Put Your Glasses On: The Indian Economy Needs the Wonder of Clear Vision
In India, an estimated 55 Crore people require eyeglasses (spectacles) for vision correction, the lack of clear vision leading to loss of billions of dollars to the country’s economy. Blurry vision (refractive error) compromises one’s ability to work effectively, to read and learn in school, and to navigate surroundings with ease and safety. For those affected by blurry vision, this visual divide can mean the difference between income and poverty.
This is a critical period in the socio-economic life of our nation. India has slipped out of the top 5 in the global GDP rankings and now occupies the 7th position. A series of macro and microeconomic measures would be required for India to gets its place back in the sun and reach the Government of India’s ambitious goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025. It is important to take urgent action to rekindle the “animal spirits”, as Keynes famously said. One of the simplest and easily doable interventions is to help 55 Crore people see clearly by providing them with a simple pair of eyeglasses that they need to live full productive lives.
Eyeglasses can significantly enhance the quality of life and increase the happiness of nations. A recent study published in Lancet has shown that eyeglasses can lead to a productivity increase of up to 32 per cent. This is the largest recorded productivity increase through a health intervention and can change the course of an individual or nation’s destiny. Eyeglasses can have an instant and life-changing impact because of the wonder of clear vision through a Chamatkari Chashma. This can help create a productive and efficient workforce, enhance employability, resilient communities, enhance educational outcomes, and contribute towards road safety. All of these are catalytic ingredients for increasing the economic potential of low-income workers and rejuvenation of the national economy.
India needs a “National Mission on Clear Vision through Eyeglasses (Ujjwal Drishti Abhiyan)” on the lines of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. A coordinated social movement needs to be created to tackle the problem head-on. The central and state governments, CSRs, educational institutions, social entrepreneurship, and not-for-profits need to come together to create awareness, eliminate social taboos, and implement programs which enable people to get eye-exams and eyeglasses.
It’s imperative that eyeglasses don’t remain a part of the health domain but are viewed as an earning, productivity, employability, learning, and road safety intervention. This is perhaps the reason why 41 per cent of our population still doesn’t have access to this 700-year-old technology. India needs to have a concrete plan to achieve this mission of ensuring all Indians have access to clear vision.
The bulk of the problem of uncorrected vision requires an easy-to-dispense solution, reading glasses, to correct near vision loss (presbyopia) part of normal ageing which makes it difficult to focus on near objects starting around age 35 to 40. These reading eyeglasses can be made available through pharmacies, groceries, post offices, and the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) across the country. Conduct of eye-screenings and provision of eyeglasses needs to be made an integral part of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana. An annual eye-exam needs to be made mandatory in all schools, colleges, offices, and factories. All transport hubs, highway tolls, and Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) must have compulsory vision centres where a certified eye-screening must be available.
Corporates can help by making clear vision an integral part of their CSR strategy and by adopting regions, supply chains, and communities and making them clear vision zones. Elected representatives must use a certain percentage of their allocated funds and invest them in clear vision clusters within their constituencies. This will also feed into directly into key government initiatives such as Digital India, Make in India, and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) as these aren’t likely to succeed without people having a clear vision. As India faces a severe shortage of optometrists and ophthalmologists, such a move would help create employment across the country, both in urban and rural areas.
“Correction of refractive error through eyeglasses constitutes the health intervention with the largest bang for the buck.” - Dr Arvind Panagariya, Professor, Economics, Columbia University, US and former Vice Chairman, Niti Aayog
A strong centrally led eye health initiative will put us on the path of being the first clear vision country in the world and help in the short-term to reenergize the Indian economy across sectors. Clear Vision for India can help our economy achieve its rightful place among the top 3 economies of the world by 2025.
Ek Chashma, Anek Uplabhdiyan (A pair of eyeglasses can lead to numerous achievements)!
_20240903195420_original_image_47.webp)
