Aravind Eye Hospital

Aravind Eye Care Hospital is an ophthalmological hospital with several locations in India. It was founded by Dr.Govindappa Venkataswamy.


 * Guiding Philosophy

Aravind Eye Hospitals is named after Sri Aurobindo, one of the 20th century’s most revered spiritual leaders. In essence, Sri Aurobindo’s teachings focus on mankind’s transcendence into a heightened state of consciousness through service, as an instrument of what he called the Divine Force.

At Aravind one finds, combined with modern technology and management practices, a measure of compassionate spirituality, an awareness beyond the matter-of-fact, and the impetus of a mission.


 * Challenges in a Developing Country

Growing population, inadequate infrastructure, low per capita income, aging population, diseases in epidemic proportions and illiteracy.


 * Alternate Health Care: Aravind Model

Given the magnitude of blindness and the challenges faced in a developing country, the Government alone cannot meet the health needs of all. Realising this predicament, Dr.Govindappa Venkataswamy wanted to establish an alternate health care model that would supplement the efforts of the Government and also be self-supporting. Hence, upon his retirement in 1976, he established the GOVEL Trust to initiate eye care work.

Under this Trust, the Aravind Eye Hospitals were founded. Today, Aravind is more than an eye hospital. It is a social organisation committed to the goal of elimination of needless blindness through comprehensive eye care services.It is also an international training centre for ophthalmic professionals and trainees who come from within India and around the world to teach or to learn, to offer their skills and to acquire new ones. It is an institute for research that contributes to the development of eye care and to train health-related and managerial personnel in the development and implementation of efficient and sustainable eye care programmes. Aravind also is a manufacturer of world class ophthalmic products available at affordable costs.

It is the only examination centre of the Royal College of Ophthalmology, United Kingdom, in India. It is headquartered in Madurai.

Over 30 years, Aravind has treated over 2.4 million poor Indians. Aravind is a financially-viable healthcare system in India. One of the hospital’s investors is the Acumen Fund, the non-profit venture fund that invests in companies delivering critical goods and services to developing countries.