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Cabinet approval for revised blindness control programme

Special Correspondent

An outlay of Rs. 1250-crore to be provided during the 11th plan period to expand the scope of the scheme

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet’s Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Friday gave its green signal for revising the National Programme for Control of Blindness, with a stepped up allocation, for the 11th plan period. Chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the CCEA decided to provide an outlay of Rs. 1,250 crore for the programme during the plan period and to expand its scope to include other causes of blindness such as diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma, apart from cataract, which had been its main focus so far.

Vision centres

Briefing reporters, Union Minister and Cabinet spokesperson Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said the programme would have a target of setting up 3,000 ‘vision centres’, with basic screening equipment, catering to every 5,000 population; developing a network of 30 eye banks and 130 eye donation centres to facilitate collection and processing of donated eyes, and provision of non-recurring assistance to 40 voluntary organisations for strengthening and expanding eye care services in rural areas during the plan period. The CCEA also gave its nod for implementing a Rs. 2,800 crore scheme for upgradation of the remaining 1,096 Government-run Industrial Training Institutes through public-private partnership by 2011-12. Industry partners would be involved in all aspects of training from development of curriculum to trade testing.

The Cabinet also gave its approval for setting up an organisation called ‘India Development Foundation of Overseas Indians’ as a non-profit trust to channelise philanthropic capital from Indians abroad for welfare activities in the country.

The organisation will establish and maintain a social capital and philanthropic network and will, among other things, focus on empowerment of women in rural areas. The CCEA also decided to raise the retirement age for scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research from 60 to 62 and declare a national urban sanitation policy, with the setting up of a national urban sanitation advisory group and institution of a rating mechanism to ascertain the sanitation status of all class I cities.

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