Vision-Aid, AIIMS Partner to Expand Eye Care and Vision Rehabilitation Services in Delhi NCR

LEXINGTON, Mass./NEW DELHI — Vision-Aid, a Lexington, Massachusetts-based nonprofit serving people with visual impairments, and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, have entered into two five-year agreements to expand eye care, vision rehabilitation, and services for children with cerebral visual impairment (CVI) across the Delhi National Capital Region.

The partnership, which became effective in April 2026, is built around three initiatives: the establishment of 10 Integrated Vision Centres in underserved communities, the distribution of AI-powered assistive technology for visually impaired individuals, and the creation of the Vision-Aid Sarla Dayal CVI Resource Center at AIIMS.

The collaboration brings together AIIMS’ clinical expertise and Vision-Aid’s experience in vision rehabilitation and assistive technology. AIIMS’ Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, established in 1967, serves as the Government of India’s apex institution under the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment.

Project DRISHTI: Community-Based Eye Care

The first initiative, Project DRISHTI, will establish 10 Integrated Vision Centres by upgrading existing government primary health facilities, known as Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, in underserved areas of Delhi NCR.

The centers are expected to serve a catchment population of more than 500,000 residents over five years and provide approximately 120,000 patient visits, including about 24,000 vision screenings annually.

Services will include vision screening, refraction, subsidized eyeglasses, screening for diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma, free medications, and referrals to AIIMS for advanced treatment, including cataract surgery, vision rehabilitation, and assistive devices for eligible patients from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Each center will be staffed by an ophthalmic technician, a data entry operator, and a field assistant, with oversight from AIIMS faculty and program managers. Community health workers and trained volunteers will also conduct outreach and eye health education in neighborhoods and schools.

The organizations estimate the program will result in the prescription of approximately 40,000 pairs of eyeglasses, 2,500 free cataract surgeries, and thousands of rehabilitation sessions and assistive device distributions during the five-year period.

Project SATHI: AI-Powered Assistive Technology

The partnership’s second initiative, Project SATHI, will provide 550 AI-powered smart vision glasses and other assistive devices to visually impaired individuals identified through clinical and socio-economic assessments conducted by AIIMS.

The devices include smart vision glasses capable of reading printed text aloud, recognizing faces, and describing surroundings in multiple Indian languages. Other assistive technologies include digital magnifiers and devices designed to improve access to education, employment, and daily living for people whose vision cannot be restored.

Both Project DRISHTI and Project SATHI are supported by an anonymous donor.

Vision-Aid Sarla Dayal CVI Resource Center

The third component of the partnership is the establishment of the Vision-Aid Sarla Dayal CVI Resource Center at the Dr. R.P. Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences.

The multidisciplinary center will provide diagnosis, clinical care, rehabilitation, and educational support for children between six months and 16 years of age living with cerebral visual impairment, a neurological condition in which the brain has difficulty processing visual information despite healthy eyes. CVI is recognized as one of the leading causes of childhood visual impairment in India.

The center will bring together pediatric ophthalmologists, neurologists, optometrists, therapists, and special educators under one program and will also support clinical training and research.

The center is named in honor of Sarla Dayal and commemorates the late Dr. Yogeshwar Dayal, an AIIMS alumnus and former member of Vision-Aid’s Advisory Board. The initiative is supported by the Dayal family.

In a statement, the Dayal family said, “Following his retirement from professional practice in 2017, Dr. Dayal remained actively engaged in community and charitable initiatives. A devoted supporter of Vision-Aid, he generously contributed his time, counsel, and encouragement to further the organization’s mission of serving individuals with visual impairments and empowering communities through service.”

Leaders Highlight Partnership

Prof. Praveen Vashist, Professor and Officer In-charge of Community Ophthalmology at the Dr. R.P. Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS New Delhi, said the collaboration is intended to extend comprehensive eye care into underserved communities while expanding specialized services for children with CVI.

“The Dr. R.P. Centre has always believed that the best eye care is the care that reaches people where they live. This partnership with Vision-Aid allows us to take comprehensive services deep into underserved communities of Delhi NCR, and to build, for the first time, a dedicated multidisciplinary home at AIIMS for children with cerebral visual impairment. It is a model we hope the whole country will follow,” Vashist said.

Prof. Rohit Saxena, Professor and In-charge of CVI Services at the Dr. R.P. Centre, said the new center will address a growing but often under-recognized cause of childhood visual impairment.

“Cerebral Visual Impairment is now one of the leading causes of childhood visual impairment, yet it often remains under-recognized. Early identification and multidisciplinary intervention can significantly improve a child’s functional vision, learning, and quality of life. At AIIMS, our goal is to provide standardized, evidence-based assessment and holistic management for every child with CVI. Through our collaboration with Vision-Aid and the establishment of the Sarla Dayal CVI Resource Center, we aim not only to expand access to high-quality clinical care but also to develop a national centre of excellence for clinical services, training, research, and rehabilitation in Cerebral Visual Impairment,” Saxena said.

Dr. Suraja Menon Roychowdhury, a Vision-Aid Advisory Board member and AIIMS alumnus, welcomed the collaboration.

“As an AIIMS alumnus and a member of Vision-Aid’s Advisory Board, I am delighted to see two of my favorite organizations come together in this meaningful partnership. AIIMS and Vision-Aid share a deep commitment to service, innovation and dignity for people with visual impairment, and this collaboration has the potential to touch many lives,” she said.

Lalit Sudan, President of Vision-Aid USA, said the partnership combines the strengths of both organizations.

“Partnering with AIIMS, the most respected name in Indian medicine, is a milestone moment for Vision-Aid. These programs unite the best of both worlds: AIIMS’s clinical excellence and Vision-Aid’s two decades of experience in rehabilitation, assistive technology and training. Together we will reach people who had nowhere else to turn,” Sudan said.

Vision-Aid founders Revathy Ramakrishna and Ramakrishna Raju reflected on the organization’s long-term mission.

“When we started Vision-Aid twenty two years ago, we dreamed that one day no child in India would be denied a future because of a vision impairment. Watching AIIMS and Vision-Aid teams work side by side, made possible by the support of an anonymous donor and seeing the Dayal family’s love turned into a center of hope for a thousand children, we feel that dream drawing closer. We are humbled and grateful,” they said.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts, Vision-Aid is a volunteer-driven nonprofit organization dedicated to enabling, educating, and empowering people with visual impairments. The organization partners with more than 25 leading eye hospitals, 70 schools for the blind, and operates in more than 75 locations across India, serving over 100,000 beneficiaries annually through rehabilitation, training, and assistive technology programs.

The Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences at AIIMS New Delhi is India’s leading institution for ophthalmic patient care, education, and research and serves as the apex organization under the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment.

The first Integrated Vision Centres and the Vision-Aid Sarla Dayal CVI Resource Center are expected to begin serving patients in the coming months.

Vision-Aid is gearing up for its major annual event in Andover, MA on Sunday July 26th. For more details of the spectacular Broadway style show “Brothers in Arms – The Lions of Sivaganga” , visit www.visionaid.org/event