[3] NCSTC has three major objectives:[2] The Government of India in its Sixth Five-Year Plan in 1980 introduced an elaborate scheme for the promotion of science and technology.
[4] It constituted a Cabinet Committee on Science and Technology (CCST) on 3 March 1981.
[5] Following the proposals by SACC, three scientific bodies were established in 1982:[4][6] The council officially started functioning in 1984.
As its first major activity, NCSTC organised the first national science festival of India named Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha (Life of Science in India) in 1987.
[7] The major activities of NCSTC are organising: The council gives the following awards to science students, teachers and populisers on National Science Day:[2][11]