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Chennai, June. 2026: IIT Madras today (22nd June 2026) formally handed over the first batch of 25 of its ultra-lightweight YD One wheelchairs to the Army Hospital (Research and Referral) located in Delhi Cantonment. This handover is the first batch of the 100-wheelchair programme being undertaken by IIT Madras as a part of a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity by Fiserv, Inc., a global leader in payments and financial services technology. The subsequent batches of 75 wheelchairs will be handed over in the upcoming months.
Thryv Mobility, a company incubated by IIT Madras, a leading adaptive, active, high-quality, and ultra-lightweight wheelchair manufacturer, produces the YD One wheelchairs. The TTK Center for Rehabilitation Research and Device Development (R2D2) of IIT Madras, in partnership with Thryv Mobility, designed the wheelchairs with input from prospective users. Emphasizing the significance of the project, Lt Gen Avinash Das, Commandant, Army Hospital (R&R), said, “Mobility is the essence of dignity and independence. We appreciate this initiative of IIT Madras and Fiserv. This endeavor will support our patients and the families of patients who will be able to regain mobility.”
Discussing the project, Prof. Manish Anand, Faculty, IIT Madras and TTK Center for Rehabilitation Research and Device Development (R2D2), IIT Madras, stated, “Handing over this project aligns with the purpose of IIT Madras's R2D2. We strive to demonstrate indigenous engineering for assistive technology for Indian users at global standards. We have taken research out of the lab to assist those who have served the nation. We appreciate Fiserv and their CSR support for enabling this impact at such a large scale.”
Rear Admiral Deepak Bansal (Retd), Professor of Practice at IIT Madras, and Head of Strategic Partnerships at Thryv Mobility, is crucial in building civil-military fusion, mentoring emerging faculty, and linking academia and industry with the military for the purpose of providing local assistive technologies to those in significant need.
Sachin Kulkarni, President, Global Services, Fiserv, offered. “Our corporate social responsibility at Fiserv represents the internal dedication of our staff to develop collaborative community partnerships. We seek to invest in programs that create sustainable future positive impacts in order to create capacity and increase opportunities. Partnering with IIT Madras to develop socially-indented, mobility engineering solutions for the Armed Forces Medical Services is the ideal partnership that our CSR focus strives to achieve.”
Thryv Mobility CEO and Co-founder, Justin Jesudas, who uses a wheelchair, explained that, “YD One was designed and built in India, for Indian users, without compromising on quality. It brings me immense joy to see it reaching our Armed Forces, thanks to the leadership of IIT Madras and the support of Fiserv.” YD One is an ultra-lightweight, self-propelling wheelchair that does not fit the description of a conventional institutional wheelchair. The self-propelling design will allow Army Hospital (R&R) patients to engage in active mobility during their rehabilitation, and will promote self-propelled movement during the rehabilitative process.
For veterans and active members of the Armed Forces, as well as their family members, engagement in self-propelling movement helps to redefine the limits of what is possible during the rehabilitative process. This project showcases the unification of three important concepts: the self-propelling movement of active institutional assistive mobility, corporate philanthropy that adheres to the Indian government’s disability policies, and the self-propelling movement of active institutional assistive mobility that is a component of the rehabilitative process of active duty members of the armed forces.
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