The development, status and future of forensics in India

Abstract The 20th century has been called the age of science in which there have been tremendous scientific and technological developments. Forensic science institutions in India also came into being at the beginning of the 20th century. The networking of these institutions continued till the end of the 20th century and intensified in the 21st century. A lot of forensic facilities were created in India for the timely disposal of crime cases through scientific investigations in the field and the laboratories. However, the facilities created have not been commensurate with the increasing workload of crime cases. The efforts are still being made for generating further infrastructure in the workforce and machinery, science, and technology to update the forensics in India, but still, there is a further need for capacity building of forensics in India. The article highlights and discusses the contemporary scenario, problems, academic and research activities, future directions, and necessities of forensics in India.