Incidence of both cervical and oral cancer are high in India. Although there are no organized cervical or oral screening programmes in the country, a number of research projects are ongoing or recently completed. In cervical screening, a number of studies of visual inspection with various aids and studies of human papillomavirus (HPV) testing are in progress. Long-term follow-up of these will inform policy on cervical screening in limited resource countries. A randomized trial of oral visual inspection for cancer or premalignant lesions in 192,053 subjects has been conducted in Kerala, South India. In the trial population as a whole, the study group showed a non-significant 21% reduction in mortality from oral cancer compared with the control group. In users of alcohol, tobacco or both, in which more than 90% of oral cancer deaths occurred, the reduction was a significant 34% (relative risk = 0.66, 95% confidence interval 0.45-0.95). On the basis of these results, screening for oral abnormalities has the potential to prevent 37,000 deaths per year worldwide.