10 centres of excellence to boost healthcare industry


Chennai: The State government will set-up 10 centres of excellence to focus more on helathcare industry and to offer better education.

It is part of Vision 2023, the dreams of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, said Minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture, K Pandiarajan.

Inaugurating 12th National Continuing Medical Educational (CME) programme – Kalpavriksha ’18 – for post graduate students organised by

Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, along with its academics wing, Eye Research Centre, here on Thursday, he said,”The State is known for excellent medical services that even many foreign nationals visit Tamilnadu for undergoing surgeries. To boost the industry, we also plan to pay more attention to education, consulting and training young medicos to offer good treatment.”

The prime objective of the three-day educational workshop (17-19 Aug) is to provide insights on ophthalmic care with technologically-advanced equipment and treatment.

Dr Shajitha Parveen receiving Dr V Velayutham Academic Excellence Gold Medal from Minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture, K Pandiarajan during the 12th National Continuing Medical Educational programme – Kalpavriksha ’18 – in Chennai on Thursday. Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital and Research Centre chairman and managing director Dr Amar Agarwal and All India Opthalmological Society general secretary Dr Namrata Sharma are present.

It is to be noted that over 15 million people in India are affected by blindness which calls for better eye care treatment and facilities. Ayushman Bharat scheme which is to be launched in September will provide more opportunity to move up the ladder in treating the blind population, experts at the meet said.

“It is imperative that we need to update the techniques that we use considering the blindness statistics of our country. Through the programme, we train the students in effective techniques such as Glued IOL and PDEK,” said Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital and Research Centre chairman and managing director Dr Amar Agarwal.

Speaking to ‘News Today’ about India’s progress, Dr Agarwal said,”The country is marching forward, but we definitely have a long way to go. The importance of treating cataract, the primary cause for blindness, should penetrate deep into every single household in the rural India. It is a good move that the government is launching schemes to cater to the medical needs of people hailing from villages.”

“Though there are Indian-made equipment available to perform surgeries, the quality should come on par with global standards,” he added.

The 12th edition of the programme saw the coming together of around 200 students across the country, eminent doctors and surgeons from the field of ophthalmology.