OPHTHALMOLOGY IN India has a long history. From the days of Sushruta (considered the first surgeion of the world as well as the father of cataract surgery) to the present time, the evolution has been arduous, given all the constraints in which health care has to be delivered. India is a country of a billion people, 70% of whom live in rural areas. The per capita income is only around US $350. More than 10 million Indians are blind. Health care receives less than 2% of the budgetary allocation, and health insurance is virtually nonexistent. The challenge of providing quality eye care under these circumstances is daunting, to say the least. However, Indian ophthalmology has risen to this challenge admirably and today ophthalmic care in India is among the best in the world.