Blindness is a major public health problem in India with an estimated 12 million blind persons in the country. To tackle this problem, National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCB&VI) was launched in the year 1976 as a 100% centrally sponsored scheme (now 60:40 in all states and 90:10 in NE States) with the goal of reducing the prevalence of blindness from 1.4% (1974) to 0.3% by the year 2020 by developing eye care infrastructure, human resources, improving accessibility quality of eye care services.  Rapid Survey on Avoidable Blindness conducted under NPCB during 2006-07 showed reduction in the prevalence of blindness from1.1% (2001-02) to 1.0% (2006-07).