In 2017, the National Programme for Control of Blindness was renamed the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment. The principal reason for this revision was:

• A To shift the entire focus from cataract to childhood blindness alone
• B To replace cataract surgery with laser refractive procedures as the main intervention
• C To transfer the programme from central funding to exclusive state funding
• D To broaden the scope beyond blindness to include moderate and severe visual impairment, adding conditions such as diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma ✓

Explanation

The 2017 revision widened the mandate from blindness alone to the full spectrum of visual impairment, explicitly adding diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, corneal opacity and childhood blindness alongside cataract. This aligned the programme with WHO's 2019 presentation acuity definitions, where most affected persons fall in the moderate and severe impairment categories rather than legal blindness. Cataract remains the flagship intervention, so distractor A misstates the intent.

Reference: NPCBVI Operational Guidelines, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.