Punjab Govt. decides to solve the issues of IT industry: Dr. Umar Saif

Lahore: It is time to bridge the gap between government and IT industry in Punjab by introducing new dimensions and strategies to solve the core issues presently being faced by the IT Industry in Pakistan.

It was stated by the Chairman Punjab IT Board (PITB) Dr. Umar Saif while addressing the first Round table Conference held at Arfa IT Tower on Friday.

The conference was organized by the newly established “TechHub Connect”, an initiative taken by the PITB and IT University Lahore to enable the local IT industry to learn about new things happening around the world, to connect with each other through strong interactions and to accelerate its growth on the basis of research by engaging the academia.

Dr. Saif urged that IT industry needs to be organized on strong footings in Pakistan like other industries such as Textiles and Sugar etc.

The conference was attended by more than hundred participants related to the local and international Business, Entrepreneurship, Commerce, Trade, Industry and Stock Exchange, academia and startup community. Introducing the TechHub Connect, Dr. Saif said it will project local companies and celebrate their success, play a role of an mediator between IT Industry and the academia and will foster freelance community in Pakistan.

He optimized by saying that the project will introduce a practicable model that will build synergies between the two, will increase jobs opportunities and motivate the youth to cater to current or future needs of the industry.

Dr. Saif told that the TechHub Connect will launch an online portal where industrialists could have post projects/jobs according to their need and academia will respond by referring students and appropriate workforce to them.

During the discussions, the participants explained the issues related to taxes imposed by the government and new procurement rules. Dr. Saif replied that  the PITB would set up a new portal i.e. www.eprocurement.pitb.gov.pk in collaboration with the World Bank to bring more transparency and accuracy, where vendors could have apply online to avoid long paper documentation.

He further ensured that PITB would conduct a series of training to help vendors develop a better understanding of Procurement Rules and procedures. The participants took active part in discussions and declared the TechHub Connect a useful platform highly desired by the IT industry and academia.

A consensus was made on a list of problems faced by industry and academia that the government would work towards solving.