ROLE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN TODAY'S WORLD

 Introduction

Science and technology are widely acknowledged to be essential components of social and economic development.There are two major aspects of this role.

First, scientific knowledge and new technologies can help tackle many of the problems and challenges that affect developing countries; problems like the provision of health care, physical infrastructure, safe drinking-water and food supplies, for instance, demand capacity in science and technology.

Second, technological change lies at the core of economic development. Scientific and technological knowledge is very important in new or improved products, as well as in new services and processes. Each of these in turn can help raise the productivity and competitiveness of both enterprises and countries. Conversely, differences in scientific and technological capabilities between developed and developing countries contribute to the growing social and economic gap between them.

Government policies can help foster the domestic research and development (R and D) 

activities that are needed to build a comprehensive national scientific and technological capacity. Such policies, Collectively referred to as 'R and D policy; are therefore, important for creating a context that encourages technological learning ---- defined as the process of accumulating a capacity to innovate------as well as innovation itself.