By Dr. Shweta Agarwal, MBBS, DGO Medically reviewed by Dr. Shweta Agarwal, MBBS, DGO Last updated: June 2026
Information on this page is educational and does not replace a medical consultation. Outcomes depend on individual clinical factors.
Aansh Hospital & IVF Center is a government-registered Level-2 ART clinic (Reg. No. MH/AC/2024/15441/L2/Chandrapur/132), part of a growing chain of fertility centers serving Vidarbha and northern Telangana, with its headquarters and in-house embryology lab in Chandrapur. You can verify our government ART registration directly on the National ART & Surrogacy Registry. The ART Act 2021 framework described below applies to every fertility clinic in India — not just Aansh. This page is written to help you ask the right questions when evaluating any clinic.
Patients choosing a fertility clinic in India increasingly ask about registration, accreditation, and legal compliance — and rightly so. The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 introduced a mandatory national registration framework that did not exist before. Understanding what "registered" means — and what level of registration covers which services — gives you a concrete, verifiable basis for evaluating any clinic, rather than relying on advertising alone.
In Marathi and Hindi, patients often refer to this framework as ART नोंदणी (ART nondani — ART registration), and NARTSR is sometimes called the राष्ट्रीय ART नोंदणी (national ART registry). The concepts are the same regardless of the language you use when asking.
What is the ART (Regulation) Act, 2021?
The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 is the primary legislation governing fertility clinics and ART banks in India. It came into force following Presidential assent in December 2021 and is administered by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare through the National ART & Surrogacy Board and the corresponding State Boards.
Before this Act, fertility clinics in India operated largely under voluntary guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) — first in 2005 and revised subsequently. The 2021 Act converted that voluntary framework into a statutory obligation with criminal penalties for non-compliance. Key provisions include:
- Mandatory registration for every ART clinic and ART bank before providing any services.
- Registration levels defining which procedures each registered facility is authorised to perform.
- Consent requirements for every ART procedure, with specific rules for donor gametes and surrogacy.
- Record-keeping obligations — clinics must maintain records of all procedures for a defined statutory period.
- Prohibition of sex selection at any stage of an ART procedure (reinforcing the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act).
- Patient rights including the right to receive information, withdraw consent, and access records.
The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 was passed in parallel and governs surrogacy arrangements separately. Both Acts established the National ART & Surrogacy Registry (NARTSR) as the central database of all registered ART clinics and banks in India.
What is the difference between a Level-1 and Level-2 ART clinic?
The ART (Regulation) Act, 2021 and the rules framed under it define two levels of ART clinic registration. The level a clinic holds determines which procedures it is legally authorised to perform.
Level-1 ART Clinic — authorised to perform basic assisted reproductive procedures:
- Intrauterine insemination (IUI)
- Ovulation induction and monitoring
- Basic semen handling and preparation
A Level-1 clinic is not authorised to perform IVF, ICSI, embryo culture, or cryopreservation. If a Level-1 clinic offers IVF, it would be operating outside its registration — a fact a patient can verify on the registry.
Level-2 ART Clinic — authorised to perform the full range of assisted reproductive technology procedures, including:
- In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
- Embryo culture and extended culture to blastocyst stage
- Cryopreservation — freezing and storage of eggs, sperm, and embryos
- Embryo transfer (fresh and frozen)
A Level-2 registration requires, among other things, an in-house embryology laboratory meeting the infrastructure and staffing standards specified by the National ART & Surrogacy Board. This means IVF and embryo handling cannot be outsourced to a third-party lab under a Level-2 authorisation — the equipment and qualified personnel must be on site.
The practical implication for patients: if you are seeking IVF or ICSI, the clinic must hold a Level-2 registration. If it holds only a Level-1 registration and offers IVF, that is a material discrepancy you can investigate by checking the registry directly.
What is an ART Bank, and why does its registration matter?
An ART Bank is a separate legal entity from an ART clinic. Under the ART Act 2021, an ART Bank is specifically authorised to:
- Screen, store, and supply donor gametes (eggs and sperm)
- Maintain a donor registry with anonymised records
- Coordinate with registered ART clinics for donor gamete supply
An ART Bank must be independently registered with NARTSR. Its registration number is distinct from the clinic's registration number. A clinic that conducts donor-egg or donor-sperm procedures should be working through a registered ART Bank — either its own affiliated bank or a separately registered third-party bank.
This matters for patients because the ART Act sets out specific requirements for donor consent, anonymity, and record-keeping. A registered ART Bank operates within this statutory framework; an unregistered donor-gamete arrangement does not.
Aansh Hospital & IVF Center holds an ART Bank registration (Reg. No. MH/AB/2024/11445/Chandrapur/91), which is also verifiable on the NARTSR registry. Any donor-related discussion at Aansh is conducted within this regulated framework on an education-only basis, consistent with the Act's requirements.
What does the registration number encode?
An ART clinic registration number under NARTSR generally encodes several pieces of information — such as a state code, entity type (ART Clinic vs ART Bank), year of registration, a unique identifier, registration level, and district. Using the example format MH/AC/2024/15441/L2/Chandrapur/132, MH indicates the state (Maharashtra), AC indicates an ART Clinic (an ART Bank registration uses AB instead), 2024 is the year of registration, L2 indicates Level-2 registration, and Chandrapur is the district. The exact structure can vary, so patients should treat the registry search result — not the number format itself — as the authoritative confirmation of a clinic's status.
An ART Bank registration uses AB in place of AC, and ART Banks are not divided into Level 1/Level 2.
How can you verify any clinic's registration on the national registry?
The National ART & Surrogacy Registry is publicly accessible. Any patient can check whether a clinic or ART bank is currently registered. The steps below describe the general verification process for any clinic:
- Go to the registry website: Open a browser and navigate to registry.artsurrogacy.gov.in.
- Locate the clinic/bank search function: The registry provides a search interface for ART clinics and ART banks separately. Choose the appropriate entity type.
- Search by state and name, or by registration number: You can typically search by state, district, or clinic name. If you already have a registration number (for example, from a clinic's own website or brochure), enter it directly.
- Review the result: A registered clinic's entry shows its name, address, registration number, level of registration, and registration status. If a clinic's name does not appear in the registry, or if its details do not match what it has published, that is a discrepancy worth following up on with the State ART Authority.
- Note the registration level: Confirm that the level shown (Level-1 or Level-2) matches the procedures the clinic is offering you. A clinic offering IVF should show Level-2 registration.
- Check the ART Bank separately if donor procedures are relevant: If you are being counselled about donor eggs or donor sperm, search the ART Bank section of the registry for the bank your clinic proposes to work with.
The exact navigation steps on the registry site may vary as the interface is updated over time — the general search-and-verify process above should still apply.
The verification process takes a few minutes and requires no login or personal information. It is a straightforward, independent check that any patient can perform before or after visiting a clinic.
Why does registration matter for patient safety?
Registration under the ART Act 2021 is not a formality — it carries substantive obligations that directly affect patient safety and rights:
Consent framework: Registered clinics must follow the Act's consent requirements. For every ART procedure, written, informed consent must be obtained — including separate consent for each specific procedure and, for donor procedures, for the use of donor gametes.
Record-keeping and traceability: Registered clinics must maintain records of all procedures, gametes handled, and outcomes. This creates an audit trail. In the event of a dispute or complaint, there is a statutory basis for accessing those records.
Accountability to a regulatory body: Registered clinics are subject to inspection by the State ART Authority. A complaint about a registered clinic can be made to the State Board; there is a formal adjudication pathway. An unregistered entity has no such oversight.
Lab standards: A Level-2 clinic must meet the infrastructure standards for an in-house embryology laboratory. This is not just about having the right equipment — it is about having qualified personnel on site who are accountable under the statutory framework.
Prohibition of exploitative practices: The Act explicitly prohibits sex selection, the commercialisation of surrogacy, and several other practices. These prohibitions apply to registered clinics and are enforced through the registration framework.
None of this means that registration alone guarantees a particular clinical outcome — it does not, and no reputable clinic would claim otherwise. What it means is that there is a defined legal baseline, a mechanism for accountability, and a verifiable public record. For patients, that is a meaningful basis for trust that advertising claims alone cannot provide.
What Aansh's registration covers — stated as fact
Aansh Hospital & IVF Center holds a Level-2 ART clinic registration (Reg. No. MH/AC/2024/15441/L2/Chandrapur/132) and an ART Bank registration (Reg. No. MH/AB/2024/11445/Chandrapur/91). Both are verifiable on the NARTSR registry at registry.artsurrogacy.gov.in. The Level-2 registration covers the full range of ART procedures — IVF, ICSI, embryo culture, cryopreservation, and embryo transfer — performed in Aansh's in-house embryology laboratory in Chandrapur, under the clinical leadership of Dr. Shweta Agarwal, MBBS, DGO, and the embryology leadership of Aayush Agarwal, Ph.D..
The ART Bank registration enables donor-gamete procedures to be conducted within the statutory framework, with the consent and record-keeping obligations the Act requires.
Our full government ART registration details are published on this site for patients who want to review them before or after visiting the clinic.
What questions should you ask any clinic before starting treatment?
Patient empowerment means knowing which questions to ask — of any clinic, including this one. These questions are grounded in what the ART Act 2021 actually requires:
On registration:
- Is this clinic registered under the ART (Regulation) Act, 2021? What is the registration number?
- Is the registration Level-1 or Level-2? (If they are offering IVF, it must be Level-2.)
- Can I verify this on the national registry myself?
On the embryology lab:
- Is the embryology laboratory in-house, or are eggs and embryos transferred to a third-party lab?
- Who is the qualified embryologist, and what is their qualification?
On donor procedures (if applicable):
- Does the clinic have its own ART Bank registration, or does it work with a separately registered ART Bank?
- What is the ART Bank registration number?
On consent and records:
- Will I receive written information about each procedure before consenting?
- How long are my records kept, and how do I access them?
These are straightforward questions that any registered clinic should be able to answer without hesitation. The choosing an IVF center guide on this site expands on the broader set of questions worth asking. A planned companion post — Questions to ask before choosing an IVF clinic — will cover the full checklist in more depth.