The main objective of the National Research Council (NRC) is to assist the government to plan, coordinate, and facilitate research in science and technology so as to build a vibrant national scientific and technological community in the country. 

 

 

NRC was not established by a Parliament Act, but by an order issued by the then President with the powers vested in him by the constitution. The proposal made by Minister of Science, Technology and Research Susil Premajayantha, to draft  legislations to establish the NRC as a statutory entity by a Parliament Act, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.