The National Programme for Control of Blindness of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare provides assistance to organisations that want to set up eye banks. Objectives To produce healthy corneas to help persons blind with corneal defects. Criteria for eligibility Besides the Central/State/District/mobile units and private charitable hospitals and nursings homes, a voluntary organisation is eligible to become an Eye Bank if it meets the following criteria: The organisation should be registered under the Human Organs Transplantation Act. It should be non-governmental and should not be run for profit to any individual or group of individuals. Its work and financial position should be satisfactory and the payment of grant-in-aid should be recommended by a State Government . It should have its own infrastructure to carry out the activities of an Eye Bank. The organisation should have a good track record . It should be recognised/associated with the Eye Bank Association of India. Pattern of assistance Non-recurring grant up to Rupees 5 lakhs for eye banks and Rupees 50,000 for eye donation centers for items like vehicles, refrigerator, emuclation set, containers for corneal sets, film projector with slides, etc . Recurring grant of Rupees 250 per eye collected for eye donation centres and Rupees 500 per eye collected for eye banks for M.K. Media, glassware and other contingency expenditure. Procedure for application An application should be submitted on the prescribed proforma through the Director, Health Services of State Governments or be sent to the Ophthalmology Section, DGHS, Department of Health, New Delhi. For forms and more information, please contact: Ophthalmology Section Directorate General of Health Services Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Nirman Bhavan, New Delhi Phone: +91-11-23022200, 23014647