The new government headed by Premier Balen Shah has been virtually carrying twin bags of appreciation and criticism at the same time. It has been criticised for engaging in an evacuation spree of encroached public land without making adequate preparation. It could have been executed very successfully like the Kirtipur Housing Project, which was constructed for the Vishnumati Riverbank squatters way back in 2005. For this, Lumanti, a non-governmental organisation and then the Kathmandu Metropolitan City deserve a huge round of applause even now. It has also been criticised for disturbing the seniority dynamics of the Supreme Court appointments, where the senior-most judge had been appointed in its seven-decade- long history but now letting a junior judge to don this much coveted crown. The walk-out of the Prime Minister during the addressal of the President to both the Houses of Parliament, followed by his continued absence there, has been condemned by all alike in the country. The verdict of the Supreme Court against the government action in majority of these cases goes to prove this point. But light can be seen on the other side of this dark tunnel with the establishment of a new Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI). Our neighbours India and China have made huge progress on the STI front while Nepal remains streets behind. This is despite having a glorious past which was appreciated by the Chinese traveller Wang Huen Tse when he visited Nepal in the seventh century. Referring to the beauty of the palace Kailashkut Bhawan, he had said that he saw in Nepal an architecture which he had not seen anywhere else, including India. That the STI had reached the pinnacle of progress can be judged by the still functional stone waterspout, Mani Hiti, which was constructed in 570 AD by Bharabi, the grandson of the illustrious Licchavi King, Mana Dev. There are a few more which were constructed earlier, but they are not active as the Mani Hiti. Our forefathers had the capacity to develop the technology which could function without a break now for 1456 years. Several factors are responsible for our lagging far behind compared to the neighbours, primarily because STI experts were persecuted for no rhyme or reason during the Rana regime. Gehendra Shumsher is said to have been served a slow poison, and among his cohorts, Tulsi Mishra was handed down a seven-year imprisonment while Mushe Thapa was driven out of the country. They had built a steam engine, a rudimentary machine gun, a cannon, a model of an airplane, and the like. STI has been put on the back burner ever since. In China, a commission was formed in 1958, which later developed into a ministry in 1998. STI in China obtained a fillip after China launched the modernisation drive in order to catch up with the West. The drive focussed on agriculture, defense, education, and STI. It has not only achieved a parallel status with the West but has even surpassed them in many areas. In India, it was established in 1971 and has been given such importance that the prime minister has looked after it for most of the time. In Nepal, the Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) was created by late King Birendra in 1981, but budget allocation has been so poor that it has hardly worked to its full potential. Whilst South Korea is said to spend 4-5 per cent, China 2.5 per cent, and India 0.6-0.7 of GDP on research, Nepal's spending never went above 0.38 per cent, with the result that some very important projects like pollution control and cost-effective housing have not been able to make any headway in NAST. But there is no shortage of STI enthusiasts and well-wishers in the country. A Magsasay Award Winner, Mahabir Pun, now a solitary independent lawmaker in the House, has sold his book to raise funds to finance his brainchild, the Nepal Abiskar Kendra. Pun made such a passionate speech in the Parliament that the government decided to create a new STI ministry when several other ministries were merged to limit their number to 18, much smaller than the constitutional provision of 25. This is a welcome development against the backdrop of jumbo cabinets of the past where then Premier Babu Ram Bhattarai honestly admitted that he did not know all the 62 ministers of his cabinet. People's expectation from the newly created ministry has naturally touched the sky. It should be able to address the problems being faced by the country. For example, hydrologists and metrologists have predicted extreme hot weather this year and a drought during the paddy plantation time due to the El Nino phenomenon developing in the Pacific. In the past also, in 1992, such an event had led to lesser rain leading to a 17.7 per cent drop in agricultural produce coupled with high temperature incidents. In a similar phenomenon in 1878, some 50 million people are said to have died round the globe. Proactive steps like digging of ponds, making use of a dry variety of paddy seeds, and inserting cost-effective heat insulation measures can make a sea difference. For this, this columnist had dug several ponds in Mahottari and Khotang districts, which was unfortunately not followed up by the local government. It also did not pick up the low-cost bamboo mud-cladding with a 2-inch air gap in the roof and the walls. People can themselves do these things if communicated properly. In 1961, people around the country had constructed temporary sheds in their housing plot to survive a predicted killer earthquake, which fortunately did not occur. The new ministry can spread such awareness even in its state of infancy. Prof. Pokharel is former Vice-Chancellor of NAST