What do 1.4 billion people look like?
If you haven’t been to the world’s most populous country, it would be hard to fathom.
Having been there as many as 4 times a year since 2009, I’ve seen all parts of India — and I can tell you this. You can imagine it, as it feels like: crowds upon crowds.
India also is home to more than 20,000 ophthalmologists.
But take a moment to whittle. Whittle down, whittle down…to just 35 people or small groups, and some of them are not even Indian.
Here, you have a small set of people that I encountered at the recently held APAO-AIOC 2025 in New Delhi that are making a real difference with their influence in India. And they deserve to be named.
This time, I will do so briefly, as there are still many to get through for one article wedged between that meeting and ASCRS in LA!
1. Dr. Partha Biswas
The AIOC President Elect wasted no time in declaring his support for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, and their major policy show in 2026 in India. Indeed, it is intended as a high-level policy changing show, to advocate for changes in vision support on a government level internationally. More on that here:
Dr. Partha Biswas and Matt Young
READ MORE: New AIOS President Launches Nationwide Child Vision Screening Program
2. Team Rayner
We were more relaxed here at my favorite Delhi hangout, Social, which I frequented both at Aero City and Cyber Hub. But that was when the hard work was over, which involved launching the company’s Galaxy IOL in India, which was developed with AI support. Kuntal Joshi, pictured here, meanwhile, is getting a big surprise at ASCRS in LA for his veteran support of Rayner. Stay tuned…
READ MORE: Rayner’s Spiral Full-Range-Of-Vision RayOne Galaxy IOL Debuts in India
3. Team Volk
Volk launched the Surgical Assistant for fine detailed retinal surgery at APAO-AIOC 2025. There’s apparently a big market for this kind of product, as this updated product can fit many different modern microscopes. It has a much larger protective lens that helps with depth perception and reduces the need for adjustments. Small, but nifty. Congrats to Team Volk for the innovation. Thanks to President Natalya Shaykevich for messaging me on LInkedIn to come take a peek. We always appreciate the tips at Media MICE. Great to meet Matthew Holmes too, VP of International Sales.
4. Team J&J
The PureSee IOL launch certainly stole the show, with not only its India launch post-worldwide success, but also with its sense of style. Read all about it here.
5. Dr. Sri Ganesh
After plugging Sri’s Royal Enfield adventure motorcycle riding in India and beyond, I was getting a lot of WhatsApp messages from fellow Media MICE journalist Matt Herman, who himself took to the Himalayas with a Royal Enfield post-APAO-AIOC. Sri, you not only have the ability to inspire, you apparently can do so immediately!
6. Team Appasamy
Last year ahead of ESCRS, meeting up with friend Jan Willem at Ophthalmology Futures Forums in Barcelona, I learned that Warburg Pincus had invested in Appasamy Associates, and that automatically meant: game changer. This year, colleague Ruchi Mahajan and I sat down with the leadership here to discuss Appasamy’s global interests, and we were absolutely impressed. Senthil Kumar, CEO, is now at the helm — best wishes!
WATCH NOW: Appasamy at APAO 2025: Affordable, Accessible Innovation in Eye Care
7. The Dr. Youngsters
I’m going to call them The Youngsters because they certainly are the future of ophthalmology in India. Dr. Panaah Shetty, Dr. Deepthi Rh, Dr. Abha Shah — just a pleasure to get to know at a young ophthalmology event in Aero City. With you at the helm, the future of Indian ophthalmology is indeed bright!
8. Nikkhil Masurkar
If there’s one politician-in-waiting in our industry, it must be Nikkhil. He speaks with such passion about the intersection of Indian and global politics, health care and innovation, that I can’t help but wonder if I’ll be friends with a PM one day. For now, he’s simply taking Entod to new heights, always beating out the competition with glorious growth, and serving markets like Africa and Vietnam along the way. A true pioneer with innovation meets access to care globally.
9. The Dr. Beckers
If there is one jovial couple within ophthalmology, it is the Beckers. Who would have thought one, let alone two ophthalmologists could have this much fun. Just kidding. But really, the wife and husband Lena and David Beckers’ team are just brilliant, and it’s a treasure to see them crisscrossing the planet more and more. The only sad part was Ron Kreuger and Domenic Von Planta had my ear with some important insights during an industry party, and I was out on the dance floor after the Beckers had just left. Next time guys! DOC in Nuremberg?!
10. Kuldeep Singh
The Asia Regional Director of Seva Foundation had one very keen insight about service. Seva doesn’t just mean service. It means “selfless service.” Read all about my interaction here, and get ready for another great MICE TV video about the roots of this ophthalmic foundation — in an ashram in Uttarakhand!
11. Osho Hemant (a.k.a. Hemant Sachdeva)
If the name Osho sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Osho took his name — at least on social media as he calls himself — from the Osho, his spiritual guide. And seriously, his thoughts run deep. Read what he had to say about our exhibition floor “satsang” here.
12. Dr. Marcus Ang
Marcus, a friend from our days on the board of Orbis Singapore, is no longer a rising star, officially. His star has already risen, and is positioned in the stratosphere. Nonetheless, Marcus continues to do compelling work, and currently will be hosting a myopia conference in Singapore in May. Those interested, contact Marcus.
13. Sriram Ravilla
Sriram, managing director of Aurolab, has a place among the stars, in one of my favorite books, Infinite Vision, gifted to me almost a decade ago by Dr. Aravind. It details the spiritual and charitable underpinning that is the Aravind hospital system, and manufacturing arm, Aurolab. I was blown away by the system invented, only in India. And so when Sriram gave me a new book, I was taken aback. It’s a short book of only 40 pages, called Who Am I: The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi. I was instructed to however read it 20-over times to really understand the message. With a topic like Who Am I, I can understand why. It was certainly an apropos gift, given my journey to the Neem Karoli Baba ashram in Uttarakhand after APAO-AIOC, for such self discoveries. I’m delighted to say, I also finished the book, though not yet two dozen times.
14. Team Eyegen
Eyegen is advancing a line of ophthalmic surgical disposable instrumentation. These include drape systems, surgical gowns and custom surgical kits. It’s also directed by longtime friend George Stephen, as well as Giridharan Alagar.
15. Dan Matson
Dan is one of my few friends who has lived in India, and specifically New Delhi. So he was essentially back home at APAO-AIOC 2025. It was great to see Dan who has been a veteran of CIMA for many years, and continues to drive forward the company’s products.
16. Domenic von Planta
The Schwind CEO looked great in red here, though mostly due to the lighting. Still, Domenic, one of the few industry friends who towers over me, had some impressive dance floor moves, showing that his running prowess also means fast dancing feet. We discussed putting our shared enjoyment of good fun to use during an upcoming Schwind 2026 user meeting. In fact, we may be drawing up the first ever media contract with the deliverable — “fun” — as we speak. I won’t tell him the project management team is looking to cut corners and offer up bags of peanuts in goody bags to attendees… Then again, floor-covered peanut shells just make for faster, more slippery dancing, so that could be part of the plan after all.
17. Dr. Inder Rustagi
We’ll never forget our liaison for our first-ever AIOC media partnership, Dr. Rustagi. I believe it was the year 2020, and one of the last major shows to go on before COVID. We were thrilled at the partnership and put a lot of mutual effort in, before the show market and our Indian dreams were largely wiped out for years. Still, it set the foundation for recent years, especially 2025 in New Delhi, which was a great success by all accounts, with more than 11,000 delegates.
18. B+L
That stands for B+L plus Tanya. Dr. Tanya Trinh that is. Tanya’s latest post in Australia involving a B+L launch went gangbusters across social media. So it was great to catch up with her and the team here in India. And SeeLuma continues to wow, for sure.
WATCH NOW: MICE TV Spotlight on APAO-AIOC 2025: Innovation in Indian Ophthalmology
19. Hamadi El-Ayari
After a stint cleaning windows (as the CEO of a museum glass display company, you get stuck with all kinds of tasks), my funniest friend in the business — Hamadi — is now actually back in ophthalmic business. He just couldn’t stay away, and I don’t blame him. Now, he’s a big time executive at Haag-Streit, which makes sense because he’s funny — and ophthalmically brilliant — and just in time as the company revolutionizes microscopes.
20. Team Mohan
Drs. Mohan Rajan and Sujatha Mohan teamed up for this classic pic. I love it because it embodies the spirit of the biz: bizzy busy ophthalmology. Despite being friends for years, Mohan Rajan didn’t spare a call-minute to take a selfie. And good for him: patients are waiting all across India for consultation. Who has time to waste?!
21. Team Glaukos
Everything about this team screams world class, and it has been an absolute pleasure to help advocate for more interventional glaucoma worldwide. There are far too many times when a minimally invasive surgery for glaucoma is the answer, and drops are not. Only blindness is at stake. That’s it. And it’s enough for us to be perennially involved. All the best on your worldwide mission, team.
22. Team Ziemer
These guys, meanwhile, are state-of-the-art for femto-cataract. They’re Swiss, and they’re serious about it. ‘Nough said.
23. Dr. Ken Nischal
Ken here, and his wife, look dapper and lovely. I was excited to hear that Ken may be putting on a satellite meeting of the WCPOS in Mombassa this December. Ken is from Kenya, and so staying connected to the community in such a way is admirable, and we are seeing if we can help. All of Africa needs all our help, and if we can contribute in even a small way, we should, and we will.
24. Team Lumibird
The team here is just so solid. I see the same smiles and friendly greetings no matter the show, worldwide. It’s like there is a constant ray of sunshine located in the Lumibird part of France. The products always seem to do well too.
25. Team Cristalens
Speaking of France, another great company there is Cristalens. The booth design just popped, and I had to get a pic with longtime friend Sabrina here in the backdrop. I hear ESCRS plans are already in the works, and we’re looking forward to hearing more.
26. Dr. Victor Caparas
I was almost starstruck seeing Victor at APAO-AIOC 2025, because he starred in a very poignant video we recently produced with Rayner, about surgical waste. The “acting” and visual showmanship by Victor were so good that, well, while we may have helped create a video star, I was also struck by his presence as a result. So yeah, starstruck.
27. Team Bynocs
This team is doing good work in India. Specifically they are helping problems like amblyopia with modern digital treatment methods. Anything that helps kids is ace in our book, so kudos indeed.
28. Kiran K. Challa
Kiran, head of professional services at Eyewear Optics (the parent of Ben Franklin), is spearheading a giant. This is India’s largest hospital-based optical retailer, with 550+ stores across pan-India. Can you imagine?! I bet they’re getting closer to that McDonald’s tagline: Billions and billions served!
29. Dil
Teleon continues to press forward in India, and with a man like Dil at the helm, they should have confidence. Ulf Nawrocki is my usual selfie partner at Teleon, but Dil took to the selfie stage here. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with Teleon at the DOC in Nuremberg, where they always have their famous annual boathouse party. Good times ahead in May!
30. Team Oculus
It’s always a good insightful time with Richard White of Oculus, and the entire team. Lars Michael. Susan Michael. The cast of characters here is all veteran, all friends, and just super on-it at all times. All the best guys!
31. Antonio Gianno
Some industry friends you just rarely, if ever, discuss business with. Antonio and I have known each other for years, and it was so insightful to discuss the state of the world with this learned man. His deep thinking and reflection is a treasure to behold. In a world that maybe has gone crazy, sometimes accepting reality and appreciating what we have today is the happiest way forward.
32. Petra Bruckmuller
It was great to see Petra at APAO-AIOC 2025. She’s literally radiant. And then I saw her colleague, and good friend Peter, in Vietnam just after of all places. Here’s exactly what happened:
33. Dr. Ashish Sharma
Once upon a time, Ashish and I shared a taxi when they were hard to come by. Nowadays there is Uber and Grab and it’s no big deal. But back then, we enjoyed the difficulty of getting a lift, by sharing, and becoming friends. That’s when I found out Ashish was really plugged into the biosimilars scene. Recently, he published an editorial: Aflibercept biosimilars – so near, yet so far. It talks about the FDA- and EMA-approved biosimilars being yet unavailable to clinicians. Fascinating.
34. Aarohi Trivedi
Aarohi, representing Biotech Healthcare, came up with a clever ad campaign for the company. It features a hippie bus with the words: “Vision That Flows Seamlessly All The Way.” It specifically promotes the Optiflex TRIO Plus trifocal. I just wanted to say, “yeah man, yeah.”
35. Tarun Jaggi
Who could forget one of our first-ever clients in India, Tarun. Tarun of course is very internationally forward thinking, and will be once again exhibiting at places like ESCRS and AAO. So while I was busy trying to target the Indian market in the “lost years,” as I call them, Tarun was pointing further afield…to help Indian companies like his overseas. That then happened, and, we nonetheless had a very successful APAO-AIOC 2025 in India, domestically and for the region. After all these years, we helped both domestically and abroad, Tarun. Thanks for your unwavering support.
And that’s a wrap. Phew, because it is 12:28 pm on a flight somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, on the way to LA. See you, m’eye friends, next at ASCRS!
Editor’s Note: Reporting for this story took place during the 40th Congress of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO 2025), held in conjunction with the 83rd Annual Conference of the All India Ophthalmological Society (AIOC 2025) from 3-6 April in New Delhi, India.
