Reviews

Duration= 2 yrs Selection- MCQ exam plus interview Stipend- 65k a month Fellows taken- 1 to 2/ year Phaco training began from first month Since I (reviewer) was a novice and didn’t have any surg exposure, my mentor was generous in teaching me from the beginning, he personally guided me the whole way till I reached proficiency. No SICS training. If you already know SICS then you can operate on the hard cataracts if your mentor says so. Final phaco numbers you get depends on

Duration 2 yrs 2 fellows taken every year (was 6 fellows per session till 2025) Selection- Clinical interview. Stipend 35k in 1st yr, 45k in 2nd yr. No admission fees/ caution deposits. Accommodation available- charged 5k per month. No phaco training. First month you're posted in refraction and opticals (Dr Giridhar is particular that VR fellows shud know refraction well) Second month you're posted in retinal investigations. 3rd month onwards you're in VR dept, initially it'

Duration= 3 months, can be extended to 6 months for more ROP exposure (esp ROP laser) Fees- 45000 for 3 months, no stipend Accomodation not provided, can request for it, will be given based on availability for extra charge 2 fellows taken per session OPD starts at 8:30 till 2-3 PM There's afternoon IO screening for DM/ HTN patients after OPD Lasers and Injections are given in turns for both fellows. If the fellow already has some experience, then they will be supervised in

Duration- 6 months No fees. Stipend -30k per month No accommodation provided Fellows taken at a time- usually 3. Sometimes they may take 4. Daily routine- We take turns to go to OT for injections/ lasers. OP schedule for this is prepared beforehand. There are no OT postings for medical retina. You will be called if there are injections. Every fellow is posted with a consultant. You will also be given files to see in their absence/according to the schedule. Retinal lasers

Duration= 2 yrs Selection- through NBEMS exam Stipend- 1.21 lakh/ month Admission fee- 1.25 lakh yearly Fellows taken per session- 1/year You also get phaco on rotation basis with DNB and other SRs, no junior-senior hierarchy in assigning of cases, everyone gets equal turns to operate in a particular unit. Retinal sx training starts from beginning, I (reviewer) got my first SOR within a month. A lot depends on how much you know beforehand. I had some retinal sx exposure i

In an earlier post, I broke cataract fellowships into a framework of 5 training levels. If you haven’t read that, start there first- The Best Phaco Fellowship in India Quick recap: Level 1 → SICS training Level 2 → Phaco in basic cataracts Level 3 → Phaco in advanced cataracts Level 4 → Complication management Level 5 → Topical phaco surgery At a glance, this framework simplifies fellowship reviews. You can quickly understand whether a program is producing an SICS surgeon a

Duration of fellowship - 2 years (used to be 1 year till 2025) Earlier the requirement was that only those who were 2 or 3 yrs post PG/ SRs could join this program But now they are taking candidates immediately post MS & DNB, hence increased to 2 years. Fellows per session- 1 Stipend- 1.1 -1.5 lakhs/ month Caution deposit= 30,000 (refunded at end of fellowship) Penalty for quitting fellowship midway- 3 lakhs if within 6 months of joining, 5 lakhs if after 6 months of joining.

Duration= 18 months Selection- interview 2 fellows taken every 6 months Stipend- 35k 40k in the last 6 months. Surgical training starts after 2 months You start with SICS. 3 OT days per week so 3 cases per week initially and numbers increase gradually based on how you pick up. Phaco training given after first 6 months 1 phaco per week, rest all SICS Can expect an average of 50-60 phacos in total Management of complications (ant vitrectomy and iris claws) are taught in las

Duration 6 months (going to be 1 year from next session in 2026) 2 MR fellows taken every 6 months Selection- MCQ exam (if more than 10 applicants) + interview If less than 10 applicants, only interview Stipend 45k First month is observation period. You see OP patients and learn findings but not allowed to manage patients on your own. You start getting retinal lasers towards the end of 1st month You get to do lasers everyday, mostly LIO... slit lamp lasers not very common

Duration 2 months (going to be 3 months from next session in 2026) 1 trainee taken per session. Fees 20k (may change from next session, please confirm with hospital). They prefer candidates who are well versed with IO and can visualize periphery well. First month you're mostly in OPD. You see OP patients but cannot dispose them on your own. You start retinal lasers towards the last week of 1st month. You get lasers everyday, mostly LIO... so if you're not good with IO, you wo

Fees- 60,000 without accommodation (10k extra with accommodation) Accomodation availability isn't guaranteed. If it's available, then you will get it. You get 25 cases during this training. Training is for 1 month. Intakes per session- I (reviewer) do not know about maximum slots per month. But I have seen upto 4 slots for a month. They start off surgical steps straight away and titrate the training according to your starting point. Daily routine There's postop in the mo

Actually, read this first. The Best Phaco Fellowship in India Because you need to understand what short term phaco training can (and cannot) do for your long term surgical growth. Now, if you’ve decided to go ahead with a short phaco course, there’s one detail many trainees commonly miss. What type of incision are they training you in? Short-term phaco programs train through either Clear corneal incision Sclero-corneal / scleral tunnel incision They are not the same

UPDATED (May 2026) The salary range for fellows is wide across fellowships in the country (data pulled from reviews on IOFAR, cited figures are as of May 2026). The highest stipend (₹1.21 lakhs per month) is given to VR FNB fellows in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi. While the lowest stipend tracked from our reviews is by KBHB Charitable Hospital in Mumbai, at ₹22,000 per month. Most other fellowships fall somewhere in between. The lower-paying fellowships tend to fall

What Makes a Good Cataract Fellowship? Simply put, it should have 4 levels of training. Level 1- SICS training Level 2- Phaco training in basic cataracts (NS 2-3, well dilated pupils) Level 3- Phaco training in advanced cataracts (hard cataracts, mature cataract, PXF, small pupil etc) Level 4- Training to manage your complications (sulcus IOLs, iris claws, anterior vitrectomy etc) You can add a 5th (based on what many corporate hospitals are asking for these days)

No reviews available for this program since they have not had any fellows in the last 4 years.

Duration= 1 year Selection- interview 1 fellow taken per session, taken on need basis Stipend- 40k Surgical training starts after 15 days You start with SICS and continue for 6 months Phaco training given only in last 6 months You get 300 SICS + 50 phacos during this fellowship Management of complications can be picked up on your own, they let you manage if capable. Advanced cataract cases given only for SICS. No topical phaco hands-on. No refrac sx training included. O

1 year fellowship Selection- Interview 2 fellows taken per session Intake usually from Jan- April Stipend- 60k No application fees/ caution deposits There's 1 month observation after which they start you on surgery (SICS) You get 8-10 OTs in a month Phaco training is in the last 6 months and fellows get 50-80 phacos on average No advanced cataracts given No complication management training No topical phacos You also get to do laser procedures like YAG caps and PIs Work timi

Duration 18 months 2 fellows taken every 6 months Selection- interview Stipend 35k First month is observation period. From 2nd month on, you are started on retinal lasers and intravit injections. You are given good amount of lasers and intravit injection chances. Ozurdex injections opportunities very rare. For cataract, you are started on SICS, goes on x 6 months and then from 7th month, phaco training is given You are given only 1 phaco case per week while the rest of the

Duration 2 yrs 2 Fellows taken every 6 months Selection- Interview Stipend 35k No admission fees/ caution deposits No phaco training. But you are trained for SFIOLs First 3 months is mainly observation (1 month posting in Gen Ophthal and 2 months in VR dept seeing only OPD and retina investigations) In the 2 months while you are in VR dept, you are started on intravitreal injections and retinal lasers. After 3 months, your OT starts. Initially it's 1 OT day/ week, then aft

Duration- 18 months (was 2 yrs long before 2025) 2-3 fellows/ session, number depends on vacancies Selection- online/ offline interview Stipend 40k No admission fee/ security deposit You spend 1 year in Gen Ophthal and last 6 months in 3 specialities of your choice (each of 2 months posting) You start with SICS after 1-2 months, OT days are 3 days a week. Case numbers are increased based on your learning curve and speed. You are given SICS for 1 year and phaco only in last