The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated Shankaracharya Netralaya at Jhoteshwar, Narsinghpur today (June 7, 2013).
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that the National Programme for Control of Blindness in India was launched in 1976 to reduce the incidence of blindness, build up eye care facilities in the country and develop human resources for this sector. This has been successful in terms of conducting cataract operations, eye screening of school children and collection of donated eyes. But much more needs to be done. There is also a need for the non-government sector to compliment the efforts of the government in expanding the coverage of eye care in the country, he added.
The President said that the use of information technology in health care should be fully utilized. The tele-medicine project has helped remote health care centers to connect with super specialty hospitals. This has helped expert healthcare to reach the needy and backward population. He said that efforts should be made for greater usage of technology in healthcare.
This release issued at 1350 hrs