Sankara visions expansion

Sankara Eye Care Institutions (SECI), a not-for-profit eye hospital chain, is focusing on expanding to Bimaru states. With a hospital coming up in Ludhiana, Punjab by early 2012, the Sankara chain aims to open a hospital-a year in Bihar, MP, Rajasthan, UP and Chattisgarh. Over the next five years the chain plans to spend about Rs 125 crore in these states.

Pointing at the staggering figures of blind population in India, Dr R V Ramani, founder, SECI said, “About 80 per cent of blind are needlessly blind, their blindness is curable, provided we reach them and make people aware of eye donation.”

It operates in a unique 80:20 model, 80 per cent service free of cost to poor and 20 per cent chargeable services.

Presently, Sankara performs over 120,000 free eye surgeries every year. The institution aims to establish 20 eye care facilities across the country by 2020 from the present eight.