Why in the News?

• A recent report discusses how neurotechnology, particularly Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), is emerging as a frontier domain.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Neurotechnology (Concept, Significance for India, Emerging Trends in India, Global Developments, Regulatory & Ethical Challenges)

Understanding Neurotechnology: A New Technological Frontier

• Neurotechnology refers to the use of engineered tools that can record, monitor, or influence neural activity.
• The field sits at the convergence of neuroscience, AI, engineering, and computing, and is rapidly redefining how humans interact with machines.
• At the core is the Brain-Computer Interface, a system that decodes neural signals and translates them into digital actions, enabling users to control prosthetics, wheelchairs, computers or even robotic limbs.
• Neurotechnology is evolving across two broad areas:
  • Diagnostic and Neuroscience Research Tools
    • Devices that map brain activity to study neurological disorders, cognitive function, or behavioural patterns.
  • Therapeutic and Assistive Technologies
    • Systems enabling paralysed patients to move prosthetics, aiding stroke rehabilitation, and stimulating targeted brain circuits for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, depression, or epilepsy.
• Some experimental work globally has gone even further, such as lab experiments connecting the brains of mice to exchange simple information, underlining both the potential and the ethical complexity of the field.

Significance of Neurotechnology for India

• India faces a growing neurological disease burden, with the share of non-communicable and injury-related neurological disorders rising between 1990 and 2019, and stroke emerging as the single largest contributor.
• Key reasons India needs neurotechnology

• High disease burden: Millions live with paralysis, spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease, or depression, conditions where BCIs and neural stimulation therapies could be transformative.
• Mental health needs: Targeted stimulation could reduce long-term reliance on psychotropic medication.
• Economic & innovation potential: Neurotechnology sits at the intersection of biotech, semiconductors, and AI, three sectors where India is actively expanding capabilities.
• Strategic advantage: Early investments could position India as a global hub similar to how it scaled IT and pharmaceuticals.

India’s Emerging Strengths in Neurotechnology

• Academic Contributions

• IIT Kanpur recently unveiled a BCI-based robotic hand, aiding stroke rehabilitation.
• The National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Manesar, and the Brain Research Centre at IISc Bengaluru are serving as major neuroscience research nodes.

• Industry and Start-up Landscape

• The start-up Dognosis is using neurotechnology to study brain signals in trained dogs, hoping to apply scent-recognition neural patterns toward early human cancer detection, a novel application highlighted in the report.

• These developments reflect a budding ecosystem that can be strengthened with policy, funding, and industry collaboration.

Global Developments and Their Implications for India

• United States
  • The BRAIN Initiative, launched in 2013, is one of the strongest global programmes.
  • Neuralink, in 2024, received FDA approval for human trials and has demonstrated early restoration of prosthetic-driven motor movement in paralysed individuals.
• China
  • The China Brain Project (2016-2030) focuses on cognition research, brain-inspired AI, and treating neurological disorders.
• Europe & Latin America
  • The EU and Chile are pioneering neuro-rights legislation, recognising the potential risks of brain-data exploitation and autonomy loss.
• For India, these trends underscore the need to develop both technological capacity and an ethical, regulatory architecture suited to its social and economic context.

Regulatory and Ethical Challenges for India

• Without adequate regulation, neurotechnology could bring risks such as:

• Privacy violations (brain data is the most intimate data known)
• Manipulation of neural activity
• Misuse for surveillance or military advantage
• Inequitable access, worsening health disparities

• The study stresses the importance of:

• Public engagement to understand societal concerns
• Tailored regulatory pathways depending on whether BCIs are diagnostic, therapeutic, or enhancement-oriented
• Ethics frameworks ensuring user autonomy and data consent
• A specialised regulatory pathway that evaluates BCIs on both technical safety and ethical dimensions is essential for responsible innovation.