HLL Lifecare, in collaboration with the Kerala Government, has set up a fair price outlet for ophthalmic products, including spectacles, lenses and frames at the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology.
Health Minister V S Sivakumar in his address said that the fair price outlet would be a blessing to the poor patients. ‘’At present, there is no price regulatory mechanism on the sale of ophthalmic products in the private sector; the prices are fixed by the sellers,’’ the Minister pointed out. K Muraleedharan MLA inaugurated the Lifecare Centre. Works Minister V K Ebrahim Kunju, Mayor K Chandrika, Trida chairman P K Venugopal, councillor Kumari Padmanabhan and HLL Lifecare director K K Suresh Kumar were present on the occasion. The Lifecare Centre, set up at the Government Eye Hospital here, will sell the ophthalmic products at affordable prices, with a rebate between 20 and 60 per cent compared to the open-market rates. HLL, founded in 1966, opened the centre as per the request of the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology. In October 2011, HLL Lifecare, the mini ratna public sector undertaking, had made a bold market intervention to open the first such fair price outlet - Lifecare Centre - at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College to sell surgical implants and consumables at a rebate of 40 per cent to 60 per cent. The centre, aimed at ensuring quality and affordability, has been working round-the-clock.