Punjab IT Policy 2016: 3rd Roundtable Conference

PITB in collaboration with TechHub Connect hosted the biggest IT event of Pakistan – The third IT Round Table Conference at ASTP on October 25, 2016 (Tuesday). The conference, enthusiastically attended by more than 150 IT companies alongside P@SHA, was spearheaded by Chairman PITB, Dr Umar Saif to finalize the IT policy of Punjab. Dr Saif stated that more than 150 brilliant minds had contributed to the preparation of the draft of Punjab IT Policy 2016 while the draft has been formulated after diligent review of the policy documents from more than 25 different countries. More than 50 consultative meetings during the process to seek input from specialists especially in the case of emerging disciplines such as IoT, Big Data, Cloud Computing etc., he added.
He elaborated that the policy outlines four components viz. regulation, budget allocation, promotion of the IT sector and empowerment of citizens through digital development. “We want the government to treat connectivity as it treats utilities,” said Dr Umar Saif and that their mission is to enable internet access and reduce digital divide in Punjab. He further informed that a ‘Right of Way Policy’ has also been introduced in the policy while digital financial inclusion is a prominent goal of the IT Policy 2016. The discussion also reviewed progress made on key issues since the 2nd Roundtable held in May 2015. Dr Saif was pleased to announce that the government was partnering with more than 100 local vendors, which is a good omen.
Dr Saif emphasized on the need of an IT census that would be conducted with the assistance of P@SHA, promising that the IT census will be underway by the next time they all assemble. Later, the forum was opened for questions, comments and suggestions while the participants engaged in an enthusiastic round of Q/A.
All the participants acknowledged the hard work of Dr Umar Saif and TechHub Connect to have come up with an IT Policy while President P@SHA, Jehan Ara, thanked Dr Umar Saif for taking the lead and hoped other provinces drew inspiration from the example set high.
Director Entrepreneurship, Nabeel A. Qadeer and Program Manager, Sarah Tariq Gilani deserve a special mention and praises for arranging such a wonderful event.