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Pramod Karan Sethi was born on 28 November 1927 in Varanasi, into a family that valued education. His father was a physics professor at Banaras Hindu University (BHU). Dr. Sethi earned his MBBS and MS degrees from S N Medical College in Agra. A brilliant surgeon, he received the prestigious Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) in 1954. After returning to India, he joined Sawai Madho Singh Hospital in Jaipur, where he was tasked with establishing an Orthopaedic Department.

Dr. Sethi was deeply committed to helping polio patients and amputees. At the time, artificial limbs were expensive, heavy, and lacked flexibility. In collaboration with master craftsman Ram Chandra Sharma, he developed the Jaipur Foot—a lightweight, affordable, durable, and flexible artificial foot. This innovation changed the lives of amputees, enabling them to walk on uneven terrain and even work in fields. In 1970, Dr. Sethi presented his research on the Jaipur Foot, and within a few years, he was invited to speak at the First World Congress on Prosthetics in Switzerland.

The Jaipur Foot gained international recognition and has been widely used for war amputees around the world. Dr. Sethi also established a Rehabilitation Unit to provide free artificial limbs to those in need. For his remarkable contributions, he received many awards, including the Padma Shri in 1981.

Trivia : Dr. Sethi was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records for helping a record number of amputees regain mobility.

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