The importance of building left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) that help the left ventricle pump blood into the aorta is now being acutely felt worldwide. The device is clearly indispensable, serving as a vital and enduring solution for patients afflicted by partial heart failure. Design, development and testing of such devices poses several challenges in view of the tight tolerances to be achieved in terms of weight, volume, power consumption, noise and durability. A few international products that have emerged over the years suffer biocompatibility issues, such as hemolysis and pump thrombosis while increasing chances of stroke and gastrointestinal bleeding. This article covers progress over the past two years at IIT Kanpur and ongoing effort toward building an indigenously engineered LVAD that has its own aspects of innovation and uniqueness. The methodology adopted and benchmarks attained are highlighted. Additionally, there is an immense potential for spin-off technologies. The pump is made of medical grade titanium with a volume small enough to fit within the pericardial space below the human heart. The impeller blades of the centrifugal pump are polished while the volume casing is sintered and support hemocompatibility aspects of the blood-contacting surfaces. The next development targeted for the prototype introduces 3D maglev, where the rotor will entirely be supported magnetically without any physical bearing support to run at high speeds, typically 8000 rpm. It is an important design feature that ensures low noise and low power consumption. On an average, the device will be capable of delivering 5 LPM flow rate at a pressure head of around 100 mm Hg while consuming below 5 W power. The entire device requires development of dedicated electronics for both speed and position control and forms a substantial part of the project. In the ongoing in vitro evaluations with the final device prototype, biocompatibility (cytotoxicity, chemical characterizations) and blood damage profile (RBC damage, platelet activation and infections) are scrutinized by conducting hemolysis loop tests. The data thus generated leads us into animal trials.