  For a finite rank projective bundle over a compact manifold, so associated to
a torsion, Dixmier-Douady, 3-class, w, on the manifold, we define the ring of
differential operators `acting on sections of the projective bundle' in a
formal sense. In particular, any oriented even-dimensional manifold carries a
projective spin Dirac operator in this sense. More generally the corresponding
space of pseudodifferential operators is defined, with supports sufficiently
close to the diagonal, i.e. the identity relation. For such elliptic operators
we define the numerical index in an essentially analytic way, as the trace of
the commutator of the operator and a parametrix and show that this is homotopy
invariant. Using the heat kernel method for the twisted, projective spin Dirac
operator, we show that this index is given by the usual formula, now in terms
of the twisted Chern character of the symbol, which in this case defines an
element of K-theory twisted by w; hence the index is a rational number but in
general it is not an integer.
