Eyewear regulation Bill may come up in Parliament's winter session; MP Gopchade seeks national vision-care board

New Delhi: A Bill seeking to strengthen regulation of eyewear products and vision-care services may be taken up in Parliament during the winter session, said Rajya Sabha member Ajeet Gopchade, who has proposed to move it as a private member's Bill.

Gopchade, a medical doctor, has also written to the Prime Minister, seeking his intervention on the matter. In his letter to the PM, the MP sought a direction to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to examine the creation of a National Optical/Vision Care Board or a similar mechanism to ensure uniform quality standards, scientific testing, professional competency and consumer protection in vision-care products and services.

Also Read: West Bengal's new investment policy wins industry praise for jobs, innovation and ease of doing business


The MP referred to the existing regulatory framework under the Medical Devices Rules, 2017, which covers prescription spectacles, contact lenses and intraocular lenses, and argued that it needed to be further strengthened through a specialised and coordinated national mechanism.

Citing regulatory frameworks in other countries, Gopchade said Australia had established an optical board to regulate various aspects of the sector, including professional standards and practices relating to eyeglass lenses, contact lenses and other vision-correction products. Mauritius, too, has enacted specific legislation to regulate optical activities, he said.

Also Read: PM Modi asks new NITI Aayog team to craft ideas to improve lives of India's poorest