It was established in May 1971 to promote new areas of science and technology and to play the role of a nodal department for organising, coordinating and promoting scientific and technological activities in the country.

It also supports various researchers in India to attend conferences abroad and to go for experimental works.

Department of Science and Technology (India) supports open access to scientific knowledge, originated from the public-funded research in India.

In December 2014, the DST and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India had jointly adopted their Open Access Policy.

[2] The autonomous science and technology institutions organized under the department include:[5] This article about government in India is a stub.