As part of the IITGN Decennial Lecture Series, the institute organised the third decennial lecture on August 23. The topic was Infinite Vision: Story of Greatest Business Case for Compassion. Dr Aravind Srinivasan, director, Aravind Eye Care Systems, Tamil Nadu, gave an inspiring lecture on how a few dedicated and committed individuals created the “Aravind Model” of high volume, high quality and cost-effective eye care.

Beginning his talk, Dr Srinivasan introduced the audience with the serious healthcare challenge of blindness in the world’s population. Out of seven billion people in the world, 39 million are blind, out of which 12 million are Indians, which also includes people who can’t see/read without spectacles. But, he also informed that 80 per cent blindness is curable with one-time intervention. A 10-minute cataract surgery can restore the sight of 7.5 million people and a pair of spectacles will help another 2.4 million see.

Narrating the birth of an impossible new dream, Dr Srinivasan described Aravind’s vision by its founder Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy, which was to eliminate needless/curable blindness by providing compassionate and affordable quality eye care. Founded in 1976 in Madurai, Aravind Eye Care System is possibly the world’s largest eye care organisation today. Aravind Eye Care System examines about 13,000 patients and performs approximately 1,500 surgeries every day.

Stressing upon the need for innovation, Dr Srinivasan said, “If you can start seeing the population as a market, you are able to think out of the box and something interesting emerges from that. We have to think innovatively in terms of managing logistics and maintaining standard for such a large number of patients, to be able to provide better care.”

Advising students to lead their lives in the best way possible, in order to create a positive impact on others’ lives, Dr Srinivasan said, “Always be mindful of the ripples and not just the stone you throw, because the ripples that you create have a much larger impact, way beyond your lifetime.”

Explaining the time-tested leadership qualities of Dr Venkataswamy for Aravind Eye Care System, Dr Srinivasan stressed upon owning the problem, farsightedness, selfless service, leading by example, simple lifestyle, and sharing and building individual capacity. He said that Dr Venkataswamy build a frugal eye care system because he owned the problem. Very rarely, an individual gives a lifetime to a cause that lasts beyond time. He also highlighted that the backbone of Aravind is its young nurses who perform all routine clinical tasks so that the doctors can focus on diagnosis and surgeries. He described Aravind as a market-driving organisation and not market-driven. It has not innovated any surgical technique but Aravind has pioneered and innovated how to distribute that to millions of people, and that is very powerful.

Concluding his talk, Dr Srinivasan explained why significance should be celebrated more than the success. He also expressed that it is a great pleasure and privilege to step into an IIT, as institutions like these stand the test of time.

The IITGN Decennial Lecture Series, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the institute, features a diverse range of lectures and performances by business leaders, artists, scholars, social activists and professionals to explore and showcase scholarship, policy, practice and creative expression.

Success is what happens to us. Significance is what happens through us. Significance channelises much larger things even after we are gone and forgotten. Success is good but at some point in our life, we should start focusing on significance.

About Dr Aravind Srinivasan

Dr Aravind Srinivasan, director, Aravind Eye Care Systems, holds a Masters in Ophthalmology from Aravind Eye Institute and Postgraduate Institute of Ophthalmology, Madurai. Combining his experience in the medical field and a passion for management, Dr Srinivasan did his MBA with specialisation in strategy from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA in the year 2000.

Post MBA, Dr Srinivasan took over as the administrator of Aravind Eye Care System and was instrumental in bringing changes to various facets of the organisation. He has presented in numerous international conferences about the “Aravind Model” of high volume, high quality and cost-effective eye care. He is also a visiting faculty of Indian Institute of Management, Indian School of Business and a mentor for the MBA students of Wharton School of Business.