directorate has been implementing the scheme since 1982, which makes it one of the oldest disability programmes in the Union Territory. It works alongside the Directorate's cash schemes; monthly financial assistance, the transport allowance and the fuel subsidy, but delivers goods rather than money.

Because the appliance is prescribed rather than chosen, the scheme is closely tied to the government hospital system. A specialist or medical officer at the Government General Hospital in Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe or Yanam assesses the applicant and advises what is needed, and the Directorate procures and issues it.

What appliances are supplied?

According to the Directorate of Social Welfare, the appliances supplied under the scheme include:

• Calipers for lower-limb support
• Tricycles for mobility
• Crutches
• Wheelchairs
• Hearing aids
• Spectacles and low vision aids

All of these are provided free of cost. There is no cash payment and no reimbursement of a device bought privately, so do not purchase an appliance in the expectation of claiming the money back.

Who is eligible for free prosthetic appliances in Puducherry?

You can get an appliance if:

• You have a certified disability of 40 per cent or more.
• Your annual income does not exceed Rs 75,000.
• You have been a resident of the Union Territory of Puducherry for at least five years.
• A specialist or medical officer at a Government General Hospital in Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe or Yanam has advised the appliance.
• There is no age restriction, so a child, a working adult and an elderly person are all eligible on the same terms.

You are not eligible if:

• Your certified disability is below 40 per cent.
• Your annual income is above Rs 75,000.
• You cannot establish five years' residence in Puducherry.
• You do not hold a disability certificate from a government medical board. A private clinic's letter is not accepted.
• You are asking for a device that has not been prescribed by the government specialist. The medical advice defines what can be issued.

What documents are required?

Carry originals with self-attested photocopies. The office keeps the copies.

How to apply for prosthetic appliances

1. Visit the Government General Hospital in your region: Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe or Yanam, and get assessed by the relevant specialist or medical officer. Ask for a written prescription naming the appliance you need. This is the step everything else depends on.
2. Check your disability certificate. It must record 40 per cent or more. If you do not have one, apply to the government medical board, or obtain a UDID card through swavlambancard.gov.in.
3. Get a current income certificate from the Revenue authorities showing annual income of Rs 75,000 or less, and collect residence proof covering five years, your Aadhaar card and a recent photograph.
4. Apply online at edistrict.py.gov.in, register, log in, choose the Directorate of Social Welfare, select the prosthetic appliances service, fill in the form, upload clear scans of the prescription and the certificates, and submit. Save the reference number shown.
5. Or apply offline, download the "Supply of prosthetic appliances" form from socwelfare.py.gov.in, complete it, attach self-attested photocopies of every document, and submit at the Directorate of Social Welfare or your regional Social Welfare office. Collect the acknowledgement.
6. Collect the appliance when the Directorate calls you. Devices are procured against an annual allotment, so there can be a wait between sanction and handover, particularly for higher-value items such as hearing aids and motorised mobility devices.

How do I check my application status?

1. Log in to edistrict.py.gov.in and use the tracking section with your application reference number.
2. For an offline application, call the Directorate of Social Welfare on +91-413-2205871 or email socwel[at]py[dot]gov[dot]in with the acknowledgement number.
3. Ask whether the file has been sanctioned and is awaiting supply, which is common, or rejected, which needs a fresh application.

Common reasons applications are rejected

• No prescription from a government specialist. The Directorate cannot substitute its own judgement for a medical assessment, so an application without the advice is returned.
• Disability certificate below 40 per cent, or issued by a private doctor.
• Income certificate above Rs 75,000, or an old certificate that no longer reflects the position.
• Residence not documented for five years.
• Poor-quality uploads on the e-District portal — a blurred scan of the disability certificate is a routine cause of files being sent back.
• Duplicate request for an appliance already issued recently under the same scheme.

Key dates and repeat supply

The scheme runs all year with no application window. Appliances wear out, and a beneficiary who received a device years earlier can apply again, but the fresh application must carry a new prescription from the government specialist stating why a replacement is needed. Keep the handover acknowledgement from the earlier supply, since the office will look for it.

What else the Directorate offers persons with disabilities

An applicant for prosthetic appliances is often eligible for several of the Directorate of Social Welfare's other disability schemes at the same time, and it is worth checking them in one visit rather than making separate trips. The Directorate's differently abled schemes include:

• Grant of Financial Assistance to Differently Abled Person; Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,500 a month by disability percentage, and Rs 3,700 to Rs 4,800 a month for beneficiaries aged 60 and 80 and above.
• Grant of Transport Allowance, Rs 300 a month, in place of a free bus pass.
• Free bus pass for travel within the Union Territory.
• Grant of Fuel Subsidy to differently abled persons who own motorised vehicles.
• Supply of Invalid Carriages (Motorised Tri-cycles) for those with 65 per cent or more lower-limb disability who are employed or in higher education.
• Award of Scholarship to Differently Abled Person Students.
• Marriage incentive schemes, with separate rates for a marriage between two differently abled persons and a marriage between a differently abled person and a non-disabled person.
• Free distribution of rice to differently abled persons.
• Supply of sarees and dhoties.
• Perunthalaivar Karma Veerar Kamaraj Scheme funeral assistance.
• Identity cards, special schools and residential homes across the Puducherry, Karaikal and Mahe regions.

The same disability certificate, income certificate and residence proof serve most of these applications, so keeping a set of self-attested photocopies ready saves considerable effort.

Help and grievance redressal

• Directorate of Social Welfare, Government of Puducherry, +91-413-2205871, socwel[at]py[dot]gov[dot]in
• Scheme page, socwelfare.py.gov.in/supply-prosthetic-appliances-differently-abled-persons
• All differently abled schemes; socwelfare.py.gov.in/differently-abled-schemes
• Form: socwelfare.py.gov.in/supply-prosthetic-appliances-form
• Online applications: edistrict.py.gov.in
• UDID card, swavlambancard.gov.in/pwd/application

Appliances are supplied free of cost. No payment is due at any stage, and no agent can charge a fee to place your name on the list.