The National Programme for Control of Blindness, initiated in 1976 and strengthened by the World Bank from 1994 to 2002, aims to significantly reduce the prevalence of blindness in India. Despite challenges, such as a 1% prevalence rate as per the 2006-07 survey, the program has made substantial progress, with the prevalence of blindness in the state currently standing at 0.36%, according to the Government of India survey (2015–2019).

The programme envisions providing high-quality eye care, expanding services to underserved areas, reducing blindness backlogs, and enhancing institutional capacity for eye care services.

In the year 2023-24, key achievements include:

• 2.82 lakh cataract operations

• 5,227 eyeballs collected

• 1,70,855 school children screened for eye issues

Under the Universal Eye Screening Programme,

• 1.63 crore people were screened

• 41 lakh pairs of glasses were distributed

These achievements reflect strong outreach and effective service delivery. The program continues its active efforts in 2024–25 to meet its objectives.