KATHMANDU, May 8: On behalf of Nepal government, Minister for Industry, Commerce, and Supplies, Matrika Prasad Yadav handed cheque amounting Rs. 100 million to Dr Sanduk Ruit to increase the production of intraocular lens.
The Ministry had earlier announced that it would support the Nepal Eye Programme (NEP) and increase the production capacity of intraocular lens manufacturing in Nepal. Nepal made lens is highly sought in Pakistan, India and China.
Govt to set up intraocular lens manufacturing facility
With 100 million support, the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology will be able to increase production of intraocular lens from half million units to 1.5 million per year.
Due to the low production of intraocular lens in South Asia, TIO has been exporting more than 60 percent of its annual production of intraocular lens in the region. TIO has been exporting such intraocular lens at $4 per piece in international market and selling it at Rs 225 per piece in the local market.
Intraocular lenses are medical devices that are implanted inside the eye to replace the eye's natural lens when it is removed during cataract surgery. They are also used for a type of vision correction surgery called refractive lens exchange.
