'Vision for Every Indian': Free Eye Screenings and Cataract Surgeries Across 800 Districts Announced
Marking the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday, a transformative public health initiative titled "Vision for Every Indian" was officially launched from the Prime Minister’s hometown of Vadnagar, Gujarat. Spearheaded by Dr. Krishna Prasad Kudlu, Chairman of the Karnataka Government's Vision Committee and chief of Prasad Netralaya, the nationwide campaign is designed to bridge the urban-rural healthcare divide and eliminate preventable visual impairment among marginalized communities. Rooted in the governing philosophy of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' and civic service, the mission sets out an ambitious mandate ensuring that economic hardship or geographic isolation never stands in the way of essential ophthalmic care and corrective vision interventions.
Free Village-Level Screenings, Spectacle Distribution, and Corneal Blindness Awareness
The initiative commenced on the ground with an intensive diagnostic eye camp and community awareness drive in Vadnagar, establishing the operational template for a pan-India rollout scheduled to cover all 800 districts. Under this expansive framework, specialized clinical mobile units will travel directly into rural and semi-urban pockets to conduct comprehensive ophthalmic assessments, detect progressive conditions such as cataracts or early-stage glaucoma, provide free corrective spectacles on the spot, and facilitate surgical procedures for underserved senior citizens. Simultaneously, the program addresses deep-rooted social myths surrounding posthumous corneal donation, running dedicated advocacy campaigns to encourage pledges so that post-mortem eye donations can permanently eradicate corneal blindness across India.
Multi-Institutional Coalition: Prasad Netralaya, Sarvodaya Seva Trust, and Global Partners Unite
Because reaching millions across distant tehsils requires substantial infrastructure, the nationwide movement brings together leading charitable institutions, academic medical centers, and corporate philanthropy networks. The initiative is steered by Udupi-based Prasad Netralaya Super Specialty Eye Hospital alongside the Netra Jyoti Charitable Trust, working in operational harmony with the Sarvodaya Seva Trust led by Somabhai Modi, Jyoti Hospital in Visnagar, and GMERS Medical College Vadnagar. Global vision care leader OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation has also joined the consortium, deploying advanced diagnostic equipment and spectacle inventories so that families, elderly citizens, and school-going children facing refractive errors can secure timely clinical evaluation and treatment entirely free of cost.

