Antibiotics in the environment: molecularisation, drug resistance and pharmaceutical pollution in India

The environment plays a significant role in developing, transmitting, and spreading antimicrobial resistance (AMR), particularly in India, where pharmaceutical manufacturing waste contributes to antibiotic effluent pollution. This paper analyzes science-policy responses to pharma-industrial antibiotic effluents and AMR in India, highlighting uncertainties due to molecularized understandings and the ontological multiplicity of antibiotics. It calls for rethinking molecularized approaches and finding alternative solutions to address industrial pollution and AMR in the environment.