Rlj Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital Community Centre: Reimagining Eye Care For Every Village In Biha
Bihar, with just 32 eye beds per million people, has long struggled to meet the eye care needs of its population. Every year, over 1 million cataract and other eye surgeries are required, yet only a third are performed. For countless families, blindness does more than affect vision — it steals livelihoods, limits opportunities, and perpetuates cycles of poverty.
In the heart of rural Bihar, a bold initiative is changing that narrative. The RLJ Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital Community Centre, a 1,000-bedded facility, promises to bring world-class eye care to those who need it most.
Kalash Sthapna: The First Step Towards a Visionary Dream
On 13th September 2025, Hon’ble Union Health Minister Shri J.P. Nadda graced Akhand Jyoti for the Kalash Sthapna, marking the sacred first step towards the Bhoomi Pujan of this monumental project. He was joined by Shri Samrat Choudhary, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, along with other dignitaries, reaffirming the collective commitment to rural development and transformative healthcare.
The ceremony also witnessed Akhand Jyoti leadership, including Mritunjay Tiwary, Co-founder & CEO; Dr Ajit Kumar Poddar, Medical Director; and Prof. Dr Rajvardhan Azad, Chairman of the Clinical Research Board, alongside the Advisory Board led by Mr Ravi Kant. Together, they shared a vision of societal change, where preventable blindness in Bihar becomes history.
Bhumi Pujan: Grounding Dreams in Real Change
Just a week later, on 20th September 2025, the Bhumi Pujan ceremony in partnership with Sankara Eye Foundation USA marked the official start of construction. The RLJ Community Centre is designed to add capacity for 300,000 additional surgeries annually, bringing Bihar closer to achieving 1 million sight-restoring surgeries each year.
Through this expansion, Akhand Jyoti is reaching the unreached, combining infrastructure with a proven model of care. The project exemplifies working for where it matters, turning vision into action and restoring not just eyes, but livelihoods, confidence, and hope.
Light Returning to Lives Once Dimmed
The RLJ Community Centre is more than bricks and beds — it is a promise to the people of Bihar that life can be brighter, fuller, and more independent. Across villages and small towns, those whose vision had dimmed can now embrace each day with clarity and hope. Farmers can tend their fields with renewed confidence, shopkeepers see their livelihoods restored, and children can step into classrooms without fear of falling behind.
Every eye restored carries with it the quiet triumph of resilience and courage, the dignity of families renewed, and the spark of dreams rekindled. The centre will touch lives in ways that are both deeply personal and profoundly transformative.
Building on What Works, Reaching Who Waits
The RLJ Centre builds on Akhand Jyoti’s existing foundation: our inclusive eye care delivery model, our continued expansion across underserved regions of Bihar, and our journey towards becoming a global benchmark in rural healthcare.
By leveraging this expertise, the centre will ensure that every patient, from remote villages to small towns, has access to timely, high-quality treatment. Incremental progress is not enough — Bihar must triple its surgical output to meet this need. Under Vision 2030, Akhand Jyoti has committed to performing 500,000 surgeries annually, covering half of the state’s requirement.
A Shared Vision, A Collective Effort
This initiative is guided by leaders committed to working for where it matters: Mritunjay Tiwary, Dr Ajit Kumar Poddar, Prof Dr Rajvardhan Azad, and the Advisory Board led by Mr Ravi Kant. We are grateful to partners, donors, and well-wishers, whose spirit of compassion fuels our mission.
By expanding surgical capacity across the region and leveraging decades of experience in early intervention efforts, the RLJ Community Centre embodies a model of rural development that combines scale, quality, and humanity.
Seeing Bihar’s Tomorrow with Hope
With the RLJ Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital Community Centre, Bihar is poised to become a global example of how rural regions can lead in world-class eye care.
Every restored eye tells a story of courage, hope, and renewal — linking the countless individuals who found a second chance at lifewith a larger vision for the state!
