Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) is an autonomous organization set up in 1988 under the Department of Science & Technology. It was set up to look ahead in technologies, assess the technology trajectories, and support technology innovation by network actions in select technology areas of national importance. TIFAC continues to strive for technology development of the country by leveraging technology innovation through sustained and concerted programmes in close association with academia and industry. In 1993, TIFAC embarked upon the major task of formulating a Technology Vision for the country in various emerging technology areas. The outcome of the Technology Vision 2020 exercise led to the set of 17 documents, including sixteen technology areas and one on services. The effort was a unique and pioneering exercise that involved more than 5,000 experts including scientists, technologists and corporate managers from academia, industry and the government.

Objectives of TIFAC
The TIFAC was set up with the following main objectives:

* To set up specialized sub-groups for examining and evaluating the existing state of art of technology and direction of future technological developments in various cross-sectoral areas as well as in other sectors of the economy, both in India and abroad and to prepare technology forecasting reports, covering 10 years or longer periods, specially in production areas involving substantial investments of financial resources and a large volume of production;

* To obtain from appropriate sources and project the estimates of the nature and quantum of the likely demands of goods and services in various sectors of the economy against 10 and 25 years` time-frames on the basis of `normative`, and `exploratory` approaches and to suggest the direction and extent of technological changes that might be considered necessary in order to fulfill these demands in the light of the existing or anticipated resource base of the country.

* To prepare Technology Impact Statements, with a view to uncovering the likely implications and consequences, both desirable and undesirable, of the existing as well as newly emerging technologies upon society, indicating to decision-makers, through generation of future-oriented scenarios, their short-term and long-term implications.

* Ensuring timely availability of requisite technologies relevant to the needs of the country on futuristic basis and minimizing the time gap between the development of new technologies and their utilization and

* Establishing a purposeful linkage between technology development and technology import policies, to identify priority areas of research in relation to the socio-economic, environmental and security needs of the country; to evolve and suggest strategies for technological developments based on such priorities; and to draw up programmes of purposeful research in various sectors.