Rural eye care is one of the most underserved areas of public health in a country where over 9 million people are blind due to preventable causes. A recent collaboration between SBI Securities and Sightsavers India is taking practical steps to close this gap in Odisha and West Bengal, places where rural people frequently face several barriers to receiving even basic eye care. 

As part of its social responsibility, SBI Securities has partnered with Sightsavers India on the "Netra Vasant - Rural Eye Health Program." The objective is clear: provide district and non-profit hospitals with the resources they require to prevent avoidable blindness and provide early surgical intervention. 

Under this project, medical facilities in disadvantaged communities will receive vital equipment for eye OPDs (Outpatient Departments) and OTs (Operation Theatres). These locations serve as the hubs for vision screening, diagnosis, and cataract procedures—interventions often postponed or declined due to resource constraints. 

"Good vision is not a luxury." It is critical to someone's dignity, safety, and ability to work," said Sushanta Kumar Das, Chief Financial Officer at SBI Securities. "This partnership is about more than just machines—it's about enabling lives." 

Das' remarks express a stark reality. According to the National Program for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment, more than 80% of blindness in India is preventable. For instance, a 15-minute procedure can treat cataracts, a major culprit. However, for people living in distant communities, the nearest eye hospital can be over 100 km away and is not always fully equipped. 

RN Mohanty, CEO of Sightsavers India, emphasised that the program is more than just a donation; it is about capacity building. "These hospitals are already providing critical community services. We're helping them do it better, faster, and more sustainably." 

The initiative provides eye health systems with slit lamps, operating microscopes, autorefractors, and sterilisers, which can greatly enhance diagnosis and treatment outcomes. An autorefractor, for example, can swiftly analyse how light changes as it enters the eye, assisting in the prescription of appropriate glasses or detecting early signs of disease. 

The emphasis on sustainability distinguishes this initiative. It intends to achieve long-term improvements in service delivery by focusing on rural and semi-urban hospitals rather than only mobile camps. 

This collaboration occurs at a time when India's ageing population is steadily expanding. Cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy become more common as people get older. In 2021, the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology revealed that approximately 24% of individuals over the age of 50 in rural areas had untreated cataracts. 

Programs like Netra Vasant address this long-term issue at its source—by creating local capability rather than waiting for metropolitan outreach to trickle down. 

This is not a miraculous cure. But it's an essential systemic change—one hospital at a time.