Increasing number of accidents blamed on landmine and bomb blasts in war-torn countries like Afghanistan and Iraq are fuelling demand for artificial limbs and body parts made in India.

"India is fast establishing its reputation as a source of some of the best and yet cheap prosthetic devices in the world. A number of medical devices developed by indigenous companies are proving to be world-class in quality and performance," says a study by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) released Sunday.

The quality of artificial limbs and body parts made here is "leading to India becoming the prime destination even for the foreigners to overcome their physical deformities", states the study.

Giving the example of Jaipur Foot, the study has elaborated that after proving to be a success in the country, this artificial foot has been making its presence felt in Afghanistan in the last two years.

With rising demand from the war-torn places specially Afghanistan, Iraq and many African countries, "prosthetics or artificial body parts market in India is estimated to become a $7.5 billion sector by 2009 from $2.5 billion presently", the industry lobby believes.

The study of global demand for artificial body parts has revealed that India enjoys cost advantage vis-à-vis global competitors that could enable it to post an annual growth rate of 30 percent in the next five years.

The study has underlined that while the imported prosthesis is priced at Rs.130,000, those developed in India cost only Rs.26,000.

Indigenous artificial limbs cost only Rs.6,000-6,500 against Rs.45,000 for imported limbs.

The study points out that India's premier organisations have been able to introduce new age technologies and to develop an indigenous artificial hand that costs 30 times less than an imported motorised hand.

One indicator for such a rapid growth for the sector is the marked growth in the orthopaedic surgeries registered in the country in the past five years with close to 600,000 operations being performed annually.

This trend is related to demographic changes in the country with the growth in the elderly population.

With sedentary lifestyle on the rise, this number is expected to grow by six percent annually in the next four years, pushing up the demand for prosthetics like crutches, surgical belts and trusses, splints and other fracture appliances and artificial body parts.

To help India retain the growth momentum in both overseas and domestic market, the study has emphasised the need for a centralised nodal agency to procure and effectively market the indigenous products.