Two federal cabinet ministers have said the government has made the development of science, technology and innovation, together with the legislation needed for national prosperity, its first priority, with a target of drafting 165 new laws. Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Mahabir Pun and Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Sobhita Gautam made the remarks at an interaction programme held with local residents in Bharatpur, Chitwan, according to reports published on Tuesday by Nepal Press, Khabarhub and Rato Pati.
The two ministers appeared together at the interaction programme, where they set out what they described as the working priorities of the current government: innovation, the use of technology and law-making. The announcement of a 165-law target attached a concrete figure to the legislative side of that agenda, while the emphasis on science and innovation reflected the portfolio held by Pun.
Science and innovation placed at the centre
Pun told the gathering that the government has prioritised the development of science, technology and innovation. As the minister responsible for that portfolio, he presented the sector as a central part of the government's programme rather than a peripheral concern, tying it directly to the broader goal of national prosperity.
According to the ministers' remarks, the current government is working with innovation and the use of technology as its first priority, placing those fields alongside law-making at the top of its agenda. The framing positioned scientific and technological development not as a stand-alone ambition but as a driver of the wider development push the government says it is pursuing.
The joint appearance of the science minister and the law minister at the same public programme underlined that message. By announcing the two agendas side by side, the government signalled that it views technological advancement and legislation as connected parts of a single effort aimed at prosperity.
A target of 165 new laws
Gautam, speaking at the same interaction, said the government is working toward the goal of creating 165 laws. The target gives a measure of the scale of the legislative work the government has set for itself, and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, which Gautam heads, sits at the centre of that process.
The ministers described the legislation as needed for national prosperity, aligning the law-making programme with the same objective that guides the government's science and innovation agenda. In their telling, the two workstreams are being pursued simultaneously rather than as separate tracks.
Summarising the government's stated first priorities as presented by the two ministers:
- the development of science, technology and innovation,
- the use of technology, and
- law-making, with a target of drafting 165 laws.
A specific, numbered target of this kind sets a clear benchmark for the government's legislative output, giving residents and observers a figure against which the promised work can be judged as the administration's term progresses.
Taking the message directly to the public
The setting for the announcements was an interaction programme with local residents in Bharatpur, the headquarters of Chitwan district and one of the larger cities in the country. Events of this kind bring ministers face to face with citizens outside the formal settings of Parliament or official press briefings, allowing the government to explain its agenda directly to the public.
For the residents of Bharatpur, the programme offered a direct account from two senior members of the cabinet of where the government says its focus lies. Rather than announcing new projects or specific measures, the ministers concentrated on describing the direction of the government's work, centring their remarks on science, technology, innovation and legislation.
The choice of a public interaction outside the capital also placed the government's priorities before an audience of local residents, in keeping with the format of the programme, which was organised specifically for the community rather than for officials or the press alone.
A two-track agenda for prosperity
Taken together, the remarks delivered in Bharatpur present a government that defines its work around two tracks: the promotion of science, technology and innovation on one side, and an ambitious legislative programme targeting 165 laws on the other, with both framed as foundations for national prosperity.
The interaction in Chitwan showed the two ministers carrying that message to the public in person, describing innovation, the use of technology and law-making as the first priorities of the current administration. The government now faces the task of delivering on both fronts, converting the stated priorities into enacted legislation and into visible development of the science and technology sector.
For now, the message carried to residents in Bharatpur was one of intent. In the words of the two ministers as reported, the government is working on innovation, technology and laws, with national prosperity presented as the destination of that combined effort.
