Rs11m IT industry project approved
ISLAMABAD – Minister for Information Technology Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari on May 7 approved a project worth Rs11.5 million to carry out a strategic study of the country’s information technology industry.
He was presiding over a meeting with the officials of the ministry and Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) – a body that has been asked to undertake the project. The initial duration of the project is 12 months with an approximate cost of Rs11.5 million. It will be funded through the PTCL’s Research and Development Fund.
The objective of the project is to compile an annual IT industry study and strategic review with a view to analyzing performance of the sector. “Strategic Review 2004 will focus on providing a macro and micro view of the IT sector, and the developments taking place in the country’s market, against the performance highlights of the global IT industry,” the minister said.
He called for recourse to modern research methodologies during the course of strategic review which, he added, should be drafted in a well-thought-out manner so that it provided a clear vision for the Pakistan’s IT industry to achieve a breakthrough in the global competitive environment.
The minister also called for inclusion in the strategic review, “key recommendations for the companies operating within this market, and the federal and provincial governments”.
“The focus is on creating a strategic blueprint for the country’s IT software and services industry, which can help companies operating in this space to maximize growth,” he said.
The study, he said, would also serve as a feedback mechanism for the government, providing policy makers with an insight into the requirements of IT market and the steps needed to spur its development.
Mr Leghari said another objective of the review was to compare the state of Pakistan’s IT sector with the global IT trends and to respond to the requirements of making necessary policies and action plans.
He recalled that earlier in 2000, an IT policy was drafted with broad-based inputs from the information technology experts, and the policy was approved by the cabinet. However, due to shift in global IT trends and worldwide economic slump, Pakistan had not lived up to its full potential, with exports remaining stuck at the $125 million mark for the past few years.
This was in spite of all efforts on the part of the government to provide incentives such as a complete tax holiday till 2016 on IT exports, dramatic reduction in the cost of bandwidth, and other similar incentives.
The minister maintained that the government had invested heavily since 1999 in terms of both money and support to the IT sector. “However, there is hardly any movement forward on the ground, and the reality is that the industry is still in its infancy,” he observed.
He asked the PSEB to hire reputed companies having experience in conducting research studies. He also approved hiring of consulting companies for data collection, analysis and recommendations for strategic policy.
Source: Dawn
Date:5/8/2004
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