Report by Engineering Post
The federal government was paying special attention for the development and promotion of the Information Communication & Technologies sector in order to keep pace with the rapid developments and innovations taking place around the globe and providing substantial funds for ICT sector related projects envisioning that there would be substantial rise in a number of domains.
These domains which were making steady progress and development primarily due to the federal government initiatives and support for Information Technologies (IT) programmes included :
Establishment of IT Startups and Technological Ventures Increase in number of freelancers and increased earnings quantum.
Preparation of NGMS and 5G Framework for planned spectrum auction Enhanced internet connectivity in remote regions of Pakistan including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Incentives for local manufacturing of IT equipment and products Up scaling for local manufacturing of youth in IT domains, and Focus on market-oriented job skills.
According to the information available from the official sources concerned, these projects were perfectly aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4; Access to Education, SDG 3 healthcare , SDG 8 Economic Growth , SDG 5 gender Equality, SDG 13 climate Change and SDG 17 Partnerships.
The federal government was also in the process of planning for launching a Digital Pakistan initiative in the coming months aiming at spurring innovation and implementing IT driven culture with a focus on the adoption of ICT services delivery and enhancing infrastructure , e.g. broadband access, cellular connectivity, etc.
Furthermore, the federal government has also developed a comprehensive strategy that focuses on capacity building of public and private sectors entities, besides providing an appropriate infrastructure and platforms in the field of IT. The key pillars of the strategy were to achieve the vision including e-Governance, IT infrastructure , human Capital Development , Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Development and Export of IT and IT Enabled Services (ITeS), fintech, E -Commerce and Digital Platforms, Privacy and Security, Partnership and Collaboration.
The federal government was also committed to improving the business model of the telecommunication equipment manufacturers. Similarly, many startups were also operational in different Science and Technology Parks in the country that have been funded to innovate products for IT usage and applications, thus promising to generate new revenue streams for the country.
