Category: Information Technology

The University of Karachi (KU) has extended its deadline for the submission of application forms for its entrance-test-based online admissions 2021. Applicants need to submit their documents with the paid fee voucher by 2 December 2020.

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The new deadline is valid only for selected Bachelor’s and Master’s programs and applies to Doctor of Pharmacy (morning and evening programs), Doctor of Physical Therapy (morning program), and the Department of Visual Studies.

All the information about the admissions (including the online admission form, the prospectus, and the submission guidelines) is available on the university’s web portal.

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KU will conduct the entry test through its recently-established ‘KU Assessment and Testing Service’.

Applicants who opt for either self-finance or the reserved seats must both take and pass KU’s entry test to be considered for admissions.

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International tech giants TCL and Alcatel are interested in Pakistan. The Chinese Smartphone manufacturer TCL and the Japanese OEM Alcatel are allegedly planning to invest in Pakistan’s Mobile manufacturing industry with Airlink.

These developments come after the introduction of the recent mobile phone manufacturing policy and DIRBS that have contributed towards increasing local demand in the economy and have attracted foreign investors.

According to Pakistan Customs, the import of mobile via Device Identification, Registration, and Blocking System (DIRBs) has helped generate Rs. 54 billion over the last year. For those who don’t know, the system was introduced by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Pakistan Customs to control the use of smuggled devices in the country.

Moreover, in May this year, a mobile phone manufacturing policy was introduced in Pakistan under which local smartphone manufacturers receive a 3 percent allowance on exports, and locally assembled handsets were exempted from 4 percent withholding tax on domestic sales. As of now, 17 mobile phone manufacturers are operating in Pakistan. These have been greatly facilitated by the government policy launched earlier this year.

Hence, many foreign investors are interested in stepping into the Pakistani market. TCL and Alcatel will soon step in, and based on the current situation, it looks like others will follow as well.

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Every year on December 03, International Day for People with Disabilities is celebrated with a resolve to empower the differently-abled and implement catalytic measures that could make the world a comfortable place for them. It is a day that encourages the differently-abled to explore potential opportunities and contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.

Pakistan has a widespread presence of disability in the country. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, nearly three million people suffer from some form of disability in rural areas. Hence it has become essential to work on policies and programs which could address their needs. The best approach to do so is by promoting the concept of inclusivity at a national level.

Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund is setting a good example in this regard by stressing inclusion and access to equal opportunities. In the last two decades, PPAF has empowered hundreds and thousands of differently-abled people across the country. Through such initiatives as the ‘Disability Project’, PPAF launched a nationwide program to counter disability and incorporate the differently-abled within the society.

This program was pivotal in providing assistive devices, skill training, attendant training, and independent living training to a total of 30,872 disabled individuals under a community-based rehabilitation program that ran across Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK).

Additionally, under its livelihood and enterprise development program, PPAF worked in seven districts across Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and KPK to provide 2,755 people with productive assets along with business incubation training to make them useful members of society. An additional 3,014 Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) were trained in enterprise development.

This served as a foundation for creating more and better employment means for the differently-abled.

From 2011 to 2016, PPAF supported the Family Educational Services Foundation (FESF) to develop the first-ever Pakistan Sign Language (PSL) booklet which was empirical in benefitting 5,000 children with hearing impairments. Furthermore, it has worked with Deaf Reach Schools and Training Centers across Karachi, Hyderabad, and Sukkur to develop training programs and resources for teaching staff.

PPAF also collaborated with the Pakistan Foundation for Fighting Blindness (PFFB) to establish computer centers within government schools for special children in Multan, Peshawar, and Lahore helping 8,000 visually challenged persons gain computer-based, IT skills and training.

PPAF has been providing skill development and vocational training programs for the hearing-impaired children, helping them to reach their true potentials and pushing them to join the mainstream society. Inclusion is one of the core values of PPAF, therefore the organization has promoted this approach in all its programs and ensured that equal opportunities are provided to every individual.

With a firm belief that the improvement in the economic situation across the disadvantaged areas of the country will also help counter the increased rate of disability in the country, it is the need of the hour to create more opportunities via specialized training and vocational programs that provide opportunities for all in the society.

This will lead to a more sustainable approach towards the promotion of an all-inclusive work environment, society, and stronger linkages as a nation. Initiatives similar to the ones PPAF has launched over the years to enhance the lives and livelihoods of differently-abled through poverty alleviation are a much-needed attempt at bridging the gaps existing within the society.

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The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue passed the Banking Services Amendment Bill 2020.

The meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue was held at the State Bank of Pakistan under the chairmanship of Member National Assembly, Faizullah. State Bank Governor, Dr. Reza Baqir, welcomed the standing committee members.

During his speech at the occasion, Baqir said that he considered it a privilege to host the standing committee meeting and discuss the issues on the agenda.

According to a press statement issued after the meeting, the Governor SBP briefed the committee on the amendments related to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Banking Services Corporations (BSC) Act desired by the SBP and explained that the changes are required to smoothen the operations of SBP BSC.

Governor SBP, Deputy Governor Banking, and Managing Director SBP BSC, Muhammad Ashraf Khan, replied to various queries of the standing committee.

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After a detailed discussion, the committee unanimously passed the Banking Services Amendment Bill, 2020. However, the committee members expressed their concerns over the qualifications required for said position and the difference in the degree qualifications of the NBP President.

He also briefed the committee on the desired amendments to the SBP Banking Services Corporation Act and explained why the central bank thinks that these amendments are necessary.

The committee also discussed at length the issues related to the hiring of qualified personnel in the NBP, to which the deputy governor gave detailed responses. It was also highlighted during the meeting that there was a thorough procedure for hiring officials for the NBP, and no illegal hirings had taken place.

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The video conferencing application Zoom that only a handful of people knew about until last year, has quadrupled its revenue year over year. The application has been doing pretty well, obviously!

Where the pandemic resulted in significant losses for many companies, it turned the tables for Zoom. The company has reported $777.2 million in revenue during its third quarter. This is well over 4x its revenue from the same quarter last year. Zoom reported a similar revenue spike in the last quarter as well. Hence, this makes it two quarters in a row where Zoom’s revenue has quadrupled. Based on these numbers, the video conferencing application is expecting to quadruple its revenue year over year once again in the fourth quarter.

Due to the COVID-19 induced work-from-home trend, Zoom has become the go-to video conferencing app for many. Even though the start of Zoom’s fame was a little bumpy due to the security and encryption issues, the platform managed to hold its spot as other services, including Google Meet, Slack, and Microsoft Teams increasingly vied for attention.

Zoom has not revealed the exact number of its users, but its metrics around paying customers continue to grow. Currently, the company has 433,700 subscribers with more than ten employees, up from 370,200 last quarter. Moreover, the number of customers delivering more than $100,000 in revenue grew from 1000 to 1300 over the prior year.

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Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, Dr. Sania Nishtar, has said that the payments to over 4.3 million deserving women under the latest phase of PTI government’s flagship Ehsaas Kafalat program have started.

Briefing media on the program, Dr. Sania said that a sum of Rs. 12,000 will be paid to the needy women, who will be able to withdraw the amount through ATMs.

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According to the PM’s aide, payments are being made as a six-month installment to women from all four provinces as well as Gilgit-Baltistan for the July-December period.

The PM’s aide asked the payees to bring their identity cards with them at the time of payments, adding that the receipts will be issued to ensure transparency.

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Dr. Sania maintained that strict implementation of COVID-19 health guidelines would be ensured at the payment centers.

Ehsaas Kafaalat was launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan on January 31, 2020, in Islamabad.

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The price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has been increased by 1.5 percent for domestic use in December 2020, a notification issued by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) revealed on Monday.

In monetary terms, this is a rise of Rs. 23 per cylinder (11.8kg), and amounts to a final price of around Rs. 1,530.3 per cylinder which will be effective from Tuesday, 1 December.

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The price for commercial LPG has also been bumped up by Rs. 88. The price per cylinder will now be Rs. 5,976 up from Rs. 5,888

OGRA’s notification revealed the new rates under which the price of LPG has increased by Rs. 1.92 per kg to Rs. 131.63 in December up from Rs. 129.7 per kg in November.

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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Punjab have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly promote public-private partnership (PPP) projects in Punjab’s health care sector through ADB’s transaction advisory services.

The MOU was signed in Lahore by the Head of Public-Private Partnership Cell of Planning and Development Board of Punjab Dr. Farrukh Naveed and ADB Country Director for Pakistan Xiaohong Yang.

Chairman Planning and Development Board Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh witnessed the signing ceremony.

“We are pleased to assist the Government of Punjab in developing hospital PPP projects in major cities in order to strengthen health care capacity and improve quality of life for the citizens of Punjab,” said Ms. Yang, adding, “It will complement ADB’s ongoing support to the PPP program in Punjab province by creating a pipeline of bankable healthcare PPP projects.”

“ADB’s involvement as transaction advisor for hospital PPP projects will bring genuine improvements to health systems and we’re glad to expand our collaboration with Punjab into this crucial sector,” said Head of ADB’s Office of Public-Private Partnership Yoji Morishita.

He added,

ADB’s advisory support for the first hospital PPP project in Punjab will help unlock investments in the sector by creating a model case with the development of template project documents based on international best practices. We hope that the first hospital PPP project can be replicated in other cities and accelerates the development of future projects to improve the quality and affordability of health care in Punjab.

Under the MOU, ADB’s Office of Public-Private Partnership will screen potential hospital PPP projects in ten major cities in Punjab including Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Mianwali, Multan, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal, and Sargodha and will provide transaction advisory services to identify, prepare, structure and tender the top priority hospital projects to develop PPP’s.

ADB will also provide holistic support in undertaking capacity building and development of a potential project pipeline by mobilizing technical assistance funds.

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Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek is working on at least three new 6nm chips, some of which will be part of the Dimensity lineup that offers 5G as well. One of these new 6nm chips is the MediaTek MT6893 which has just made rounds at the Antutu benchmark, beating the Snapdragon 865 by a small margin.

MediaTek’s new 6nm chip is slightly better in terms of GPU performance than Qualcomm’s outgoing flagship, the Snapdragon 865. It is also a bit better in terms of memory, compared to the Snapdragon-powered phone, an Oppo Find X2 Pro. In terms of CPU, however, it is slightly slower than the SD865.

The MT6893 is built around four Cortex A78 cores and four A55 cores. The prime core among the Cortex A78 CPUs runs at 3.0GHz while the other three are capped at 2.6GHz. This is the same configuration as Samsung’s Exynos 1080 chipset. The GPU on the MediaTek chipset is a Mali-G77 MC9 while Samsung went for the newer G78 cores.

With its new chipset, MediaTek appears to be aiming for the premium market rather than the bleeding edge flagship range. Hence, we can expect to see this chip feature on upper mid-range and more affordable high-end phones.

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