Raghunath Shelke Works for Yateem Optician in Dubai, having worked ear-lier in Sawant Optometry Clinic, Mumbai. He gradu-

ated in optometry from Lotus College, Mumbai. He is keen on LV & CL.

Manish Khanna B.Optom from Bharati Vidyapeeth, Pune, Manish owns KOTA OPTICS and is Consultant Optometrist there since

2002. His specialties are Contact Lens & Dispensing Optics. His roles encompass the total management of Kota Optics, heading a team of nine, include han-dling day to day activities, fi nance, in-ventory mngmnt, planning & marketing. He is ASCO’s Rajasthan Rep

Gauri Kunjeer graduated in Clinical Optometry from Bharati Vidyapeeth Univ, Pune (Gold Medallist) and is doing her Masters at

Hari Jyot College of Optometry, Navsari. Member of IACLE. Served as faculty at Bharati Vidyapeeth & now in Hari Jyot. Was a consultant to the Intl Center for Eye Care Education.She is the author of several scientifi c papers and winner of several awards & scholarships from aca-demia & industry. Active in social work.

Shalini Peter did her grad-uation in Joseph School of Optometry, Trichy & mas-ters at Al Salama College of Optometry & manage-

ment studies, Calicut. She is an Asst Prof, Lotus Bausch & Lomb Instt of Optome-try, Coimbatore. She has specialized in Low Vision & Contact Lens.

Faiza Bhombal is a trained Optometrist from Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital. She has worked at prestigious in-stitutes like Advanced Eye

Hospital & Institute (Navi Mumbai) & Krishna Eye Centre (Mumbai). She stress-es on learning more in Specialty Contact Lens, Low Vision & Visual Rehabilitation and Dispensing. She is a Consultant Op-tometrist in Krishna Eye Centre

Nishna is an Optometry graduate who interned at Al Salama Eye Hospital. She is doing her Masters. She has a variety of op-

tometry skills. She handles classes in Opticianary & for undergrads. Has con-ducted cataract surveys in 2municipali-ties & participated in more than 450 cat-aract, diabetic retinopathy, etc camps. Enthusiastic participant in COEs. Inter-ested in lens manufacturing as well

Vaibhavi Dave did her D.Optom from SNDT, Mumbai & is pursuing B.Optom from ITM, Panvel. She works as an optome-

trist in a clinical setupSheela Evangeline K com-pleted her UG & PG from ESO topping the class (Gold Medallist) in both. She is the clinical head @

Trinity Optics & guest lecturer, Geomet-ric Optics, ESOSamuel Livingstone K graduated in optometry from Sri Ramachandra Univ, Chennai with dis-

tinction & completed his Fellowship in Vision Therapy@Sankara Nethra-laya(SN). He is also pursuing his Fellow-

ship of British Dispensing Optics- ABDO UK (1st batch in India) at SN. He will be commencing his M.Optom course in Manipal Univ

Shraddha Kadam has com-pleted her M. Optom from Lotus College of Optome-try in 2012, She complet-ed one year fellowship

program in Specialty Contact Lens from Shekhar Eye Research & currently work-ing at Wavikar Eye Institute as a Faculty & Specialty Contact Lens Consultant.

Maheshwari Srinivasan graduated from Elite School of Optometry, served as consultant Op-tometrist in Sankara Neth-

ralaya & in Bahrain. She has been senior faculty in Shri Prakash Institute of Op-tometry, a unit of Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hos-pitals, for 7 years

Kamalesh Raghavan com-pleted his B Optom from CG Univ and joined Ahalia Foundation Eye Hospital, Palakkad as consultant

optometrist.Now in Muscat with Elegant Opticals. His areas of interest: clinical optometry, contact lens & pediatric op-

tometryUkti Shah is a Masters student at Lotus College of Optometry, Mumbai. Working as a consultant optometrist in MumbaiSarita Madhav Deshpande is a Faculty in Laxmi Eye Instt, Panvel. A graduate

FASCO Profi les

By MAY 2013 ASCO’s ASSOCIATE MEM-BERS (AMASCOs) numbered 77. Now nearly 100. They were featured with individual profi les in the MAY issue of INSIGHT. More AMASCOs have been en-rolled since then. Many have registered for the FASCO (Fellowship of ASCO) scheme. They and those who later be-came AMASCOs & registered for FASCO are featured in this, the JULY issue of IN-

SIGHT, a FASCO SPECIAL!). Some of the NEW AMASCOs (who may register later for FASCO) are briefl y profi led here:

K P Venkates Prabhu grad-uated from Lotus Bausch & Lomb Instt of Optometry, Coimbatore. He has done his Masters as well. He is

a Consultant Optometrist in Lotus Eye Hospital, Coimbatore and a part time

faculty in his alma mater. He is special-ized in Low Vision and Squint.

G Nehemiah graduated from Joseph School of Optometry, Trichy. His Vit-reo-Retinal fellowship was

done in Joseph eye Hospital, Trichy. Cur-rently works as consultant Optometrist in Dar Optics Intl, Dubai.

Our New AMASCOs + FASCO 2013-14 Candidates

CONTACT LENSSpeciality Co-ordinator: LAKSHMI SHINDE

CLINICAL OPTOMETRYSpeciality Co-ordinator: RAMESH SVe

FASCOSpecial

Bi-monthly Herald of the Association of Schools & Colleges of Optometry (ASCO-INDIA)

JULY

201

3

of Lotus College of Optometry, Mumbai and a fellow of LVPEI, she interned in Lotus Eye Hospital, Drushti Eye Clinic & Shroff Eye Hospital. She has a spectrum of clinical skills

R C Zoramchhana did his diploma in ophthal-mic technology from Re-gional Instt of Paramed-ical & Nursing Sciences,

Mizoram. Working in a private clinic as optometrist. Has undergone technical service training at Mediscience Services, Kolkata. He is organizing firms, i.e Vision-tech Enterprise, on Distribution, Sales & Service of Ophthalmic Eqpt

E Leena graduated from Joseph School of Op-tometry, Trichy. She did her masters in Al Salama College of Optometry &

management studies, Calicut. Current-ly works as an Asst Prof in PRIST Univ, Pondicherry. She is specialized in Pediat-ric Optometry

Naganathan Muthuramal-ingam B.Optom, M.Phil: an Optometrist for Compre-hensive Eye Care, primarily focuses on Public Health

and Community Optometry. He gradu-ated from ESO and continued serving in the Tele-Ophthalmology Dept of Sanka-ra Nethralaya, Chennai. He is currently a Lecturer at Qassim Univ, Saudi Arabia

Gaurav Kr Bhardwaj B.Op-tom & M.Optom from Bharati Vidyapeeth Med-ical College, Pune. He is a FIACLE & Member, British

contact lens association. Currently Asst Prof & course coordinator for the mas-ters program, Amity Medical School, Haryana. He is a guest faculty for IGNOU. He teaches advanced contact lens, LV Care and applied optics. He was earlier faculty for B.Optom subjects at Nagar School of Optometry, Ahmedabad. Gaurav has wide industrial experience: AB OPTIQUE eye ear & Speech, Delhi as consultant optometrist & Manager; GKB RxLens,Gurgaon Branch as Optometrist; Dristi Contact lens Clinic & Opticals, Pune as Consultant Optometrist. Both an organizer and participant in several conferences & seminars

Md. Oliullah Abdal besides being an Optometrist, has business management training in Health Care services. He has worked in

LV Prasad Eye Instt (Low Vision & Visual

Rehabilitation) & Advanced Eye Hospital & Instt. He has teaching experience in Aditya Jyot Institute of Optometry and ITM Institute of Health Science (Navi Mumbai). He did his MBA in Health Care Services from SMU, Manipal and his fel-lowship in Clinical Optometry from LV Prasad Eye Instt. He completed another advanced diploma in clinical research from New Delhi. He now heads Optom-etry & Hospital Administration at Krish-na Eye Centre, Mumbai. His specialties include contact lens & research

Sona Komalam after her Diploma in Ophthalmic Assistance from Govt Medical College, Trissur, she graduated from Lotus

Bausch & Lomb, Coimbatore. She com-pleted ‘Mastermind’ there. Worked as consultant optometrist, Head of dept in Optometry, ZYOPTIX, In-Charge at Vasan eye care hospital, Cochin for nearly 4 years. Currently doing her Masters at her alma-mater. She has worked in every dept during her service. Very active and prolific in optometry events & contests

Jemima S Hubert graduat-ed from ESO, Chennai and worked in Sankara Nethra-laya. Now she is a lecturer in Shri Prakash Instt of Op-

tometry, a unit of Dr Agarwals Eye Hos-pital. She also heads the Low Vision Aids

departmentParas Desai B.Optom; M.Optom works as lectur-er in Hari Jyot College of Optometry, Navsari and

as senior optometrist in Rotary Eye Insti-tute. He visited Nigeria twice for free eye cataract surgery camps. He was awarded by Ministry of Health, Lagos State for his service to the International eye camp. His Research Paper was selected for the 12th Dr EV Scientific Session at Chennai

Jubairiya Aboobacker P graduated in BSc Opto-metry and is doing her masters. She has been with Shone Opticals and

vision centre, the optical wing of Al Sala-ma Eye hospital as an Optometrist,now promoted as Director (Sales Develop-ment). Attended many COE‘s as faculty in low vision & dispensing. Attended the 9th Annual Conference of Vision 2020 as a speaker. Keenly interested in Low Vi-sion, attended several camps and other activities in LV awareness, screening &

rehabilitationMd. Sirajudheen K is doing his Masters in Optometry at ALSalama College of Optometry, Calicut having

graduated from ALSalama College of

Optometry, Perinnthalmanna. He works at the AlSalama eye Hospital, Calicut

Trupti Khaladkar complet-ed her graduation and masters from Lotus Col-lege of Optometry, Mum-bai. She is currently a Sr.

lecturer thereKeyur N Sharma B.Op-tom,M.Optom)(Gold Med-alist) Faculty at B.M.C.O and Consulting Optome-trist at Shree K P Sanghavi

Eye Instt and Keshvi Eye Hospital, Surat. Visiting Optometrist at AAShirwad Eye

Hospital , NavsariAnitha Arvind is a con-sultant Optometrist and in-charge of Optometry training in Ratan Jyoti Ne-

tralaya, Gwalior. She has Industry expe-rience with GANKO and was faculty in several Colleges. She is ASCO’s MP Rep

Debapriya Mukhopadhyay at a very young age started helping his ophthalmolo-gist father. Graduated in

Optometry from VCOVS, Kolkata, intern-ing in clinical optometry at Shri Prakash Instt of Optometry, Chennai, doing a study on difference of macular thickness in cases of maculopathy versus normal population. Founded Dr Ashok Kumar Banerjee Charitable Foundation for the underprivileged. Completed his Masters from Bharti Vidyapeeth Univ, School Of Optometry, Pune, while writing a book-let on Advanced Designs of Progressive Lenses. Dr Parikshit Gogate guided his Masters thesis on Compliance of spec-tacles wear amongst school children in rural Pune. It was published in IJO this year and presented in several natl and intl conferences. With work experience in A Dinshaw & Co, H V Desai Eye Hospi-tal, Dr Gogate’s Eye Clinic, Sankara Neth-ralaya (as Research Project Coordinator for Community and Tele-Ophthalmolo-gy), he is currently a Faculty at Sankara College of Optometry, Bangalore

Caroline Premila Edwin Pondicherry-based, has 22 yrs of Optometry experi-ence. Academic in charge & Assoc Prof in Clinical Re-

fraction, Visual Optics, Dispensing Op-tics, Contact Lenses, Ophthalmic Instru-ments, Squint, orthoptics and binocular vision, Hospital Procedures, Seminars, Case presentations. She has extensive

LOW VISION Speciality Co-ordinator: PREMA CHANDE

BINOCULAR VISIONSpeciality Co-ordinator: ADITYA GOYAL

experience as a consulting optometrist and in private practice. She graduated in Optometry from ESO and did her Mas-ters in Lotus, Mumbai. She is a visiting Prof with Ahalia Foundation, Palghat

Hakkim Junejo complet-ed both his B.Optom & M.Optom with distinc-tion. Working as a clinical Application Consultant

in the CARE group for KAMRA corneal inlays, Schwind excimer laser, Ziemer Femto laser & Optovue OCT machines. Part time faculty for 2 yrs at Al Salama College of Optometry. Ex Secy of GOA (Kerala Chapter). He is the only KAMRA Corneal Inlay Application Consultant in INDIA and trained in Schwind Germany for LASIK Application and PRESBYMAX. He is a Ziemer Femto trainer in INDIA

K S Karki graduated from Joseph School of Op-tometry, Trichy. Currently runs his own optical out-

let. Area of interest: Dispensing Optics. Skilled in subjective, objective refrac-tion, contact lens fi tting, progressive trouble shooting

Paula Mehta completed her B.Optom from West Bengal University of Tech-nology. She is currently a junior lecturer and course

coordinator for dispensing optician pro-gram at Lotus College of Optometry

Ronald Romeo Noronha is with Wavikar Eye Instt as Sr.Optometrist and Profes-sor at Wavikar’s College of Optometry, MumbaiVeshal Madan Founding member of Bharti Vidy-apeeth’s School of Op-tometry in 1998, Katraj, Pune. did his UG from

ESO, with internship at Shri Ganapati Netrayala and his M.Optom from Bharti Vidyapeeth, Pune. Currently doing his Management course in Pune Univ hav-ing done his 2-year Executive PGDPM course (HRM) from Symbiosis, Pune. He has been teaching optometry subjects in Pune colleges. Has completed 7 suc-cessful years as Director In-charge & As-soc Prof, Dr DY Patil Instt of Optometry & Visual Science, Pimpri. He is the Cen-tral Assessment Program (CAP) Director there. He was accredited as FIACLE (Aus-tralia) and is pursuing his PhD in Dr DY Patil Univ & AFMC, Pune. He is the Chief Consulting Optometrist and Vision Care Specialist at Drishti Eye Care Instt for 15

yrs. He is ASCO’s Regional Rep-WESTMd. Kunhi is HOD, Dept of Optometry, Al Salama Eye Hospital & Asst Prof, Al Salama College of Op-tometry, Perintalmanna.

An active member of FIACLE, he deliv-ers lectures in a variety of CMEs and w/shops. He is an executive member of Graduate Optometrists Assoc, Kerala; ASCO’s Rep for Kerala and honored by ASCO as a high achiever. He graduated & post-graduated in Optometry from Al Salama. He has qualifi ed in ICLEP (basic

& advanced)Nilesh Thite is Assoc. Prof at Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed Univ Medical College’s School of Op-

tometry, Pune, where he completed his Masters. He is Director of Educational Programs & fellow of International As-sociation of Contact Lens Educators, Australia. He had a corporate stint with Bausch & Lomb India as professional services manager. Nilesh has vast expe-rience in teaching Dispensing Optics, Contact Lens and Refraction. Has pre-sented scientifi c papers/posters in many natl & intl conferences and has been a faculty in many national & international practitioner education programs in con-tact & ophthalmic lenses. He was recent-ly honored with the fellowship of the British Contact Lens Assoc

Rushit Patel Graduated from Bharti Vidyapeeth, Pune and did his masters in Nagar School of Optom-etry (NSO), Ahmedabad.

He is a member of IACLE and visiting fac-ulty at NSO. He is Consulting Optome-trist at Nagar Chasmaghar, Ahmedabad

Balbheema Sirasagi is a faculty in Vasan Instt of Ophthalmology & Re-search, B’lore. He gradu-ated from DY Patil Instt. of

Optometry & Visual Science, PuneNirav Mehta is Principal of Harijyot College of op-tometry, Navsari. He did his B.Optom & M.Optom (gold medallist) from

Bharthi Vidyapeeth Univ, Pune. He is ASCO’s Rep for Gujarat. His career spans roles as consulting optometrist, entre-preneur and academic mentor. He is a prominent member of IACLE

Noufal Md. graduated in Optometry from Al Sala-ma College of Optome-try (ASCO) and obtained his Masters. He worked

in Malabar Eye Hospital, Calicut; Focus Opticals, UAE; & Trichur Eye Hospital in

various depts. he is associated with the optometry prog of Al Salama, Calicut

Firdoos Jaman is an Op-tometrist in RIPANS (Re-gional Instt of Paramedi-cal & Nursing Sciences) in

Aizawl. He has Diploma in Ophthalmic Technology from RIPANS. He was se-lected by Sri Sankaradeva Nethralaya, Guwahati for a 1 yr refresher course on various ophthalmic techniques & oph-thalmic nursing at Sankara Nethralaya Chennai. After a 4-year stint there he joined at B.Optom MLCU, Shillong. He has attended seminars and workshops organized by various Ophthalmic man-ufacturing companies. He is ASCO’s Rep for Mizoram, Tirupura & Nagaland

Amit J. Shinde complet-ed his B.Optom & M.Op-tom from Bharati Vidy-apeeth Univ School of Optometry. Since 2002, he

has been working as a teaching faculty at his alma mater. The areas of interest are Basic Optics, Dispensing Optics & Low Vision, Public Health & Communi-ty Optometry. Currently he is an Assoc. Professor and In-charge at alma-mater.

Ekta Satra is an Optome-trist at Infi niti Eye Hospital. She has conducted several eye camps as chief optom-etrist, in MauritiusKuldip Soni Optometrist in Rotary Eye Inst, Navsa-ri. Awaiting his M.Optom results there, where he heads the Optical Shop.

He completed B.Optom from Hari Jyot College of Optometry, Navsari where he is a lecturer. He is also the proprietor of Chasma Ghar, Bhachau-Kutch. Awarded by Ministry of health, Lagos State, Nige-ria for his work in their International Eye camp in 2012 and earlier by the Ogun State Govt, Nigeria

Noushad Chief Optome-trist, Contact Lens special-ist and HOD (last 4 years) in Vasan Eye Care Hospital, Kannur. He did his Dip.

Ophthalmic Asst in 2003 from ERF Instt of Ophthalmology, Eye Research Foun-dation, Taliparamba & graduated in Op-tometry in 2009.

DISPENSING OPTICS Speciality Co-ordinator: VIVEK MENDONSA

PUBLIC HEALTH & COMMUNITY OPTO- METRY Speciality Co-ordinator: Srinivas Maramula

Optometrist Nilesh Thite (see FASCO Pro-� les this issue) received the prestigious Fellowship of British Contact Lens Asso-ciation (FBCLA) during its clinical confer-ence, Manchester, 6-9 June. The Fellow-ship recognizes a member’s standing in Contact Lens & the anterior eye.Members of the BCLA must be awarded 50 points by the academic committee

and satisfy the committee of their con-tact lens and / or anterior eye credentials in an oral assessment based on the evi-dence presented.Points can be awarded for any combina-tion of the achievements such as case record of advanced contact lens fi ts, presentation of a paper or poster at the

BCLA, publication of a peer reviewed journal article on contact lenses and/or anterior eye, book chapter, patent in the fi eld of contact lenses and/or anterior eye, etc. Nilesh presented two posters at the conference. Ms Kunda Ganatra, Ms Jyoti Dave and Ms Isha Dave from India also attended this conference

Nilesh Thite receiving FBCLA certifi cate Team India Nilesh with his poster presentations

Yes! Optometry off ers a challenging, interesting & rewarding career path. Optometrists can choose to practice in many diff erent locales, to specialize in diverse areas of patient care & to work in a myriad of diff erent practice situations. The scope of optometry continues to grow as new technologies & new treat-ments for eye diseases are developed.

As the primary eye care providers, op-tometrists are in a unique position to improve the quality of Visual Life and Health of their patients by providing quality & comprehensive eye care.I take this opportunity to thank the Out-standing Dedicated Person of our insti-tute, Prema Madam (Principal Of Lotus College). I thank Mentor Prasad Sir, Dir,

Sawant Optometry Clinic, Dombivli. He changed my life in many ways. I’m so glad I am a part of this lovely profession. From the start of my optometry career I have learned a lot from my seniors & colleagues. Raghunath D Shelke, Dubai. (Raghunath is a FASCO 2013-14 candidate, see FASCO pro� les this issue)

Nilesh Thite receives fellowship of British Contact Lens Association

Alumnus Speak - Raghunath Shelke

HUGE demand for fresh Optometry Graduates, very limited supply! INDIA clearly needs 1,25,000 optometrists. We have only 7,000 Graduates & 33,000 di-ploma holders! Placement for freshers is guaranteed in Eye Hospitals, Colleges, Optical Chains, etc @ Rs 25,000 pm, highest in any applied science course in India. B.Optom: 4 yrs incl. 1 yr compul-sory internship; D.Optom: 2 yrs (D.Op-tom courses likely to be phased out with-

in a decade). DEMAND increasing from D.Optoms for ‘Lateral Entry’ to B.Optom courses. DEMAND increasing for B.Op-tom seats in India & from other coun-tries. B.Optom covers many subjects of BSc Maths, Physics, Chemistry & Biolo-gy. Starting with B.Optom, institutions can smoothen their entry into other BSc courses. PREREQUISITES ARE: UNIVERSITY AFFILIATION and ATTACHMENT to an

EYE HOSPITAL. CLINICAL ATTACHMENT: MOU with a good nearby Eye Hospital (Strong MOU-Many benefi ts to College) Classrooms: 1 in 1st year, 2 in 2nd yr, 3 in 3rd year Labs (from 1styr itself ): Op-tics, Anatomy & Physiology, Biochemis-try. CURRICULUM: ASCO gives you the widely accepted CMOC (Common Min-imum Optometry Curriculum) & provides you all services to start & run your op-tometry College!

Why Start an Optometry College?

MAHARASHTRA Mumbai: Aditya Jyot Instt. of Optometry, Wadala. Laxmi Eye Hospital, Panvel. ITM-Instt of Health Science-College of Optometry. Lotus Col-

lege of Optometry, JVPD. Premila Vithaldas Polytechnic, SNDT Women’s Univ. Wavikar Eye Instt. Thane. Pune: Dr D Y Patil Instt of Optometry & Visual Sciences.

School of Optometry, Bharthi Vidyapeeth Univ. PBMA’s HV Desai Eye Hospital, Hadapsar. Beed: Netradeep College of Optometry. Jalna: Shri Ganapati Nethralaya

College of Optometry. Nashik: College of Optometry & Ophthalmic Science. GUJARAT Ahmedabad: Nagar School of Optometry. Ahmedabad Instt of Medical

Sciences. Surat: Bhartimaiya School of Optometry. Navsari: Hari Jyot College of Optometry, Rotary Eye Instt. Dahod: Drashti College of Optometry. AP Hyder-

abad: UoH Dept of Medical Sciences. Bausch & Lomb School of Optometry. Pushpagiri Vitreo-Retina Instt. KARNATAKA B’lore: Sankara College of Optometry.

Nethradhama School of Optometry. Manipal: Manipal Univ College of Allied Health Science. KERALA Palakkad: Ahalia Foundation Eye Hospital. Perintalmanna,

Malappuram Dt: Al Salama College of Optometry. Calicut: Malabar College of Optometry, Eddapal. TN Chennai: Elite School of Optometry. College of Allied

Univ, Sri Ramachandra Univ. Shri Prakash Instt of Optometry. Coimbatore:Lotus Bausch & Lomb School of Optometry. WB Kolkata: Krishnalaya School of Op-

tometry. Vidyasagar College of Optometry & Vision Science. ASSAM Gauhati: Sankaradeva College of Optometry. Jorhat: Ridley College of Optometry. MEGHA-

LAYA Shillong: Bansara College of Optometry. HARYANA Amity Univ Department of Optometry, Gurgaon UTTARAKHAND Pauri Garhwal: Kullanand Mundepi

Optometry & Eye Instt. PUNJAB Chandigarh: Chitkara Univ Dept of Health Sciences.

ASCO MEMBER-SCHOOLS & COLLEGES

ADVERTISERS PLEASE NOTE: MAX DIMENSIONS for Ads in INSIGHT (height in cm x width in cm): INSIDE PAGE-FULL: 27.7 x 19; LAST PAGE-FULL: 29.7 x 21 + 5mm Bleed; DOUBLE-SPREAD (2 INSIDE PAGES): 27.7 x 40; ANY ½ PAGE: 13 x 19; ANY ¼ PAGE: 6.5 x 19; OR 13 x 9; STRIP: 3 x 19; OR 13 x 4.25 (Ad material preferred in the following formats: 1. Photoshop; 2. Corel draw; 3. InDesign; 4. Illustrator; 5. High-resolution, curved PDF) RATES: Full page in inside page : Rs 10,000/-; Last page : Rs 12,000/-; Half Page in inside pages : Rs 6,000/-; ½ Page In front or last page: Rs 7,500/-; ¼ page in inside pages: Rs 4,000/-; ¼ Page In front/last page: Rs 5,000/-; Strip in inside pages: Rs 2,500/-; In front or last page: Rs 3,000/- (12.36% service tax is charged) DISCOUNT for ASCO members:10%; Discount for REPEAT Ads: YEARLY(6 issues)10% reduction; HALF-YEARLY (3 issues) 5% reduction.; For contracts longer than 1 YEAR, further concessions apply: Please discuss with ASCO asap. ASCO reserves the right to edit any material sent, or even reject the ad, if required to protect readers.

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[By Srinivas Marmamula,1,2,3,4 L. V. Chan-dra Sekhar Ravuri,1,5 Mei Ying Boon,4 and Rohit C. Khanna1]1.Allen Foster Community Eye Health Re-search Centre, International Centre for Advancement of Rural Eye care, L V Prasad Eye Institute, L V PrasadMarg, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad 500 034, India. 2.Bausch & Lomb School of Optometry, L V Prasad Eye Institute,Hyderabad 500 034, India. 3.Dana Center for Preventive Ophthalmol-ogy,Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA. 4.School of Optometry & Vision Science, University of New SouthWales, Sydney 2033, Australia. 5.CommunityHealth&Nu-tritionO� ce, Area Hospital, Kandukur, PrakasamDistrict, AP 523105, India.]Correspondence should be addressed to Srinivas Marmamula; srioptom@lvpei.orgReceived 7 April 2013; Revised 4 June

2013; Accepted 10 June 2013 Academ-ic Editor: Alberto Raggi Copyright © 2013 Srinivas Marmamula et al. This is an open access article distributed un-der the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background: There is limited research conducted on uncor-rected refractive errors, presbyopia, and spectacles use among the elderly pop-ulation in residential care in developing countries such as India.We conducted a cross-sectional study among elderly in residential care to assess the spectacle coverage and spectacles usage in the south Indian state ofAndhra Pradesh. Methods. All 524 residents in the 26 “homes for aged” institutions in the district were enumerated. Eye examina-

tion was performed that included visual acuity (VA) assessment for distant and near vision. A questionnaire was used to collect information on spectacles use. Results. 494/524 individuals were exam-ined, 78% were women, and 72% had no education.Themean age of participants was 70 years.The spectacle coverage for refractive errorswas 35.1% and 23.9% for presbyopia. The prevalence of cur-rent use and past use of spectacles was 38.5% (95% CI: 34.2–42.8; n = 190) and 17.2% (95% CI: 13.9–42.8), respective-ly. Conclusions: There is low spectacle coverage for both refractive errors and presbyopia among elderly individuals in residential care in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Appropriate service delivery systems should be developed to reach out to this vulnerable group of seniors on a priority basis.

Spectacle Coverage and Spectacles Use among Elderly Population in Residential Care in AP

Announcing the successful candidates for the ALAF round 13 of the Optometry Fac-ulty Development Program scheduled for Aug 12-20, 2013 in Sydney, anchored by the Brien Holden Vision Institute, Sydney with support from India Vision Instt. Aus-tralia Awards Fellowships aim to devel-op leadership, address priority regional development issues, build partnerships & links between Australian organiza-tions and their partners in developing

countries in Asia-Pacifi c, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East. Ms Jayarajini Vasanth, Sri Ramach-andra Univ & Research Instt, Chennai. Jyothi Thomas, Manipal College of Allied Health Sciences, Manipal. Mr Kartheek Kumar Sangewar & Mr Shyam Sunder Tummanapalli, Bausch & Lomb School of Optometry, L V Prasad Eye Instt, ,Hy-derabad. Mr Nirav Kumar Mehta, Hari Jyot College of Optometry, Navsari. Sou-

mendra Nath Ghosh, NSHM Knowledge Campus, Kolkata. ALL the successful awardees are from ASCO’s member col-leges ! Furthermore, Jayarajini & Nirav Mehta are ASCO’s Representatives for Chennai & Gujarat respectively. Sou-mendra was ASCO’s Regional Rep East. ASCO extends hearty congrats and best wishes for continued success to all of themt!

Australian Leadership Awards Fellowships (ALAF) ASCO SCORES A SIXER!

2013 is a busy year for the International Association of Contact Lens Educators with growth in all activities & important changes to its management & structure.Membership rose by 8% to 839, in Jan to June, across 68 countries including over 200 from industry. There are now 285 FI-

ACLE Fellows worldwide. IACLE reached more than 20,000 students in 600 aca-demic institutions during this period. AGM was held in Manchester to coin-cide with the British Contact Lens Asso-ciation’s Clinical Conference. IACLE was registered as a not-for-profi t corporation

in Ontario, Canada in May 2013, having moved its secretariat from Australia. Much of IACLE funding continued to come from its sponsoring companies, Platinum Sponsor Alcon, Gold Sponsors CooperVision and The Vision Care Insti-tute of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care,

IACLE expands its activities as membership grows

There is an acute need to develop the ‘vision’ for eye amongst our citizens and spreading awareness about the Optom-etry Profession, specifi cally about Op-tometrists. We are initiating this eff ort with support from ASCO-India. VisionCareIndia is a project specifi cally designed to create a platform that will bring all stakeholders in eye care frater-nity in a collaborative environment that will break the traditional boundaries of knowledge and wisdom sharing. In the fi rst stage of this project, we are devel-

oping two blogging sites. One will be available for Citizens and Patients. Other site will be accessible to Professionals by Invitation only, where the blogs will be by Professionals for Professionals. Sample blogs for Citizen Website are available on http://www.blogs.vision-careindia.org. Second website http://www.problogs.visioncareindia.org, will be launched soon after adequate contri-bution of blogs by professionals. There are a lot of experiences that can-not be exactly converted into Research

Work, for sheer lack of numbers, meth-odology, etc. However, these experi-ences are worth sharing for the eyecare fraternity. We request you to participate in this eff ort with your blogs for both Cit-izens as well as Professionals. Please send your blogs to blogs@visioncareindia.org. For any query, please contact us on 09823458799.Our exploration in the Optometry Pro-fession brings a new dimension in en-hancing growth for Optometrists. Vi-sionCareIndia will be an exciting place to be in.

VisionCareIndia (An initiative by EnhanSight Online)

LEARN MORE on CONTACT LENSES: Specialty Contact Lens fi tting –1st Sept 2013 Contact lens specialists have al-ways recognized the importance of contact lens fi tting in pre post surgical corneas and irregular corneas. Because these corneas may be aff ected by pre existing diseases, degeneration, or the after eff ects of surgery, contact lens fi t-ting requires the utmost skill and dedi-cation. The current scenario of custom-ers/patients expectations is to have a closer proximity of their visiting doctors / Eye care practitioners. Having knowl-

edge and skill in fi tting irregular corneas is like adding feather to your cap to at-tract more patients to your practice.DROPOUTS: ONE is TOO MANY!REDUCING DROPOUTS and MAKING A PROFITABLE PRACTICE – 10th Nov 2013 Knowing the subject is knowledge, us-ing the knowledge rightly is wisdom. It is important for contact lens practi-tioners to keep a watch on updates and convert the practice to current scenario. Also the success of any practice is count-ed by “How many loyal customers or pa-tients do they have?” To have longevity

of practice & loyal customers it is import-ant to have a watch on dropouts. This session helps you to apply the knowl-edge and reduce dropouts in a contact lens practice. This session also gives an update on latest developments and trends in contact lens practices world wide. Eligibility: Min 2 years diploma or 4 years degree optometry Registration Fees: Rs. 500/- for each workshop, Max-imum 50 registrants only on fi rst come fi rst serve basis Venue:Medical Research Foundation, 18 College Rd, Chennai 06. clresearch@snmail.org (M) 9384853003

Sankara Nethralaya Invites You to Unique Contact Lens Workshops

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN OPTOMETRY

In cooperation with

Degree Completion Program November 2013 - February 2015

Capacity is limited. For more information, please visit us online. To submit your application, please visit our online application system.

If you have further questions, please contact the program coordinator via email at bscindia@salus.edu.

Expand your knowledge base and skill set in the screening, diagnosis, management, and co-management of ophthalmic conditions. This unique collaboration is the first of its kind between the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University, USA and three prestigious organizations in India: Sankara Eye Care Institutions, Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry, and Chitkara University.

Application Deadline: August 1, 2013

The program is designed for practitioners with a two-year diploma who are interested in pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Optometry. It will be offered in four locations: Bangalore, Ludhiana, Anand and Guntur. The program features lectures and clinical procedural labs taught by world-renowned educators.

Bronze Sponsors Bausch + Lomb and Abbott Medical Optics. The fi rst web lec-tures were broadcast live in India & the Americas, and would soon be rolled out to other priority institutions in the Asia Pacifi c and Latin America regions. ‘The technology works and feedback was excellent,’. ‘For an organization like ours, good internet connections allow us to reach our members and students world-wide with high quality lectures. This is

a major initiative for us which we’ll ex-pand in future years.’ IACLE will be run-ning a further 10 Members’ Meetings and Train-the Trainer Programs in 2013, primarily targeting priority countries. It will also produce educational videos, and compile a collection of industry/member-donated videos, to be available on its website and YouTube. Director of Operations Bonnie Boshart said: ‘It’s en-

couraging to see growth in all our key per-formance indicators and new initiatives such as our web lectures taking shape. We have very ambitious plans for the rest of this year and beyond.’ She thanked IACLE’s industry partners for their continuing sup-port.’ International Association of Contact Lens Educators iacle@iacle.org www.iacle.org IACLE thanks the sponsors of global con-tact lens education

CALLING ALL D.OPTOMS & D.OA’S ! HURRY!

Refractive Error: Situational Analysis:1. Uncorrected refractive error is the major cause of avoidable vision impair-ment, and the second most common cause of blindness in India. 2. In India, an estimated 41 million people are blind or vision impaired from uncorrected distance refractive error. 3. Uncorrect-ed presbyopia accounts for another 91 million people vision impaired people in India. 4. Impairment due to eye disease is estimated to be at least 26 million, of whom almost seven million are blind. 5. Almost half the population of India (i.e. 469 million people) have some form of refractive error, and around 133 million of them are blind or vision impaired as a result of lack of correction, including 11 million children. 6. Refractive error is easily diagnosed and measured. It is the most treatable cause of vision impair-ment – in most cases, an eye examina-tion and a pair of spectacles is the only form of treatment needed. 7. Millions of

people in India still do not have access to basic eye care and refractive services – mainly due to a shortage of trained professional manpower. esp optom-etrists. 8. The above fi gures multiply dramatically in villages as compared to towns and cities, as most of the profes-sionals are clustered in the bigger cities and towns. Present Available Solutions:1. Though eff orts have been made to man the PHCs etc in villages, they have not yielded fruitful results. 2. Even stu-dents from villages when professional-ly trained; migrate to cities and bigger towns in search of better professional opportunities. Hence the lacunae con-tinue in the villages where the needs are most. 3. The secondary referral centers concentrate on more advanced abnor-malities than refractive error. Possible solution and partnership: 1. At present, there are approximately 140 Schools & Colleges of Optometry across India. 2. We envisage all the schools to off er 4

year degree courses by 2020 (At present a sizeable number of them o� er diploma in Optometry).3. We are making eff orts to upgrade & update the existing diploma holders to degree level. 4. On behalf of small-er towns and villages, each optometry school would pledge to adopt villages (numbers based on student & faculty strength of the schools). 5. Third year students would be posted in vision cen-ters in villages on a rotation basis to di-agnose and treat the conditions falling under their purview and further refer and co manage cases along with other professionals. 6. The interns in the fi nal year would be posted residentially for a good part of their internship to man the vision centers. 7. These measures would decrease the blindness due to refractive errors and other vision threatening dis-eases and disorders. Colleges eager to participate contact Prof P Sudarshan in-tellsouthtech@gmail.com

ROLE OF OPTOMETRY SCHOOLS IN EYE CARE DELIVERY SYSTEM

Hubert Sagnieres, chairman & CEO of Essilor, the world’s largest maker of oph-thalmic lenses, said India loses $37 bil-lion (about Rs 203,500 crore) in annual pro-ductivity on account of poor eye vision among its people. Sagnieres, who was in Bangalore for the launch of a global institute to create awareness about the socio-economic impact of poor vision, was quoting from a recent study by the World Health Organization (WHO). The study estimates that there are 550 mil-lion people in India - about half its pop-ulation-who require vision correction but are not adopting means to correct it. In many cases, people, particularly children, are not aware they need vision correction. “The brain compensates for the loss of sight for some years, and the mind gets used to it. But beyond a point, the brain cannot handle it,” Sagnieres said. He recollected coming across a 12-year-old child in a school with severe myopia that was discovered only during a vision testing session. “Nobody had realized she had a problem. The teacher told me the student was very attentive

in the � rst hours of school, but would go into a dream-like state later in the day. The brain would compensate for the vision problem initially, but then got tired,” he said. Visual problems have a direct and serious impact on children’s grades in school. In India, 41% of children (under 18 years) are estimated to need visual correction but are not corrected. About 42% of workers, 42% of drivers and 45% of elderly people are similarly placed. Jayanth Bhuvaraghan, who heads the Paris-based Essilor’s new Vision Impact Institute, said they had tested 2,100 drivers at the Bengaluru International Airport, and over 25% of them needed eyeglasses for vision correction. “Some 60% of road accidents around the world happens because of poor vision of the driver,” he said. A study among Indian workers, he said, found that vision cor-rection led to an over 30% increase in their incomes & a 25% increase in pro-ductivity. Dr Pradeep AV, assistant pro-fessor in Dharwad-based SDM College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, said there was a defi nite lack of awareness

among people about impaired vision. “There is also some resistance to wearing spectacles among villagers for the fear of looking older. Last week I conducted a camp in Dharwad where 40 out of 100 people had impaired vision.” WHO esti-mates that globally poor vision results in an economic productivity loss of $275 billion, with China accounting for the biggest chunk of that at $65 billion. Some 4.2 billion people, or two-thirds of the world population of 7 billion, are estimated to have impaired vision. But only 1.7 billion of those adopt vision correction methods. The Vision Impact Institute will work with governments to generate awareness about the problem and frame relevant policies. It will work with universities to conduct further re-search. Essilor, which markets brands like Crizal, Varilux and Transitions, fi nds that a big problem in countries like India was also the poor accessibility to correc-tive lenses. There’s just 1 eyeglass store for 70,000 people now, against the re-quired ratio of 1 to 10,000. “India needs over 100,000 new stores,” Sagnieres said.

ESSILOR CHIEF on Economic Loss of poor Vision in India

Hari Jyot College of Optometry is a pre-mier educational institute of Gujarat. It is a self-fi nanced college with its own gov-

erning board and is managed by Rotary Eye Institute. It has successfully com-pleted seven years since inception. Affi l-

iation is with Veer Narmad South Gujarat Univ, Surat. In 2010 they also started the Masters course.

HARI JYOT COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY ROTARY EYE INSTITUTE (REI)

Community ophthalmology in nigeria

ASCO-LCO-SightSavers PROJECT: Low Vision Awareness for Special EducatorsAs part of the ASCO-LCO-Sight Savers Project, Low Vision clinics have been established in Optometry Colleges in Maharashtra and the Southern States. Comprehensive Kits to set up primary LV clinics were granted to member-col-leges that participated in TWO training batches held in 2013. Some participat-ing colleges already had full clinics. To increase referrals to all these LV clinics,

we are launching an awareness program in Maharashtra & the Southern States for special educators. This could be through Sarva Shikshan Abhyan (contact details were shared with LV faculty trainees during training at Lotus College of Op-tometry (LCO), Mumbai). We are plan-ning programs in each of the southern states AND Maharashtra. Faculty from Mumbai (if required) or local faculty could be empowered to do a one-day workshop for special educators. All

costs incurred could be borne from the SightSavers grant. We can do 5 such pro-grams to start with and budget around Rs 15,000/- per workshop, with about 20 educators in each. We encourage the ASCO member-Colleges who received LV Clinic kits AND those who already had such clinics, to host and conduct.If interested in hosting please contact: Prof P Sudarshan,CEO, ASCO-India.(M) 098454-11129 intellsouthtech@gmail.com

ASCO LV Project-Awareness Workshops for Special Educators

The Rotary Eye Institute is a leading charitable eye hospital at Navsari. Since 1977 it is serving economically un-derprivileged families of Gujarat and neighboring tribal areas of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. It oper-ates a 150-bed hospital with high tech ophthalmology equipment. There are 10 full time ophthalmic surgeons and 90 others including Nursing, Para-medic and administrative. The OPD examines about 150 eye patients a day with spe-cialized clinics: Cornea & Contact Lens, Retina & Vitreous, Glaucoma, Squint & Orthoptics. Providing total eye care un-der one roof, the institute also houses a Pharmacy, Pathology Lab and Optical manufacturing cum dispatching unit.The Institute organizes over 300 free eye camps annually. Till date 9,844 eye camps were held. Every day…one camp! More than 2million patients have been served. More than 2.6 lakhs were oper-ated. REI has set up Nine satellite centers in tribal areas in and around Navsari, Val-sad, Surat & Tapi Districts. Community Ophthalmology in NigeriaNine very successful sojourns to Nigeria serving more than 86,000 and carrying out more than 9,000 surgeries. Students are supported by selecting them for this international community work. Techni-cal assistance was provided to establish the fi rst Eye Bank in Nigeria.COLLEGE PROJECTS:The college has done many projects and was represented in various conferences such as Asia Pacifi c Optometry Confer-ence, Dr E Vaithilingam annual session. Students’ Project topics selected at var-ious fora:1.Induced astigmatism in suturless small

incision cataract surgery using superior and temporal incision-Dr E Vaithilingam conference, Chennai, 2010-2011. 2.Com-parative study on saccadic and pursu-ity eye movements, stereo acuity and accommodative facility in amblyopic normal individual, 18th APOC, Singa-pore and Dr E Vaithilingam conference, Chennai, 2010-2011. 3.Clinical profi le of pre & post exercise status of Accom-modation & Convergence in Diamond Workers, 18th APOC, Singapore 4.Tech-nology based home vision screening & creating awareness on Eye health, Dr E Vaithilingam conference, Chennai, 2011-2012 5.Comparison of corneal curvature and axial length between Indian and Nigerian population, Dr E Vaithilingam conference, Chennai, 2011-2012.Bausch & Lomb conducts regular Mas-termind in the Campus. Every year Essilor provides practical and product training for students. Ciba Vision also supports the college for better and higher quality education. Hari Jyot is the very fi rst life member of ASCO. It is closely associated with International centre for eye care Education (ICEE) & International Associ-ation of Contact Lens Educators (IACLE) Faculty of the college continuously up-date themselves in various conferences and educational meets such as Interna-tional Association of Preventive blind-ness (IAPB), Eyeteach program by India vision institute, Pedagogic training for faculty held at Manipal, IACLE’s train the trainer program, ASCO’s Faculty Training program in Low Vision, etc. Nirav Mehta was selected for fellowship under Aus-tralia Leadership Awards, Aug 2013 at Sydney.All students do their internship in the

Rotary Eye Hospital in various depart-ments. Students get skilled in clinical work, dispensing,, community work, OT and ward duties. They are exposed to Eye Donation program as well. Stu-dents get vast experience with all spe-cialized instruments such as Perimetry, OCT, FFA, specular microscopy, A scan, B scan, IOL master. Education tours are held annually: Contact Lens at the vision care institute of Johnson & Johnson at Gurgaon, Essilor Ophthalmic training and workshop, Bangalore. Graduating students are recruited by Optical Chains such as Titan eye +, Vision Express, Hi-malaya Opticals, as well as Eye Hospitals. Students are also working with many private practitioners and many alumni have started their own private practice. Some have become successful entre-preneurs! Hari Jyot college of Optometry Rotary Eye institute, Opp. Fire Brigade Sta-tion, Dudhia Talav, Navsari -396445, Guja-rat. O� ce 02637-251458 rotary@admin.org Mr. Nirav Mehta, Incharge/principal (M) 7359856999nirmehta2020@yahoo.co.in

Project ‘March Ahead’, to support Indi-an Optometry Colleges to reach global standards.1.THREE PARTNERS: ASCO, Industry part-ner & the Optometry College 2.Upto 5 colleges who volunteer in each zone, starting with ASCO member colleges 3.Comprehensive, holistic advisory & support service to become a world class optometry Institute! 4.Upto 5 lacs fi nancial support per college from the Eye Care Industry Partner 5.Proposal/case study for each college starting with latest professional Infrastructure Mapping (IM). 6.ASCO member-colleges only in phase I, non-member colleges in phase II 7.Leads also to rating & ranking by ASCO AND facilitates accreditation 8.Project duration of max 6 months for each college 9.No fi nancial outlay by partner-colleges! 10.Overall responsibil-ity on ASCO, to be shared by all partners

Dear Optometry College Head,The demand for high quality optometry graduates has never been greater in our country!There is a glaring shortage of Optom-etrists in eye hospitals, optical chains, teaching & research institutions. All of them are in despair to get quality op-tometrists at all levels. If this gap persists, India simply cannot meet its Eye Care targets, with its enormous population suff ering from correctible blindness. There is a pressing need to enhance the intake of students in our optome-

try colleges, to provide diploma holders more locations, seats and opportuni-ties to become graduates through ‘lat-eral entry’ with fl exible class-timings/weekend programs, without the need to give up their jobs and/or relocate themselves. (The unique Chitkara Univ-San-kara-ASCO-Salus Univ initiative for lateral en-try is a pacesetter & trendsetter. See article in this issue). Nevertheless, Optometry Ed-ucation today in India, mandates MORE colleges across the length and breadth of the country. Existing colleges that are successful should set up new ones else-where on priority. See WHY START AN OPTP-METRY COLLEGE - this issue.Optometry colleges also have no choice but to grapple with the accelerating de-velopments in the fi eld in all specialties: Clinical optometry, LV, BV, CL, Dispens-ing Optics AND in Public Health & Com-munity Optometry [read about ASCO’s Fellowship Program’s (FASCO) special-ties in this issue]. Advances in Scientifi c Research and technology development are rapid and must be assimilated fast in the curricula, classrooms, labs, clinics and all patient-interface in our colleges. Faculty training and re-training are im-perative [see articles on ASCO’s COEs and Low Vision Faculty Training-3rd Batch]. A close compact with industry must be developed and strengthened to sustain the relevance of educational institutions. We must, without hesitancy, aspire to attain world standards in Indi-an Optometry Education.

Quality publications & Quality Research plus Technology Development should no longer remain the preserve of the developed countries. Isn’t it astonishing that a great deal of optometry research, publications & technology development ABROAD is actually done by Indians!? Let’s facilitate such work right here in our country! An immediate priority is to strengthen and elevate our existing op-tometry colleges HOLISTICALLY! For this purpose a hands-on advisory service project, PROJECT MARCH AHEAD, has been planned by ASCO.About 25 colleges will participate in this project, in the 1st phase steered by ASCO which has nearly 40 colleges in 2013 across India as its valued mem-bers. 5 highly reputed Optical Chains/Industries along with ASCO will provide professional hand-holding support to elevate the participating colleges in this 6 months-1yr project. In the second phase colleges that are not members of ASCO will be invited. The fi nancial sup-port to participant colleges will not ex-ceed Rs 5 lacs. The senior professionals of ASCO & the partner-industry will pro-vide maximum PROFESSIONAL INPUTS to the college. PHASE I:Member-Colleges

of ASCO are � rst required to volunteer for this

project. ASCO targets 5 colleges in each region

(NORTH +CENTRAL,NORTH-EAST,EAST,WEST-

SOUTH). For regn: Prof P Sudarshan, CEO, AS-

CO-India (M)+919845411129 intellsouthtech@

gmail.com [ASCO thanks member-colleges

who have already registered]

ASCO-Industry Project to Elevate Optometry Colleges

Workshop on EyeTeach Research Methodology

and Public Eye Health: IVI is pleased to announce

EyeTeach Research Methodology Workshop on

29-30 July, 2013 at Amity Univ, Gurgaon. It will be

led by Prof Kovin Naidoo and Dr Jyoti Jaggernath

from AVRI and will bring together educators and

researchers in optometry to discuss key meth-

odological concepts, developing and writing a

research proposal, undertaking a critical and

relevant literature review, research report plan-

ning and writing, qualitative & quantitative data

analysis and issues in eye care research. IVI is also

organizing workshop on Public Eye Health on 31

July 2013. The workshop will be led by Prof Kovin

Naidoo, Dr Jyoti Jaggernath & Dr Praveen Vashisht

bringing together Optometrists to assess commu-

nity needs for vision care services, to determine

which health factors contribute to treatment &

prevention of visual system anomalies, to devel-

op and apply quality assurance systems, to par-

ticipate and provide leadership in health-related

agencies, and to foster public awareness of the

need for vision care. IVI Student Research Grants:

IVI is pleased to announce fi ve research grants

worth INR 8000 each for optometry students

pursuing Bachelors & Masters in Optometry to

undertake research projects. The grant will sup-

port creative and innovative research to further

develop the optometry profession. To be eligible

for consideration, proposals must be submitted

no later than 30 Aug, 2013. IVI Online seminar

series: IVI announces online seminar series for op-

tometry students. This seminar series introduces a

wide range of topics in optometry which includes

recent advancements in optometry, career op-

portunities, evolving research areas, experiences

of key industry experts, among several others.

Optometry schools across India are invited to par-

ticipate in this seminar series which will be held

once every month starting from August 2013. In-

dividual schools are requested to make necessary

arrangements for eff ective delivery of the program

and group students based on the seminar topic.

Owing to technical specifi cations, invitations are

open to 25 schools this year. Also note that appli-

cations will be prioritized based on received date.

For further details please visit www.indiavisioninstitute.org

or write to ivi@indiavisioninstitute.org. Last date for regn is

fast approaching!

Upcoming programs- IVI

Eye research centre & Dr Agarwal’s eye hospital started Shri Prakash Institute of Optometry in 2006. Eye research centre, run by Dr.Agarwal’s eye hospitals, is a non-profi t organization committed to eradicate blindness. Dr. Agarwal’s eye hospital is one of the leading eye care centres in India with state of the art di-agnostic and treatment facilities. Hos-pital was promoted by internationally renowned Prof Dr Amar Agarwal who is at the forefront of Ophthalmology, intro-ducing its latest advances in India. The surgical techniques, developing surgical equipments or instruments, all high-light the ongoing research in the insti-tute and skills of the ophthalmologists. Shri Prakash institute of Optometry is co-located with Dr Agarwal’s eye hospi-

tal, Chennai, with spacious class rooms, library and modern instructional infra-structure & facilities. Objective of the college: To prepare a cadre of optome-trists as •Primary eye care professionals by providing institutional education and clinical training. •Professionals to inde-pendently perform the diff erent tasks of routine clinical eye examination that in-clude refraction, detection of any patho-logical disorders of the eye and visual system •Trained professionals for inde-pendent prescription for all types of op-tical corrections that include spectacles, contact lens, low vision aids and vision therapy exercises. •Tutors and faculty in an optometry institute •Researchers in fi elds like contact lens, low vision, sports

vision etc. At present the college off ers following courses: Certifi cate in oph-thalmic techniques (1 yr); Certifi cate in ophthalmic assistance (1 yr); Diploma in ophthalmic techniques (2 yr); Diploma in ophthalmic assistance (2 yr); Bachelor in optometry (4 yr) Achievements (just a bird’s eye view): •The college started with 8 students in the fi rst batch. Now there are 35 students in each batch, the maximum per univ norms •College has produced university toppers every year •Has topped in various quiz competi-tions organized by Sri Ramachandra uni-versity •Has organized public awareness exhibitions on various blindness caus-ing diseases [Chitkara Univ, Dept of Health Sciences, is also becoming an ASCO member]

Eye research centre & Dr Agarwal’s eye

Shri Prakash Institute of Optometry, Chennai LATEST ASCO-MEMBER

Computer Vision Syndrome Class Cultural Program Future Optometrists Zulaiha Mariam University Gold Medalist

Vishnupriya, University Gold Medalist Student Initiatives

RBI notifi cations/guidelines for model education loan specify the eligibility and terms for education loans in India. According to the scheme, commercial banks cannot reject student loan for amounts less than 4 Lakh for any stu-dent with a valid admission into a UGC recognized course. According to the guideline, the banks cannot charge any upfront processing fees; the repayment starts 1 year after the completion of the course. Moreover, the banks should not require any guarantee or collateral for loans under 4 Lakh. Source: RBI noti� ca-tion outlining the scheme: http://tinyurl.com/rbioutlining RBI noti� cation clarify-ing “Service Area” requirement:http://tinyurl.com/rbiserviceareaSummary of information in the notifi ca-tions: Student Eligibility: Student should be Indian national and should have se-cured admission to qualifying course. Educational Institutions/Courses Cov-ered: Almost every recognized institute

and course. Studies in India: •School ed-ucation including plus 2 stage •Gradua-tion courses : BA, B.Com., B.Sc., etc. •Post Graduation courses: Masters & Phd. •Pro-fessional courses : Engineering, Medi-cal, Agriculture, Veterinary, Law, Dental, Management, Computer etc. •Computer certifi cate courses of reputed institutes accredited to Dept. of Electronics or in-stitutes affi liated to university. •Courses like ICWA, CA, CFA etc •Courses conduct-ed by IIM, IIT, IISc, XLRI, NIFT etc. •Courses off ered in India by reputed foreign uni-versities. •Evening courses of approved institutes. •Other courses leading to diploma/ degree etc. conducted by col-leges/ universities approved by UGC/ Govt./ AICTE/ AIBMS/ ICMR etc. •Courses off ered by National Institutes and other reputed private institutions. Banks may have the system of appraising other in-stitution courses depending on future prospects/ recognition by user insti-tutions. Studies abroad :- •Graduation:

For job oriented professional/ technical courses off ered by reputed universities. •Post graduation: MCA, MBA, MS, etc. •Courses conducted by CIMA- London, CPA in USA etc. Interest Rate: Should not exceed Prime Lending Rate for loans below 4 Lakh. Prime Lending Rate + 1% for amounts above 4 Lakh. Collateral/Guarantees Requirements: No collateral or guarantee required for loans below 4Lakh. Repayment Period: repayment starts 1 year after course completion. Loan to be repaid in 5 to 7 years after the start of repayment. Domicile Require-ments: Students need not reside in the service area of the bank. Bank cannot reject the application because the stu-dent resides outside its service area. (RBI notifi cation clarifying the same). Par-ticipating Banks: All commercial banks (nationalized and private). For any clari� -cations reqd. contact : swapnild@gmail.com

RBI Guidelines for Model Education Loans

VERY LOW INTEREST EDUCATIONAL LOANS FOR OPTOMETRY STUDIES

Program Objective

Role of Optometry College:• To assess the student’s ability to repay

the loan• To collect data of the student and

facilitate loan applications• Provide quarterly attendance and

progress reports of the student(s) to Rang De.

• Collection of repayments from the students and remittance to Rang De.

Role of Rang De: • To raise funds for the students &

provide them low cost credit • To protect the interests of the

social investors through constant communication

• Funds raised by Rang De will be paid directly to the institute

• Share monthly progress reports with the social investors

• Provide an online loan tracking system

Role of ASCO : To act as facilitator

Role of the Student: • Agrees for inclusion of life, health and

accident insurance in the loan amount• Ensure that the loan is repaid in full

before pursuing higher studies • Agrees to pay a small amount as

repayment every month to ensure continuous engagement

Loan Eligibility• Loan will be provided only to students

of optometry colleges that are ASCO

members. Students must be from low income families with family income income not exceeding Rs 80,000 in rural areas and Rs 120,000 in urban areas

• Student (if above 18) and parent/guardian to be co applicants for the loan

Loan Product:

The loan will be provided for all 3 years of the course at the start of the course every year. The candidate will be provided a principal repayment moratorium until course completion, after which the principal repayments will start. The interest will be paid by the candidate monthly

Loan amount Upto Rs 50,000 per year for 3 yearsLoan tenure 1st year 5 years

2nd year 4 years3rd year 3 years

Repayment moratorium Course duration for principal repaymentINTEREST RATE 3% FLAT (SIMPLE INTEREST)Repayment mode Monthly

The program aims to support Optometry students with low cost loans for pursuing B.Optom course. The loans will be provided to students from very low income background through a tripartite arrangement between Rang De, ASCO and the College. The loans will be backed by a guarantee from another agency.

Already 2 Optometry Colleges in Mumbai & B’lore have signed MOU’s. Several Loans to students sanctioned/processed.

VA Charts 4MLogMar Chart-Distant LogMar Chart-near Hand Magnifi ers SPOT MAGNIFIER 2.5X,3.5X 8D LED HAND HELD 12D HAND HELD 44 D ILLUMINATED

Stand Magnifi er 8D WHITE LED 36D WHITE LED 36D STAND MAGNIFIER DOME MAGNIFIER 2X Telescopes 4 X telescope 6 X Telescope Spectacle Magnifi ers 5D

Spectacle Mgn with prism 8D Spectacle Mgn with prism 10D Spectacle Mgnf Half Eyed 12D Spectacle Mgnf Half Eyed 16D Spectacle Mgnf Half Eyed 20D Spec-

tacle Mgnf Half Eyed 24D Spectacle Mgnf Half Eyed Non Optical Notex Letter Writing guide Signature Guide Cheque Guide Needle Threader

LV PRIMARY CLINIC KIT Granted to Colleges (Value: Rs. 70,000), by ASCO-Sight Savers Project

ASCO acknowledges support from India Vision Institute, Brien Holden Vision Institute, ‘Optometry Giving Sight’ and Sightsavers

TEAM ASCO: President: Vivek Mendonsa vivekm@asco-india.org; Vice President: Aditya Goyal vpresident@asco-india.org, adityagoyal@hotmail.com; Hon. Secy: Ramesh S Ve ramesh.sve@manipal.edu, optoramesh_gp@yahoo .com; Treasurer: Prema Chande treasurer@asco-india.org, premachande@hotmail.com; CEO: Prof P Sudarshan intellsouthtech@gmail.com; NORTH REP: Monica Chaudhr y monica.rchaudhry@gmail.com; NCR: Bhupesh Chanana Punjab:

Preethi Pradhan preethi@chitkara.edu.in; UP: Imran Ahmad Ansari imranoptom@gmail.com; Rajasthan: Manish Khanna manish27057977@gmail.com; WEST REP: Veshal Madan dypopts@gmail.com; Maharashtra: Komal Chaurasia Mumbai: Hiral Korani hiralkorani@gmail.com; Gujarat: Nirav Mehta

nirmehta2020@yahoo .co.in; Ahmedabad: Usman Memon usmmemon@yahoo.co.in; MP: Anitha anitha2001arvind@gmail.com; WB: Pablo Chandra pablo.chandra@

gmail.com; NORTH EAST REP: Soujanya Mondal ridleycollegecpeh@gmail.com; Mizoram, Tripura & Nagaland: Firdoos Khan SOUTH REP:saranya Balasubramaniam; TN : Pamela Suresh pamela.vasaninstitute@gmail.com; Chennai: Jayarajini Vasanth harshrajvas@yahoo.com; Karnataka: Ramesh S Ve optoramesh_gp@yahoo.com; Bangalore: R Diwakar dot_diwakar@yahoo.co.in; Dr Rishi Bhardwa j, Vice Principal, Netradhama School of Optometr y, Bangalore

dr.rishi.bhardwaj@gmail.com AP: Kiran Challa kiranopt@gmail.com; Kerala: Md Kunhi kmk@live.in; NATIONAL REPS: Yogita Rajgandhi & Jayanta Bhattacharjee

43 Amrut K eshav Naik Marg , Fort, Mumbai 400001 .

Tel: 022-22012358 | F ax: 022-2207004 8

From ASCO

Optometrists, whether employed in Eye Hospitals/clinics, as faculty in Op-tometry Colleges, as researchers, as practitioners in optical chains/stores or self-employed, all need continuous training inputs to update them in their specialties with developments in India & abroad AND refresh them for their voca-tion and profession. The important spe-cialties are CLINICAL OPTOMETRY, LOW VISION, BINOCULAR VISION & THERAPY, DISPENSING OPTICS, CONTACT LENS, PUBLIC HEALTH & COMMUNITY OPTO-METRY. [ASCO has already started unique All-India Fellowships in ALL these specialties under the Fellow-ASCO (FASCO) program. 45 candidates from all across India have regis-tered for the rigorous FASCO 2013-14 pro-cess, open to any optometrist.] ASCO & the India Vision Institute have now launched a series of COEs in the same themes

across India, covering all regions. Three one-day COEs were held in Kolkata at Vidyasagar College of Optometry and Vision Science (VCOVS) on 3rd, 4th, 5th July, drawing participants from the East-ern & North-Eastern regions of India. The COEs were on BV, LV & Dispensing Optics steered by Mr Aditya Goyal, Principal, Sankara College of Optometry, Banga-lore & Vice President, ASCO; Ms Prema Chande, Principal-Lotus College of Op-tometry, Mumbai & Governing body member-ASCO; and Ms Paula Mehta, Faculty, Lotus College of Optometry, re-spectively. Despite the short notice, par-ticipation was very high averaging more than 30 each. All COEs enthusiastically received and appreciated. Registration fees were kept very low.In August we will conduct these three COEs on consecutive days in Chennai

and one COE focusing on Refraction & Dispensing at Patna. In September there will be 3 COEs in NCR and ONE else-where. THE EXACT VENUES, DATES will be notifi ed soon. Such COEs plus COEs in other specialties will be held averaging 4 or more in a month. The likely venues will be NORTH-NCR, CHANDIGARH, JAI-PUR, LUCKNOW, PATNA; WEST-MUMBAI, PUNE, AHMEDABAD; SOUTH-CHENNAI, COIMBATORE, BANGALORE, MANIPAL/MANGALORE, HYDERABAD, CALICUT, COCHIN; NORTHEAST-GUWAHATI, SHIL-LONG and other locations, in Optometry institutions. We invite potential spon-sors and host colleges, AND potential participants to register their interest im-mediately. Please contact Prof P Sudarshan, CEO-AS-CO intellsouthtech@gmail.com (M) +91-98454-11129

Aditya Goyal-Principal Sankara College of Optometry && Vice President-ASCO-BV COE-Kolkata July 3

Dr Debashish Kar-Director Vidyasagar College of Optometry with COE partici-pants-July 3

Prema Chande-Principal Lotus Colege of Optometry-COE in Low Vision-Kolkata July 4

Prof Paula Mehta, Faculty, Lotus College - COE in Dispensing Optics, Kolkata July 5

Optometry Training - Continuous Education : All India Initiative of ASCO & IVI