Calipers and Crutches by Welfare of Differently Abled Persons Department

What is the Calipers and Crutches scheme?

Calipers and Crutches by the Welfare of Differently Abled Persons Department is an assistive device scheme of the Department for the Welfare of Differently Abled Persons, Government of Tamil Nadu. Under it, callipers and crutches are given to needy and deserving orthopaedically differently abled persons for their easy mobility.

The scheme is deliberately unglamorous, and that is its strength. A calliper or a pair of crutches costs a fraction of a powered wheelchair and reaches many more people. In 2024-25 the department supplied crutches and callipers to 2,905 people in total; more than four times the number who received battery-operated wheelchairs, at a combined expenditure of about Rs 47.74 lakh, roughly one-sixteenth of what the powered chairs cost.

What a calliper does. A calliper, known clinically as an orthosis, is a brace worn on a weak or deformed leg. It holds the limb in alignment, stops the knee or ankle collapsing under load, and lets a person who cannot stand unaided bear weight and walk. Callipers are commonly prescribed after polio, in cerebral palsy, in some spinal conditions, and where a limb has been weakened by injury or nerve damage. The department supplies both plastic and metal callipers, and the choice between them is made at assessment, not by the applicant.

What crutches do. Crutches transfer body weight from the legs to the arms and upper body. The department supplies auxiliary crutches. The underarm type, sometimes called axillary, and elbow crutches, which have a forearm cuff and a hand grip. Auxiliary crutches are easier to learn and give more stability to a first-time user; elbow crutches are lighter, less obstructive and better for someone who will use crutches every day for years.

Scale of the scheme. According to the department's 2025-26 policy note, in the financial year 2024-25:

The 2025-26 allocations are notably larger than the 2024-25 spend across all four heads; crutches rise from a combined Rs 19.25 lakh spent to Rs 100 lakh allocated, and callipers from Rs 28.49 lakh to Rs 80 lakh. An applicant in the current year faces a materially better-funded scheme than the previous year's numbers suggest.

Across all assistive devices, the department spent Rs 11,364.20 lakh in 2024-25 to benefit 31,585 beneficiaries with 23 types of aids and appliances, and Rs 7,371.36 lakh is provided in the 2025-26 Budget Estimate.

Who is eligible for callipers and crutches, and who is excluded?

A person can claim if:

• The applicant is orthopaedically differently abled. A locomotor disability affecting the legs or the ability to walk.
• The applicant has a benchmark disability of 40 per cent and above, as defined under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
• The applicant holds a disability certificate issued by a medical board at a Government Medical College Hospital, District Headquarters Hospital, Taluk or non-Taluk hospital, or at a departmental special camp.
• The applicant holds a National Identity Disability Card (NIDC) or UDID card from the District Differently Abled Welfare Office. 8,94,220 UDID cards had been generated and delivered as on 31 March 2025.
• The applicant is resident in Tamil Nadu and applies in the district of residence.
• The applicant is assessed as needy and deserving. The scheme's own phrase. In practice the screening team judges whether the device will restore useful mobility.

A person cannot claim if:

• The disability is assessed below 40 per cent. A claim under the benchmark is not eligible.
• The disability is not orthopaedic. Persons with visual or hearing impairment are eligible for other devices of the department; goggles, folding sticks, hearing aids, smartphones, Braille readers — but not for this scheme.
• There is no disability certificate, or a temporary certificate has lapsed.
• The applicant has already received the same device and it remains serviceable.
• Residence is outside Tamil Nadu.

A person who needs a wheelchair rather than crutches is not refused help, the application is redirected to the appropriate device head. Foldable wheelchairs went to 1,000 beneficiaries and tricycles to 625 in 2024-25.

How to apply for callipers and crutches in Tamil Nadu

1. Obtain the disability certificate. Attend a medical board at a Government Medical College Hospital, District Headquarters Hospital, Taluk or non-Taluk hospital, or a departmental special camp. The certificate must record the locomotor disability and its percentage.
2. Obtain the NIDC or UDID card from the District Differently Abled Welfare Office on the basis of the certificate. The UDID is generated on the national portal after the certificate is uploaded and is valid across India.
3. Collect the assistive device application form from the District Differently Abled Welfare Office, or download it from your district's NIC website. Karur, Chengalpattu and several other district portals publish one common form covering goggles, callipers and crutches, artificial limbs, special hearing aids and special wheelchairs for cerebral palsied persons.
4. Attach the documents: disability certificate, NIDC or UDID card, Aadhaar, residence proof and photographs, plus, if available, a physiotherapist's or orthopaedic surgeon's note recommending the specific device.
5. Submit the application to the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer and collect the acknowledgement. Applications are also accepted at the department's special camps; 4,326 camps were conducted in 2024-25 through mobile therapy units, benefiting 16,174 differently abled persons.
6. Attend the assessment. For crutches the assessment mainly fixes the height; for a calliper the limb must be measured, and for a plastic calliper it may need to be cast.
7. Collect the device at the distribution event and sign the register. Ask for the crutch height to be set with you standing, and for the calliper straps to be adjusted before you leave.

Choosing between the four devices

The choice is made by the assessing team, but it helps to understand the logic.

• Auxiliary crutches suit a person who is newly mobilising, has weak grip or poor balance, or will use crutches temporarily. They are stable but bulky, and prolonged pressure in the armpit can cause nerve irritation if the height is set wrong, which is why the fitting appointment matters.
• Elbow crutches suit a long-term daily user with reasonable hand and shoulder strength. They are lighter, easier to manage on stairs and in crowds, and do not put pressure under the arm.
• Plastic callipers are lighter, can be worn inside ordinary footwear, and are moulded to the limb. They suit an adult limb of stable size needing alignment and ankle or knee control.
• Metal callipers are stronger and adjustable. They suit a limb that must bear significant load, or a growing child whose brace will need lengthening, which is one reason the department keeps both types stocked, at equal 2025-26 allocations of Rs 40 lakh each.

Replacement and repair

The department's published replacement policy names retrofitted scooters after ten years and behind-the-ear hearing aids and Braille watches after three years, and earmarks 25 per cent of the annual allocation for replacements within the usual budget. Callipers and crutches are not named in that policy, but wear on these devices is real, crutch tips lose grip and calliper straps and joints fail. Report the condition to the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer and to the mobile therapy unit when it visits; a growing child's calliper in particular needs periodic review.

Why applications fail

• Disability below 40 per cent on the certificate.
• Certificate does not record an orthopaedic or locomotor disability.
• Certificate expired. Temporary disability certificates lapse and must be renewed at a medical board.
• NIDC or UDID card not obtained, leaving no departmental record.
• Assessment appointment missed, so the device cannot be sized.
• Wrong device requested. An applicant who names a device that will not help is reassessed for the right one, which adds a cycle of delay.
• Annual allocation exhausted. The scheme is capped by budget; an application not reached this year normally carries to the next distribution.
• Applied outside the district of residence.

Help and grievance

• Toll-free helpline: 1800-425-0111, set up exclusively for differently abled persons at the State Resource cum Training Centre, Chennai.
• Hearing impaired persons: WhatsApp video call 9499933703.
• District level: the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer at the Collectorate. In Karur the office sits in Room No. 7, Ground Floor, Collectorate, Karur

• State level: the Commissionerate for Welfare of the Differently Abled, No. 5, Kamarajar Salai, Chennai 600 005 to scd.tn.gov.in.

Callipers and crutches are supplied free of cost. No agent can charge a fee to place an applicant on the distribution list.

How to check your Calipers and Crutches application status

This scheme runs offline, through the District Differently Abled Welfare Office and departmental camps, so there is no online tracking portal or application number to check on a website. Status has to be confirmed through the office that received the application.

1. Keep the acknowledgement. When the application is submitted at the District Differently Abled Welfare Office or at a special camp, an acknowledgement or receipt is issued. This is the only reference an applicant has, so it should be kept safe and quoted whenever status is asked about.
2. Call or visit the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer. The district office at the Collectorate holds the register of pending applications and can confirm whether the file has been assessed, whether the device has been sanctioned against the year's allocation, and roughly when a distribution event is expected.
3. Use the toll-free helpline for a state-level check. The dedicated helpline, 1800-425-0111, run from the State Resource cum Training Centre in Chennai, can be called to ask which stage an application is at, or to be redirected to the right district contact. Hearing impaired applicants can use the WhatsApp video call number 9499933703 instead of a voice call.
4. Watch for camp and distribution notices. Because devices are handed out at periodic distribution events and mobile therapy camps rather than posted individually, the District Differently Abled Welfare Office is the place to ask when the next distribution event covering crutches or callipers is scheduled, and whether a given application has been included in it.
5. Escalate to the Commissionerate if the district office gives no update. If there is no response at district level over a reasonable period, the Commissionerate for Welfare of the Differently Abled at Kamarajar Salai, Chennai can be approached, or the department's website scd.tn.gov.in checked for any grievance or contact option it lists.

Because the scheme is budget-capped for the year, "pending" status commonly means the application is valid and queued for the next allocation cycle rather than rejected. It is worth confirming this distinction explicitly with the district office rather than assuming silence means refusal.