Objectives

   
To cultivate and promote science and technology in society and create physical and social environment conducive to the pursuit of scientific activities.
   
To re-organize, activate and expand the science and technology system in the province with a view to making it more efficient, dynamic and self-reliant.
   
To ensure that the science and technology system is directed towards the achievement of provincial goals and aspirations, in particular towards the welfare of the people, sustained growth of the provincial economy, and security of the province in particular and country in general.
   
To develop, strengthen and modernize the engineering and technological base of the province and in turn of the country so as to achieve self-reliance in this field, reduce import of consumer goods and promote export of value added manufactured products.
   
To develop speedily the requisite level of technological capability in the province through planned promotion of indigenous technologies as well as import, assimilation and adaptation of advanced technologies for increasing the gross national product and ensuring optimal exploitation of the province’s natural resources.
   
To ensure regular supply of adequate strength of high quality research manpower for the S & T sector and create an environment providing necessary motivation for high quality performance.
   
To develop an effective information network for science, engineering and technology, having adequate links with international information services, for providing R & D workers and other interested agencies speedy access to current knowledge in different S & T fields.
   
To popularize Science and Technology at the grass-roots level so as to mobilize the creative abilities of the entire nation and facilitate widespread application of S & T for socio-economic uplift of the urban as well as rural areas.
   
Bridge the gap between the best local and the best international practices in industrial technology: - Attaining the state of the art in production technology in certain key industrial areas is necessary if Pakistan is to compete internationally. Closing this gap depends upon the formulation of policies promoting exports, direct foreign investment, quality assurance and purchase of the best technologies and capital goods.
   
Bridge the gap between the best and sub-standard local practices in industrial technology: - Narrowing this gap will increase competitive pressures on leading firms to improve productivity in order to stay in the lead. Closing this gap provides the strongest motivation for firms to continually strive for the acquisition of improved technology. In Pakistan, this internal gap is known to be large. There is scope for significant improvements in technology information dissemination and industrial extension.
   
Improve and develop technology to enhance international competitiveness in the long run: - Improvement and development of technology is crucial to keep abreast of, and ultimately to contribute to, technological innovation. A primary feature of the Science and Technology system in Pakistan is its orientation toward formal and unproductive rather than commercial research and development. Other problematic issues are the negligible private sector role in R&D, high administrative overheads in government R&D institutes, and the absence of linkages between components of the R&D system. A strong partnership between the research community and the productive sectors of the economy is required to correct these trends.
   
Technical manpower development: - It is those societies that have invested in the skill of their people that are today global economic leaders. In the decades to come, as industry becomes more knowledge intensive, the return on investment in technical manpower development will increase. In Pakistan, human capital must be developed through proper education and formal and informal training.