New eye care academy opened in Vrindavan
Team L&M
Moving towards advancing rural eye health, Standard Chartered and Dr Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital (SCEH), under the Bank’s flagship initiative Seeing is Believing, has started the Standard Chartered–Shroff’s Eye Care Education Academy in Vrindavan, Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh.
This new academy will expand access to quality eye care and provide education and livelihood opportunities in underserved rural communities.
The inauguration was graced by Shailaja Kant Misra, Vice Chairperson, Uttar Pradesh Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad, who attended as the Chief Guest, along with Dr Umang Mathur, CEO, Dr Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital and Karuna Bhatia, Head of Sustainability, India, Standard Chartered.
Advancing Eye Health and Skilling
The Vrindavan academy represents the second phase of the partnership, following the successful rollout of the first academy in Delhi. It will follow a hub-and-spoke model, and will provide localised, skill-based training in eye care for ophthalmologists and paramedics. The Delhi facility will act as the hub for curriculum development, mentoring, and technical support.
India faces a critical shortage of trained ophthalmic professionals, and common causes of preventable blindness remain prevalent in rural areas. This is ecause access to specialised care is limited in rural areas. The Vrindavan academy directly addresses this through capacity building, employment generation, and community-centric care delivery.
Over the next three years, this Vrindavan academy will train over 12,000 youth in diverse eye care fields. Key deliverables include training 70 ophthalmologists, 600 mid-career ophthalmologists, and 500 allied ophthalmic paramedics, with employment opportunities post training for over 70% of the trainees – 50% of which are going to be women. About 11,000 trainees will receive benefit from short-term courses and digital learning platform aiming to enhance their skills and delivery of eye care services to the community.
All programmes are accredited by the National Council of Vocational and Research Training (NCVRT), ensuring adherence to national standards in vocational healthcare education. Standard Chartered Shroff’s Eye Care Education Academy at Dr Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital has also received Advanced Level Accreditation by the Ophthalmology Foundation for the International Ophthalmology Residency Training Programme, underscoring the international quality, credibility, and professional rigor of the courses being offered at the academy.
Says Bhatia, “The Delhi academy has proven that skill-building in eye care can be a powerful tool for both public health and social empowerment. With the launch of this academy in Vrindavan, we are taking this impact deeper into rural India, enabling young women to build careers while improving eye health access in their communities. This is therefore a more holistic approach to a healthcare issue.”
Adds Dr Mathur “This expansion is a testament to our vision of creating a skilled, compassionate, and locally rooted eye care workforce. The support from Standard Chartered has been pivotal in scaling our efforts and bringing quality care closer to the last mile.”
