The concept of "Science & Technology" in the Indian context is primarily a national policy framework and an institutional mechanism designed to drive socio-economic development. Its formal origin is the Scientific Policy Resolution (SPR), which was drafted and adopted by the Indian Parliament in 1958 to promote scientific research and foster a scientific temper among the population. The SPR was created to solve the problem of post-independence technological dependence, recognizing that the establishment of a welfare state required significant investment in science and technology for industrialisation and national prosperity.
The mechanism is executed by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), established in May 1971 under the Ministry of Science and Technology, which acts as the nodal department for coordinating and promoting S&T activities and funding approved scientific projects. The framework connects to key institutions like the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), an autonomous R&D body established in 1942, and the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB).
The policy has evolved through four previous iterations: the SPR 1958, the Technology Policy Statement (TPS) 1983, the Science and Technology Policy (STP) 2003, and the Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (STIP) 2013. The framework has changed recently with the formulation of the Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (STIP) 2020, which is the fifth national policy. The STIP 2020 aims to create an ecosystem for an Atmanirbhar Bharat and introduces the concept of a "dynamic policy" with periodic review, while proposing the establishment of a National STI Observatory to act as a central data repository.