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Skilled approach needed for energy crisis
By admin at November 19, 2011 | 12:53 pm | 0 Comment
IN ORDER to explore maximum potential of alternative energies for meeting the ever-increasing power requirements, the government of Pakistan has come up with setting an ambitious target of producing 9,700 MW through alternative/renewable resources by 2030. In this regard, the government has initiated an extensive wind energy programme to introduce renewable energy more...
Disaster in disguise of betterment
By admin at November 15, 2011 | 11:42 am | 0 Comment
Pakistan has recently granted the most favourred nation (MFN) status to its arch rival India against mere commitments from the other side of favouring Islamabad on other international economic forums. Under this initiative of ‘friendship’, India would enjoy massive economic benefits in the international market. While on the other hand, this decision has sent a wave of more...
Need to minimise citrus losses
By admin at November 14, 2011 | 1:00 pm | 0 Comment
THE AGRICULTURAL Pakistan witnesses about 40 per cent of the citrus produce going waste especially during the post-harvest process which has emerged as a major challenge for agricultural scientists and extension workers to minimise this loss. Pakistan, which is an important citrus producer, exports around 10 per cent of citrus, processes two per cent, 40 per cent is lost more...
Heavy cost of inconsistency
By admin at October 29, 2011 | 2:10 pm | 0 Comment
Several months have passed to the devolution of Ministry of Environment to the provinces, however, there are a lot of affairs yet to be resolved between the federal and provincial governments and almost all things are in limbo. At this critical stage when the climate change is negatively impacting the national agriculture economy, the absence of any mechanism particularly more...
Looking for sane decision on wheat price
By admin at October 22, 2011 | 1:12 pm | 0 Comment
Wheat plays a central role in Pakistan’s food economy, both in terms of production and consumption. The government intervenes to finance the purchase of wheat and fixes its price prior to sowing in an effort to provide good returns to cultivators and keeping the commodity markets intact. It is also assumed responsibility for the storage of millions of tons of wheat. more...
Another dent to farm production!
By admin at October 15, 2011 | 1:34 pm | 0 Comment
IN LESS than a week of the decision of the State Bank of Pakistan to cut its policy rate by a massive 1.5 percentage points in an attempt to appease industrialists, the government has dragged its feet by withdrawing subsidy on agriculture loans and asked Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited to increase mark-up by six per cent in three years. The government claims that after more...
Farm policy needs major overhaul
By admin at October 10, 2011 | 1:31 pm | 0 Comment
AGRICULTURE IS the backbone economy in Pakistan where about 67 per cent population live in rural areas. About 25 per cent of the country's total land area is under cultivation and the agriculture contributes about 22 per cent to the country's GDP. About 41 per cent of the labour forces are employed in agriculture, but on the contrary, the current agriculture policy lacks more...
Cashing in on white gold
By admin at October 3, 2011 | 12:49 pm | 0 Comment
Pakistan is ranked fourth in the world’s top milk producing states with its annual production of 36.2 million tons of milk from eight million farming households after India, China and the United States. It is no doubt a huge potential and the government of Pakistan can earn precious foreign exchange through exporting processed milk and milk products to the world. In more...
Right step, at last!
By admin at September 24, 2011 | 4:26 pm | 0 Comment
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has recently accorded approval in principle to the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy-2011. The document, came out after a wide gap of about 16 years and is now set to be presented to the federal cabinet for final approval, proposes allocation of at least one per cent by 2015 and two per cent of the GDP by 2020 and more...
Day dreaming about IT growth
By admin at September 19, 2011 | 1:43 pm | 0 Comment
According to the latest worldwide data report for 2010-11, Pakistan is experiencing an exponential growth in the broadband sector. Pakistan, which has seen a boom in its promising telecom sector and information technology services in recent years, recorded around 46.2 percent growth of subscribers and is placed fourth on the ranking list. No doubt that this can be termed more...
Sane decision, at last
By admin at September 12, 2011 | 1:21 pm | 0 Comment
At last, the NEPRA has come up with its decision to issue uniform tariffs for wind power projects in the country for a period of 20 years. These tariffs are meant for early completion of wind power projects. Under the newly framed decision, the wind companies will not have to get tariffs approved by NEPRA. Pakistan is critically experiencing the energy shortfall which is more...
Wrong decisions to handle right issues
By admin at September 10, 2011 | 1:55 pm | 0 Comment
The volley of follies on the part of official authorities in Pakistan to handle the persistent issues of national importance is not yet over as most recently the government has banned use of virtual private networks (VPNs) by Internet users when the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority sent a legal notice to the country’s ISPs, directing them to turn in customers who more...
Assigning tasks to non-professionals
By admin at August 27, 2011 | 2:09 pm | 3 Comments
Pakistan is long standing at the borders of the three generations (3G) technologies but this stage could not be covered due to multiple factors from both the government and the telecom operators. Currently, over 85 per cent of international telecom operators have converted into 3G and in certain cases even to 4G technologies and are trickling these advanced technologies more...
Need to finance alternative energy home solutions
By admin at August 20, 2011 | 3:40 pm | 0 Comment
Technologies have been evolved, costs have come down, and the need for new sources of accessible, affordable and clean energy has increased in importance in the developing world. In terms of small scale solutions, solar PV, solar hot water and biogas digesters are just a few of the technologies that have been successfully commercialised in many developing countries. And more...
Wrong priorities at right times
By admin at August 13, 2011 | 12:53 pm | 0 Comment
Most recently a Chinese bus manufacturing company - Foton Motors – and Sindh government have agreed to provide 2000 CNG buses in the province. The company has designed modern buses for Pakistan with design feature to meet specific cultural and demographic needs of the country and with a special focus to power the buses with environment friendly fuel such as CNG, LPG and more...
Major overhaul needed for S&T sector
By admin at August 6, 2011 | 3:38 pm | 0 Comment
Most recently, the Public Accounts Committee has recommended to the government to close Ministry of Science and Technology, terming it as useless. It viewed that the ministry and its subsidiaries especially Pakistan Agriculture and Research Council (PCSIR) have shown utter disappointment in their performance and they should either be closed or there should be some reforms more...
Bury the hatchet at least in cyber world
By admin at July 30, 2011 | 1:50 pm | 0 Comment
In the era of cyber space, the war between hackers and defenders is getting intensified influenced by latest technological developments. The two neighbour states – Pakistan and India – are not exception in this regard as the hostility between them is an open secret. Most recently both of them have opened a new hostile front – the cyber front, mainly from the more...
Dilemma of science and tech progress
By admin at July 25, 2011 | 1:34 pm | 1 Comments
The science and technology has emerged as the cornerstone of development of the modern world, which has revolutionized the conventional processes of progress and national strength. The science-technology-innovation system is one that is continuously and rapidly evolving around the whole world. The dramatic growth over the last twenty years in the use of science, more...
Harbouring entrepreneurial approach
By admin at July 17, 2011 | 8:26 pm | 0 Comment
IT GOES with saying that India has a wider edge on Pakistan in terms of technology industry’s growth volume and established itself globally the thrust has been on service delivery which is core of its policy. One of the factors dictating the next phase of growth of the Indian technology industry is, of course, innovation and creation of frontier technologies. Pakistan more...
Govt needs policy overhaul
By admin at July 10, 2011 | 7:13 pm | 0 Comment
Last week, Irfan Nadeem, Secretary Science and Technology, paid a farewell call on Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani at the PM House. Obviously being formal on the occasion, the Prime Minister commended Irfan Nadeem for his services as a civil servant while working in various capacities during his tenure of duty. He asked the outgoing Secretary to arrange a briefing more...
Correct steps needed to handle cotton crop
By admin at July 3, 2011 | 9:53 am | 0 Comment
Encouraged by the bumper wheat crop this year the cotton crop was sown on 78.23 million acres in Pakistan sending strong hopes of having the bumper crop too. The sowing area is 3.93 percent higher than that of the last year. Province-wise break-up shows that in Punjab the crop was sown on 62.92 million acres, which is 101.86 million of the official target, and 0.67 more...
Sanity should prevail on environment
By admin at June 25, 2011 | 12:46 pm | 0 Comment
For the last couple of months, the federal government’s decision to devolve some ministries to provinces has evoked sharp criticism not only from within the ministries but also from those who want Pakistan grow at a fast pace. Ministry of Environment is amongst those ministries in the process of being devolved, which has rung alarm bells at home as well as in the world. more...
A right step at last!
By admin at June 18, 2011 | 1:53 pm | 0 Comment
According to a latest development, the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) is being merged with the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB). Whether it is forced by the persistent financial crunch the government of Pakistan is facing since long to run mega projects or departments or the experts have realized the desperate need for installing a major reformed more...
Living with language deficiencies
By admin at June 11, 2011 | 11:32 am | 0 Comment
The Urdu Science Board (USB) (old name Central Board for the Development of Urdu) was established in 1962 under the central government with the major aim of promoting national values and developing Urdu to make it an effective medium of instructions at the higher stage of education. Later, in 1982, the Board was renamed as “Urdu Science Board” and was assigned the more...
Need to improve Pakistan’s GTI ranking
By admin at June 4, 2011 | 11:23 am | 0 Comment
According to the Global Talent Index (GTI) 2011 by the Economist Intelligent Unit, Pakistan has been placed at 56th position among the 60 world economies while China is at number 33 and India at 35. Components of the GTI are demographics, compulsory education and university education, quality of labour force, talent environment, openness and inclination to attracting more...
