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  • SPOTLIGHT

India struggles to turn science into societal benefits

Entrepreneurial researchers can find solutions for Indian problems, but the lack of a spin-off culture means the country loses out.
By
  1. David Adam

    1. David Adam is a writer in Hertford, near London.

Every year, more than 6,000 farm workers in India die from exposure to the pesticides they hand-spray on their crops1. In 2018, Praveen Vemula published details2 of a possible solution: a protective gel the farmers can apply to their skin to break down the most toxic substances.

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Nature 624, S38-S39 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03914-6

This article is part of Nature Spotlight: India, an editorially independent supplement. Advertisers have no influence over the content.

References

  1. Boedeker, W., Watts, M., Clausing, P. & Marquez, E. BMC Public Health 20, 1875 (2020).

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  2. Thorat, K. et al. Sci. Adv. 4, 1780 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Suresh, N. & Chandan, S. R. India Bioeconomy Report 2022 (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, 2022).

    Google Scholar 

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