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National, October 19, 2024: Dr. Gullapalli Nageswara Rao, Founder of LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) today highlighted the critical shortage of corneal transplants in India and the urgent need for significant improvements in the country’s corneal healthcare infrastructure. The occasion was the announcement of a historic milestone by LVPEI’s Shantilal Shanghvi Cornea Institute of becoming the world’s first and only institution to complete 50,000 corneal transplants as of August 2024. Achieved over 38 years, the accomplishment underscores the institute’s leadership in the field and its unwavering commitment to eye care.

Dr. Gullapalli Nageswara Rao, Founder, of LV Prasad Eye Institute said, “India is facing a severe shortage of corneas for transplantation with demand far exceeding our capacity to meet it. With this gap widening each year, we must take immediate and comprehensive action to prevent millions from losing their sight. While some believed it was impossible to establish advanced corneal services in India, we have proven otherwise. Our success serves as a model that can be replicated nationwide to eliminate corneal blindness and encourage organ donation. We must expand corneal donation programmes, establish more eye banks, institution of the hospital cornea retrieval programme and develop comprehensive policies to build a robust corneal healthcare system in India. The goal must be to build a sustainable, self-reliant corneal healthcare system. With collaborative efforts, we can restore sight to millions of Indians suffering from curable corneal blindness.”

India faces a pressing public health challenge with approximately 100,000 corneal transplants required annually to combat corneal blindness—a condition affecting an estimated one million people nationwide. Currently, the healthcare system can only provide around 30,000 transplants each year, leaving a huge gap between demand and supply.

By 2030, the goal must be to increase the number of corneal transplants from 30,000 to 60,000 annually. The eye bank network must be expanded with at least 50 standard eye banks nationwide, each requiring an investment of approximately . The Hospital cornea retrieval programmes should be instituted in 500 major general hospitals along with placement of grief counsellors and linked to the eye banks. A pool of Cornea Specialists must be readied by training at least 500 ophthalmic surgeons capable of performing corneal transplant surgeries.

Dr. Rao outlined a multi-faceted approach to address the shortage with state-of-the-art facilities that meet international eye banking standards, recruiting and training cornea specialists and ophthalmologists to increase surgical capacity, and encouraging the local pharmaceutical industry to produce medications essential for corneal care.

Awareness campaigns must emphasize the importance of donating corneas after death. Grief counselors are crucial in encouraging families to donate corneas. The government and the private sector must ensure funding to improve their salaries and expand their presence in hospitals nationwide. Hospital cornea retrieval programmes must be implemented in every tertiary hospital that offers corneal transplantation services.

Demography plays a significant role in access to care with states lacking sufficient cornea specialists having longer waiting lists and greater backlogs. Training more specialists and distributing resources evenly can help ensure equitable eye care nationwide.

Stakeholders at all levels, including government, the private sector, and the medical community, must join forces to overcome this challenge. Everyone must work together to create policies, allocate resources, and raise awareness about corneal donation.

(SEOUL)1^st October , 2024 – “Kia Corporation has today celebrated the opening of Kia Gwangmyeong EVO Plant, Hyundai Motor Group’s (the Group) first dedicated EV  manufacturing facility.”

Located at Kia Autoland Gwangmyeong, the new South Korean facility has an annual production capacity of 150,000 units and started production of the Kia EV3 in the first half of this year, to be followed by the EV4 in the first half of 2025. Derived from the term ‘Evolution’, the Kia Gwangmyeong EVO Plant demonstrates how Kia will continue to change and move forward as it aims to become a leader in the future of mobility.

To celebrate the completion of the project, Kia hosted around 150 guests during a ceremony at the new Kia Gwangmyeong EVO Plant, including Jun Young Choi, Executive Vice President and Head of Domestic Production Division at Kia; Seung Won Park, Mayor of Gwangmyeong City; and O Kyeong Lim and Nam Hee Kim, Members of the 22nd National Assembly of the Republic of Korea.

“The completion of the Kia Gwangmyeong EVO Plant solidifies Kia’s first step as an EV leader following the company’s brand relaunch in 2021. With the goal of providing sustainable mobility solutions, we will lead innovation in the EV market and fulfil our responsibilities in helping to deliver a sustainable future”, said Jun Young Choi, Executive Vice President and Head of Domestic Production Division at Kia, during a welcoming speech at the event.  

Seung Won Park, Mayor of Gwangmyeong City also added, “The completion of the Kia Gwangmyeong EVO Plant will help Gwangmyeong City to establish itself at the center of the EV industry in Korea. Through this we will strive to promote sustainable development of the local economy and create more jobs.”

In order to flexibly respond to changes in global demand for EVs, Kia has been steadily preparing for EV production at its global facilities. The Gwangmyeong EVO Plant is a dedicated EV facility, with an investment total of KRW 401.6 billion over approximately 60,000 square meters and will serve as an outpost for production of Kia’s popular EV models.

Kia has spent approximately one year transforming Gwangmyeong Plant 2, which was completed in 1987 to produce small internal combustion engine vehicles such as the Kia Pride, Avella and Stonic. The Kia Gwangmyeong EVO Plant is also meaningful in that it is the Group’s first dedicated EV plant and a facility that has been completely rebuilt on an existing plant site to become a hub for next-generation vehicle production.

Opening a new era for of EVs with full-fledged electrification

Kia Gwangmyeong EVO Plant is characterized under the theme of ‘pursuing maximum change through minimal expansion’ in consideration of its city center location and other environmental factors, such as protection of green spaces.

In addition, the plant has been constructed with a full-scale conversion to electrification in mind, focusing on ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘worker-friendly’ processes.

The body shop is now a high-tech logistics factory thanks to the introduction of automated guided (AGV) forklifts, and the green credentials of the paint shop have been increased by applying the water-based 3C1B method instead of the previous oil-based 3C2B method. New equipment has also been introduced to improve wellbeing and reduce the workload of plant employees, including machinery which can automatically install high-voltage batteries, wheels and tires on the vehicles.

Following the completion ceremony of the Gwangmyeong EVO Plant, Kia will ramp up EV production. Mass production of the EV3, the brand’s compact all-electric SUV, began in the first half of this year. The EV3 is Kia‘s third dedicated EV model after the Kia EV6, the brand’s all-electric crossover SUV launched in 2021, and the Kia EV9 all-electric flagship SUV launched in 2023.

– Kia Corporation has today celebrated the opening of Kia Gwangmyeong EVO Plant, Hyundai Motor Group’s (the Group) first dedicated EV manufacturing facility.

Located at Kia Autoland Gwangmyeong, the new South Korean facility has an annual production capacity of 150,000 units and started production of the Kia EV3 in the first half of this year, to be followed by the EV4 in the first half of 2025. Derived from the term ‘Evolution’, the Kia Gwangmyeong EVO Plant demonstrates how Kia will continue to change and move forward as it aims to become a leader in the future of mobility.

To celebrate the completion of the project, Kia hosted around 150 guests during a ceremony at the new Kia Gwangmyeong EVO Plant, including Jun Young Choi, Executive Vice President and Head of Domestic Production Division at Kia; Seung Won Park, Mayor of Gwangmyeong City; and O Kyeong Lim and Nam Hee Kim, Members of the 22nd National Assembly of the Republic of Korea.

“The completion of the Kia Gwangmyeong EVO Plant solidifies Kia’s first step as an EV leader following the company’s brand relaunch in 2021. With the goal of providing sustainable mobility solutions, we will lead innovation in the EV market and fulfil our responsibilities in helping to deliver a sustainable future”, said Jun Young Choi, Executive Vice President and Head of Domestic Production Division at Kia, during a welcoming speech at the event.

Seung Won Park, Mayor of Gwangmyeong City also added, “The completion of the Kia Gwangmyeong EVO Plant will help Gwangmyeong City to establish itself at the center of the EV industry in Korea. Through this we will strive to promote sustainable development of the local economy and create more jobs.”

In order to flexibly respond to changes in global demand for EVs, Kia has been steadily preparing for EV production at its global facilities. The Gwangmyeong EVO Plant is a dedicated EV facility, with an investment total of KRW 401.6 billion over approximately 60,000 square meters and will serve as an outpost for production of Kia’s popular EV models.

Kia has spent approximately one year transforming Gwangmyeong Plant 2, which was completed in 1987 to produce small internal combustion engine vehicles such as the Kia Pride, Avella and Stonic. The Kia Gwangmyeong EVO Plant is also meaningful in that it is the Group’s first dedicated EV plant and a facility that has been completely rebuilt on an existing plant site to become a hub for next-generation vehicle production.

Opening a new era for of EVs with full-fledged electrification

Kia Gwangmyeong EVO Plant is characterized under the theme of ‘pursuing maximum change through minimal expansion’ in consideration of its city center location and other environmental factors, such as protection of green spaces.

In addition, the plant has been constructed with a full-scale conversion to electrification in mind, focusing on ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘worker-friendly’ processes.

The body shop is now a high-tech logistics factory thanks to the introduction of automated guided (AGV) forklifts, and the green credentials of the paint shop have been increased by applying the water-based 3C1B method instead of the previous oil-based 3C2B method. New equipment has also been introduced to improve wellbeing and reduce the workload of plant employees, including machinery which can automatically install high-voltage batteries, wheels and tires on the vehicles.

Following the completion ceremony of the Gwangmyeong EVO Plant, Kia will ramp up EV production. Mass production of the EV3, the brand’s compact all-electric SUV, began in the first half of this year. The EV3 is Kia’s third dedicated EV model after the Kia EV6, the brand’s all-electric crossover SUV launched in 2021, and the Kia EV9 all-electric flagship SUV launched in 2023.