Coimbatore : Titan Company and Sankara Eye Foundation after 9 years of successful partnership, have signed and exchanged MOU between Dr R V Ramani, Founder and Managing Trustee from Sankara and Mr Sridhar N E, AVP & Head of Corporate Sustainability from Titan, to embark on a new journey with ‘VI initiative’ which is first of its kind. It aims to reach out to the people with limited resources to be facilitated with screening for eye problems, consultation on corrective measures in form of spectacles and surgeries. In order to provide effective eye care and with an intention to scale up, VI initiative will ensure an entire block is cataract and visual impairment backlog free. Under this initiative, both entities are extensively covering Aruppukottai & Annur blocks in Tamil Nadu to start with, targeting an estimated 5 lakh+ population. It will take about 18 months for completion for each block.

Titan’s CSR Project Happy Eyes (HE), in continuation to facilitating easy accessibility to effective eye care at the doorstep of rural India launched by Mr Sridhar N E, AVP & Head of Corporate Sustainability and Mr. Bharath Balasubramaniam, President-Operations & Administration its 5th “Vision Centre” in Pappampatti, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu on 8th April, 2022 in partnership with Sankara Eye Hospital. The other 4 Vision Centres in Ranebennur in Karnataka, Viruthachalam, Anaikatti & Ambur in Tamil Nadu are running successfully and have proven to be a gift to the local people This project aims at eliminating preventable blindness in adults and children. The ‘Vision Centre’ provides a wide spectrum of Eye Care services that includes, technologically advanced support in areas having unavailability of specialist doctors, access to affordable eye care along with the outreach camps and sensitization about eye care among the rural citizens.

With the primary focus on the intensification of the activity for provision of basic high quality eye care to the community at large, below are the different programs under Happy Eyes initiative

· Project Nanna Kannu in Karnataka– a comprehensive Paediatric Eye Care Program for school children that diagnoses their visual defects and providing them with timely remedial measures and medical care

· Gift of vision- A rural community outreach program that aims to address the barriers leading to asymmetry of utilization of eye care services. It caters to rural adults and diagnoses their visual defects and provides them with spectacles and surgical care

· Mobile Rural Vehicle Project (MRVP)- The vehicle was launched on 19th December 2019 at Titan’s Corporate Office has already reached over 14000 people living in urban slums and suburban areas and those who cannot afford quality eye care

On occasion of the inauguration of Vision Centre and collaboration with Sankara Eye Foundation, Mr. N E Sridhar, AVP & Head of Corporate Sustainability said, “We at Titan are more than pleased to establish 5th Vision Centre catering to the needy population in Pappampatti. We are joyous to collaborate and partner with Sankara Eye Foundation for something as unique as VI initiative. Through this we want to extend our support to the ones who have limited accessibility to vital eye care services and raise adequate awareness about eye health and prevention of eye problems.