Chapter-21 Information and Communication Technology

8/2/2019 Chapter-21 Information and Communication Technology

1/13

Information Technology, Communication and Mass Media

Annual Plan 2011-12 179


21.1 Information Technology (IT)

Information Technology is now a proven pre-condition for enhanced competitivenessas well as an important vehicle for bridging the economic and social divide thusresulting in accelerated development and reduction of poverty. This transformation isenabling smarter solution through innovation and increasing productivity resulting inworldwide exchange and sharing of experience, knowledge and services amongstpeople and communities in an unprecedented way.

In Pakistan, the slow-down ineconomy during the last threeyears and continuing criticalsecurity situation has had itsaffect on the IT Sector as well.However, recently, InformationTechnology has started torecover gradually. In 2010-11,there has been a slight decreasein the network readiness indexrankings as compared to last

year, i.e., from 87 to 88. Thecomparison of NetworkedReadiness Index (NRI) ranking ofselected countries shows thatPakistan still ranks much lower than our regional competitors (Figure 21.1).

Review of 2010-11

Financial

In the PSDP 2010-11, anamount of Rs 3.2 billion was

allocated for informationtechnology sector for 71projects worth Rs 14 billion.Figure 21.2 shows thedistribution of PSDP allocationamong the Ministries/ Divisions.As per the revised estimates,the utilization for 2010-11 willbe 39.1% of allocated funds.

Chapter21


2/13



Physical

In the Information Technology Sector, the focus has been on following three mainareas.

Human Resource Development Information Technology Industry Development E-Government

Major achievements for 2010-11 are delineated below:

Human Resource Development

Important projects executed during 2010-11 for human resource developmentinclude:

National ICT Scholarship Programfor students of non-metropolitan areas tohave access to quality IT/Computer Science education in the country.

Basic Information Technology Training for improving the IT literacy andskills of Government employees to carry out office work.

Pilot Project for End-Users and System Administrators Training on OpenSource Softwareto raise the skills in the use of open source software.

Information Technology Industry Development

It is expected that IT exports in 2010-11 will reach US$ 270 million against atarget of US$ 350 million. This under-achieved status is mainly attributed to theoverall uncertain situation that prevailed during the year 2010-11, which made

international investors reluctant to invest and undertake business in Pakistanand many local companies in expanding initiatives within the country. Followingprojects were executed during the year 2010-11:

Purchase of Land in Karachi and Lahore for Establishment of IT Parks isgoing on and it will boost the information technology infrastructure andfacilitate more companies to establish their business in Pakistan.

IT Parks Construction projects consultancy for both Karachi and Lahoreairports was launched during the year.

Automation of Domestic Industry on Open Source Systems is providinglocal companies to develop expertise in open source arena as well as

automation at low cost for domestic industry.

E-Government

Important e-government projects executed during 2010-11 included thefollowing:

Machine Readable Passport/ Machine Readable Visa Project - Phase-II. Automation of Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) project Online Recruitment System for FPSC Automated Fingerprint Identification System (Phase-II)


3/13



Sectoral Challenges and Growth Strategy

Education & Human Resource Development

ICT is a very attractive sector for youngentrepreneurs to be successful. However,these entrepreneurs are required to begroomed for producing high valueinnovative products and services. ICTeducation and training can work ascatalyst by providing employment to youthin highly paid jobs and thus help inalleviating poverty and improving socio-economic conditions of individuals as wellas of communities. ICT is a field whichrewards creativity and innovation with

very little investment.

A strong focus on quality IT education will be very helpful for meeting both thedomestic demand as well as cater to the international requirements, since trainedhuman resource is an excellent source offoreign remittances. Pakistan needs torapidly and consistently increase the baseof primary, secondary and tertiaryeducation in terms of quantity as well asquality. A comparison of various countriesfor Quality of the Educational System(Figure 21.3) clearly depicts that there is a

lot of room for improvement to becomecompetitive at the world level. Pakistanalso needs to increase internet access inschools to improve its ranking in InternetAccess in Schools(Figure 21.4).

The key recommendations to develop HRD in IT sector are delineated below:

Establishing a chain of ICT Vocational Training Centers through Public PrivatePartnership with emphasis on international certifications (e.g. PMP, PRINCE2,CCSP, MCSD, DBA, etc.) and development of key competencies.

Providing computing infrastructure in secondary schools and colleges alongwith internet access.

Upgrading teaching skills of IT teachers. Scholarships for IT education. Establishing Centers of Excellence for IT Training. Implementing projects for upgrading IT skills with increased outreach of IT

institutions. Establishing IT Placement Centers for exporting trained IT manpower.

Development of Information Technology Industry

For 2011-12, the estimated IT exports are targeted at US$ 325 million, which is very

low as compared with the IT exports of other countries. For example, Koreas IT


4/13



exports were US$114 billion, Irelands IT exports reached US$21 billion and Indias ITexports are estimated to be US$59 billion approximately in year 2010-111. Fordevelopment of IT Industry and increasing software exports, following initiatives areenvisaged to be adopted:

Introduce e-commerce to build confidence for doing business focusing onexpansion in connectivity infrastructure, introduction of Public KeyInfrastructure (PKI), implementation of rational laws related to electronictransactions, data protection and cyber crimes.

Incentives for achieving higher CMMI Levels and other InternationalCertifications such as ISO 27001, ISO20000, ISO 9001, ITIL.

Encouraging development of I.T. incubators, especially to attract localentrepreneurs and investors.

Mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures with foreign software houses to buildworld-class companies.

Incentives for remitting earning in the shape of foreign exchange. Establishing Internet City and Knowledge Village (tax free zones) to achieve

critical mass of high technology companies like Multimedia Corridor inMalaysia, and Internet City in Dubai

Encourage domestic consumption of indigenously made software products andITeS.

Encourage availability of content, applications and services in Urdu and otherlocal languages.

Abolition of Sales Tax on computer hardware equipment and software. Developing computer hardware industry and encouraging transfer of

technology; as Pakistan has a very small base of ownership of PCs andbroadband penetration as compared to other countries (Figures 21.5 & 21.6).

E-Government

The use of ICT by the government itselfspecifically to increase the efficiency indelivery of its services is still very low ascompared to other countries (Figure 21.7).The e-government initiative has to be re-

1 Source: OECD Factbook 2010 and NASSCOM, India.


5/13



oriented to bring more governmental services online and continuous ownership at thehighest level to make it successful.

Major issue in the sustainability of e-government projects is the retention of ITprofessionals in the longer run as the private sector is offering very lucrative packagesfor the same skills and experience level. To attract IT professionals in the publicsector, development of an IT Cadre at competitive salaries based upon performance isessential. This will help in motivating IT professionals to join public service and adopt itas a long-term career. Recommendations for sustainability of e-government initiativesand cadre, briefly, are:

Replication of already matured e-government initiatives to avoid duplication ofefforts

Proper IT Sections in each Ministry inducting qualified IT professionals. Development of IT Cadre at competitive salaries based upon performance. Sharing of government software applications with other government entities

including Provinces.

Program for 2011-12

Financial

In the PSDP 2011-12, an amount of Rs2.61 billion has been earmarked for ITsector for 68 projects costing Rs 30.16billion. Agency-wise allocation in Figure21.8.

Physical

The PSDP earmarked for 2011-12 willfurther enhance the human resourcedevelopment, IT industry development, e-Government, infrastructure development andwill create employment opportunities in the IT sector. Major thrust in IT for the 2011-12will be as follows:

Human Resource DevelopmentIn 2011-12, focus on human resource development related projects willcontinue to be on provision of IT training to government employees and the

Public. Following are the main projects included in PSDP 2011-12: National ICT Scholarship Program. The target for the year is to provide

foundation training to about 10,000 students. About 800 successfulstudents from this foundation training will get scholarships for 4-yearsBachelors degree program in various national universities.

Basic IT Training initiated by Pakistan Computer Bureau for providingadequate basic computer skills will benefit approximately 5,000,Government employees during the next year.

Information Technology Industry DevelopmentIn PSDP 2011-12, emphasis on improving the IT infrastructure will continue sothat more international IT companies are attracted to undertake business in

Pakistan alongside the domestic IT companies. In this regard, some of theimportant projects included in PSDP 2011-12 are:


6/13



Phase-II of Standardization of Pakistani IT Industry targets to support atleast fifteen companies to attain CMMI level 2, seven companies CMMIlevel 3 and one company to attain CMMI level 5 in the next year.

Center of Excellence in Advanced Software Technologies and OpenSource will be established to increase the use of open source softwaretechnologies within the country.

E-GovernmentE-governance projects will continue to be the center-piece of informationtechnology initiative. The major e-government projects in 2011-12 include:

Machine Readable Passport/ Machine Readable Visa Project (MRP/MRV)Phase-IItargets to deploy the system at 7 RPOs and 30 Foreign Missionsin the year 2011-12.

Automation of Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) project isunderway and in the next year it is envisaged to be completed.

National Response Center for Cyber Crimes (NR3C) Phase-IIplans to

establish new forensic facilities at Peshawar and Quetta and disseminateinformation to make public aware about cyber crimes and how it can helpthem.

21.2 Telecommunications

Telecommunication sector in Pakistan has shown tremendous growth during the lastfew years. It is now entering into the next stage of consolidation and value addition inthe services. For services and infrastructure providers, this will bring even biggerchallenges and opportunities. The broadband services are now gaining more groundand this year has been very encouraging for the broadband service providers. The

slow-down in the growth of mobile connections/ subscribers during the last year is nowover and has picked up during this year. It is expected that the growth will be morevisible in the next year.

Review of 2010 - 11

Currently, there are two telecommunication organizations working under thegovernment umbrella namely National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) andSpecial Communication Organization (SCO). NTC at the moment operates about 130exchanges in the country and total working connections are 118,463. SCO presentlyoperates 159 exchanges and has 72,368 working connections and 122 GSM cell siteswith 301,011 mobile connections. SCO also operates 67 BTSs with 54,727 WLL

connections, 1940 DSL and 125 DXX connections. The important projects executed byNTC as well as SCOduring the year are as follows:

National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC)

Establishment of Video Conferencing Facility for GOP Hosting of GoP Portal and Government Websites. Special Communications Organization (SCO) Laying of Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) to connect remote areas of Gilgit-Baltistan

and AJK. Re-location of already laid SCOs telecom assets due to up-gradation of KKH

from Raikot to Khunjrab. Interconnect Billing and Customer Support for AJK.


7/13



Performance of Private Companies in 2010-11

Presently, there are 6 private cellular companies operating in the country. FollowingTables 21.1 and 21.2 show the number of connections as reported by PakistanTelecom Authority (PTA).

Table 21.1: Number of Fixed+WLL Telecom Connections (2010 and 2011)(Rs Million)

No Item As of Jun. 2010As of Feb.

2011Growth

(%)

1 PTCL Fixed Lines 3.4 3.3 -2.9

2 Other Fixed Lines 0.1 0.1 0.0

3 PTCL WLL 1.2 1.3 8.3

4 Other WLL 1.5 1.5 0.0

Total Fixed+WLL 6.2 6.2 0.0

Table 21.2: Number of Mobile Telecom Connections (2010 and 2011)(Rs Million)

No Company Name As of Jun 2010As of Feb

2011Growth

(%)

1 Mobilink 32.20 32.49 0.90

2 U Fone 19.55 20.37 4.19

3 Telenor 23.80 25.39 6.68

4 Warid 16.93 17.69 4.49

5 Zong 6.70 9.20 37.31

6 Instaphone 0.0 0.00 N.A.

Total Mobile 99.18 105.14 6.01

Total (Fixed + Mobile) 105.38 111.34 5.66

Source: Pakistan Telecom Authority

Broadband Services

Broadband connections increased from 900,648 in June, 2010 to 1,195,051 inJanuary, 2011. This increase is mainly attributed to aggressive launching of triple-playservices at affordable prices. Besides broadband, WiMAX services have also beenlaunched during the year by telecom companies namely PTCL, Wateen and Wi-tribewireless broadband services.

Outlook for 2011-12

In PSDP 2011-12, Rs 2.44 billion has been earmarked for SUPARCO, SCO and NTCto execute 24 approved projects worth Rs 29.12 billion. Following are some of theimportant projects that will be executed in 2011-12:

NTC Establishment of Coastal Management System for Arabian Sea in Pakistan.

SCO Construction of Cross-Border Optical Fibre Cable for Alternate International

Connectivity.


8/13



SUPARCO Pakistan Communication Satellite System (PAKSAT-1R). Development of CFIs to fly on-board Communication Satellite PAKSAT-1R. Development of Various Laboratories for National Satellite Development

Program in Lahore. Human Resource Development for National Satellite Development Programme

(NSDP). Development of Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR). Satellite Bus Development Facility (PhaseI). Development of a Satellite Assembly Integration and Test (SAINT).

21.3 Mass Media

Mass Media in Pakistan has entered a challenging phase after revolution ininformation and broadcasting technologies. The Sector has been supported both bythe public as well as private sector investment. Print Media on top and electronic

media in general are private sector entities to a larger extent but still the state runelectronic media is huge in size and infrastructure. This poses increased demand forrestructuring and strengthening the public sector broadcasting system. The policyfocus is on technological sophistication and ensured sustainability in the currentcompetitive environment. The media in fact is providing support to all sectors ofeconomy and development in terms of connectivity. It is a major vehicle for sharinginformation on diverse areas of intervention. The private sector has been allowed tooperate radio and television channels under certain code of conduct, ethics andregulatory regime. The private sector investment so far is about Rs126 billiongenerating jobs for about 1,50,000 people. The total numbers of licensed TV channelsare 115 and FM radio stations are 129. The table 21.3 below shows future income andemployment figures generated by the electronic media:

Table 21.3: Projected Income and Employment in Electronic Media2011-12

Medium Investment(Rs Billion)

Employment Generation(000)

Satellite TV 18.0 20

FM Radio 1.0 5

Cable TV 11.0 28

MMDS/WIBRO 1.50 0.6

IPTV 1.50 0.5

Interactive Internet TV 1.0 0.5

Satellite Radio 0.50 0.5

DTH 0.50 1

Total 35.0 56.1Source: PEMRA, 2011 Islamabad

Strategic Framework

To meet the objectives and the targets for long term media development in the country

as envisaged in the growth framework a multi pronged strategy will be followed withcentral focus on larger participation of community through private sector investment:


9/13



Gradual policy shift from total government investment in electronic media andinfrastructure expansion to localize media initiatives to be proposed by thecommunity through private sector

liberalize regulatory framework for creating maximum space for thestakeholders outside public sector Encouragement for specialized broadcasting (narrow-casting) to generate

maximum commercial inputs Reduce the role of public sector to policy guidelines and address the

commercially less viable areas Enhance capacity of public sector media to compete and survive side by side

the private sector

Major initiatives to be undertaken in the mass media sector are to:

Switch over to digital transmissions both in the public and private sector in

order to meet the cutoff date (2015) for complete shifting of broadcasts fromanalogue to digital set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Create conducive environment for all private sector electronic media withPakistani content to operate from Pakistan.

Expand the reach of Cable Television services to all households of the country. Provide Television signals through terrestrial network to all households. Encourage and facilitate private sector to launch direct to home Television

service, interactive cable Television Network, Community Television andCommunity Radio Service throughout the country.

Install powerful transmitters for regional and international coverage. Rationalize the role of public sector electronic media in terms of scope and

size.

Review 2010-11

The revised allocation for the Mass Media Sector for the year 2010-11 was Rs 259.5million which is expected to be utilized in full by June, 2011. The new subjects ofPNCA, Lok Virsa and recently transferred to Ministry of Information and Broadcastingwere provided revised allocation of Rs 51.7 million which has also been consumedfully. The sub sector wise progress is given in Table 21.4:


10/13



Table 21.4: Mass Media Agency-Wise Allocation and Utilization2010-11

(RsMillion)

Sub Sector Revised Allocation2010-11 Estimated Expenditure2010-11

Main Ministry I&B 3.3 3.3

PBC 87.9 87.9

PTV 143.6 143.6

APPC 24.7 24.7

Sub-Total 259.5 259.5

Transferred Subjects

PNCA 49.2 49.2

Lok Virsa 2.5 2.5

Sub-Total 51.7 51.7

Total 311.2 311.2

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

The only project of Ministry of Information & Broadcasting for monitoring the progressand implementation of ongoing projects (PME Cell) utilized an amount of Rs 3.3million. Under this project all the ongoing projects of the ministry in all parts of thecountry were monitored and reports were prepared.

Pakistan Television Corporation

During the period 2010-11 the total utilization of PTV stands at Rs 143.6 million out ofwhich the major amount of Rs 74.6 million was consumed by TV Station Multan. Thetemporary TV station is operational since March, 2008 in the premises of RadioPakistan. Civil Works for construction of permanent TV Station building are inprogress. The boundary wall has been completed and foundation works of studio blockand administration block has also been completed. Other ongoing projects of PTV arefor extending TV signals to Northern Areas, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and uncoveredpockets of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The RebroadcastStations are located at Ziarat, Poran, Bisham, Ali Abad, Chillas, Ghakuch, Khaplu,Jaglot, Astore, Shigar, Kohat, Kotli Sattian, Badin, Kharan, Mian Channu, Jura,Athmuqam, Karan, Dhudnial, Sharda, Khel and Pandu. All these Stations are atvarious stages of progress and during the year 2009-10, they utilized an amount of Rs68.9 million. Most of them are expected to be revised and will be completed at highercosts. News Bureau at Larkana was provided Rs10 million; foundation stone ofbuilding has been laid down.

Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation

The seven ongoing projects of Radio Pakistan were provided Rs 87.9 million out ofwhich the major allocation of Rs 48 million has been utilized by the project forinstallation of 2X100 KW SW transmitters and high frequency aerial system at Karachi.The short wave transmitters have been imported while the aerial system is in the

process of import. The balancing and modernization of studio equipment activity ofPBC is almost complete. The equipment has been procured and installed in various


11/13



Radio Stations of the country. The replacement of three 100 KW MW transmitters oneeach at Muzzafarabad, Hyderabad, Multan utilized Rs 15 million on import of onetransmitter. The project for up-gradation of 10 KW to 100 KW MW transmitters atLarkana was provided Rs 23 million for importing the transmitter and allied equipment.

Associated Press of Pakistan (APP)

APP is providing video news service to 35 national and 12 foreign TV channels. Theelectronic news gathering services project utilized Rs 24.7 million on salaries,renovation of building and equipment. The project is operational since October, 2007at APP headquarter, Islamabad and four provincial capitals.

Post 18th Amendment Scenario

After the 18th Amendment some new subjects of development/organizations havebeen added (transferred) to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. A small account

of their performance in preceding year is as under:

Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA)

The revised allocation 2010-11 for PNCA stands at Rs 49.2 million which is expectedto be utilized in full. The major amount of Rs 32 million is expected to be spent onpurchase of land for National Theater for Performing Arts at Islamabad. An amount ofRs 8.2 million each has been utilized by preparation of database of Painting and ArtsWorks and Establishment of Laboratory for restoration of damaged paintings at PNCA,Islamabad.

Lok Virsa

An amount of Rs 2.5 million has been utilized by the only ongoing project of Lok Virsa,National Folklore Ensemble on purchase of equipment, costumes and other materialsrequired for creation of a theatre.

Programs for 2011-12

The thrust in line with the last years practice will again be on completion of ongoingprojects and funding of RBSs for left-out pockets in KPK, Balochistan and NorthernAreas. The total allocation for Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is Rs 630million for the year 2011-12. However, the newly transferred subjects of PNCA andLok Virsa to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will be provided additional

allocation of Rs 12.4 million for ongoing projects. The sub sector wise position is givenin Table 21.5:


12/13



Table 21.5: Mass Media; Agency Wise Allocation2011-12

(Rs million)

Sub Sector Proposed Allocation2011-12 Total

Ongoing New

Main Ministry I&B 4 - 4

PBC 200 18 218

PTV 358 - 358

APPC 35 - 35

Sub-Total 597 18 615

Transferred Subjects

PNCA 12 - 12

Lok Virsa 1 1 2

PME Cell of M/o Culture 1 - 1

Sub-Total 14 1 15

Total 611 19 630

Pakistan Television Corporation of Pakistan (PTV)

PTV has been provided of Rs 358 million for ongoing and new projects. The majorallocation of Rs 100 million is for completion of civil works of TV Station Multan. Thefollowing Rebroadcast Stations have been provided funds for completion by June,2011: Rebroadcast Station Bisham, Poran, Chillas, Ghakuch, Khaplu, Jaglot, Astore,and News Bureau, Larkana. All the remaining RBS have been provided funds for civil

works and purchase of lands. Among the new projects Rs 5 million each have beenproposed for procurement of digital satellite new gathering equipment for PTV andrehabilitation and reconstruction of four damaged RBS in KPK.

Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation of Pakistan (PBC)

The allocation of PBC for the year 2011-12 stands at Rs 218 million including Rs 800million US aid for Radio Pakistan. The balancing and modernization project has beenallocated Rs 8 million for completion. The two SW transmitters and aerial system atKarachi will receive Rs 70 million for import of aerial system. Rs 30 million have beenprovided for setting up FM Radio Station in various parts of the country. Rs 22 millionhave been provided to up-gradation of 10 KW to 100 KW MW transmitter, Larkana forcompletion and inauguration. Under US aid program 100 KW MW transmitter atPeshawar will be replaced by 400 KW MW while 10 KW transmitter at D.I.Khan will beup-graded to 100 KW MW transmitter. These two transmitters along with all alliedequipment are being provided by US aid for improving the Radio coverage in this area.The local component will be in the shape of logistic support, building and manpowersupport.

Associated Press of Pakistan (APP)

The video news services program of APP has been provide Rs 35 million for purchaseof equipment and salaries.


13/13



Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA)

PNCA has been earmarked Rs 12 million for completion of database of painting andart works and setting up of laboratory for restoration of damaged paintings.

Lok Virsa

The allocation for year 2011-12 stands at Rs 1.0 million for completion of ongoingproject National Folklore Ensemble (Soft Image of Pakistan), Lok Virsa, Islamabad.The Government of Japan is providing Rs 59 million under Japanese Cultural Grant forthe project Up-gradation of Lok Virsa Media Studio. The project has a localcomponent of Rs 1 million.

Chapter-21 Information and Communication Technology

Documents