Category: Information Technology

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) would not recognize 2-year bachelor’s degrees, Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Science (BSc), undertaken after the calendar year 2018. HEC also issued notifications to affiliated schools and DAIs (Degree Awarding Institutions) that it would not recognize these programs in the event their certifications are awarded.

In March 2017 and July 2019, a notification issued by the Higher Education Commission called upon affiliate universities to immediately discontinue academic curriculums in line with the Commission’s decision.

The Commission, however, observed that the aforementioned programs were still being offered at institutions, despite the notifications.

The Commission officially announced a replacement Associate Degree (AD) program in 2019 – a directive issued to immediately phase out the old 2-year programs, which mostly offered nothing but unemployed graduates.

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The notification further concluded that students who enrolled before 31st December 2018 in the discontinued programs are allowed to complete them until December 2020. Students who failed in these exams would be awarded the new Associate Degree upon completion.

Through the AD program, the HEC aims for affiliate institutions to provide a general education that has a broader spectrum of application in society. Students will be trained in the metrics of marketing, financial literacy, and ethics.

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The latest device from technology company Realme, the Realme 7 Pro, is now available nationwide at a price tag of PKR 54,999.

The phone comes with 65W SuperDart Charge which, according to the company, gives 100% charging in just 34 minutes. It is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G Mobile Platform and a 6.4-inch display screen.

The handset comes with a 64MP Quad Rear Camera and 32MP In-display Selfie Camera with upgraded 64MP Pro Nightscape Mode for clearer nightscape videos.

7 Pro’s sales data shows 592% sale growth on the first day of its launch as compared to 6 Pro. Realme has also been named to be the fastest-growing brand to reach the 50 million Smartphone sales milestone by Counterpoint’s Q3 2020 smartphone shipment report.

Realme Pakistan was recognized by GMV as the number 1 selling smartphone brand in the country. The brand has also become popular for online flash sales and was one of the top two brands sold out in October this year.

Realme was the second most sold brand on Daraz 11.11 in Pakistan’s mobile and smartphone category by selling thousands of products in just 7 days of the exclusive sale. Realme also introduced six new products including two Smartphones and four AIoT products.

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SMEDA has revised its action plan to establish an agro-food processing facility in Balochistan. The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) intends to minimize post-harvest losses to farmers and add value to the crop yield of the country.

According to the reports, the Ministry of Industry and Production intends to install a production facility for Balochistan’s agricultural produce. The facility will store fruits such as apple, peach, plum, apricot, tomato, grapes, and carrot.

This project mirrors the recent mango processing facility set up in Punjab a few years ago. Local SMEs greatly benefited from it, and the proposed facility in Balochistan will potentially act as a similar processing facility, protecting farmers’ yield of apple, tomato, carrot, and plum in the region.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Production, farmers in Balochistan will incur minimal post-harvest losses with this facility. Moreover, their profit margins will improve significantly, and the idea of value-addition will change the economic landscape in the region.

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Elements of Market Growth
Along with the new agro-facilitation center, SMEDA is researching to formulate proficient solutions for market growth, estimation of local market size pertaining to output, market gap and current production, the market price of end-product, and most frequented market segments pertaining to demographic highlights.

Furthermore, with this study, SMEDA intends to revamp Pakistan’s export potential for fruits. The planned study would highlight processed fruit, concentrate, and pulp, identify the top three export markets along with certification and compliance requirements.

Fruit Exports
According to PBS, Pakistan exported fruits worth $431 million in the previous fiscal year, making up 0.4 percent of the world’s fruit exports. Currently, the world’s fruit trade stands at a resounding $117 billion.

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Pakistan is a producer of a variety of fruits. However, due to a few unfortunate circumstances, it has not been able to export most of its fruit produce successfully. The Ministry of Industry and Production has upgraded harvesting technology to minimize post-harvest losses, however, the need for improvement continues to grow.

According to a Research Gate report, Pakistan’s top export markets for fruits include Afghanistan, India, UAE, Russia, and China.

The report stated,

Conforming to European and other developed countries’ health and safety standards has become a major challenge for Pakistani exporters. European Union is the most strict in food safety.

According to a UNIDO report on Pakistan’s Horticulture Sector, a few production standards have been identified for improvement. Export numbers will jump once each indicator is addressed.

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Recently, Xiaomi received the China Compulsory Certificate mark, also known as the 3C, for its new 55W fast charger. The charging brick was certified under the model number MDY-12-EQ with a voltage and current rating of 11V at 5A.

According to an infamous tipster the Digital Chat Station, who has a good track record, the new charger will make its way to the market with the upcoming Redmi phones and Xiaomi flagships. As of now, Xiaomi has a wide range of fast charging bricks with 65W as the highest capacity. However, until now, Redmi flagships have shipped with a maximum of 33W fast charging bricks.

Moreover, the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro, which tops at 50W fast charging, ships with a 65W charging brick. Hence, the new charging brick has either been designed to provide a more compact and efficient solution with the next flagship, or the company will bump up the charging speed to 55W and will ship the Smartphones with a brick to match. The certification, nevertheless, suggests that Xiaomi is taking new steps in the fast-changing sector.

For the who don’t know, currently, the fastest charging rate in the industry is 120W, which was recently unveiled by Vivo’s offshoot iQOO. The tech is capable of charging a 4000 mAh battery in 15 minutes.

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A report released by the brokerage house, Topline Securities, on Tuesday stated, that winters will have an impact on cement sales in the month of November 2020, whereby the local sales are likely to decline by 23 percent to 27 percent month over month. However, despite this monthly decrease, the sales will be up from last year’s similar time period, to the tune of 2 percent to 6 percent.

The report also said that the north region in the country is expected to witness a higher rate of contraction, approximately 25 to 29 percent, while sales in the south will likely fall by around 11 to 15 percent.

According to the equity research company experts,

This is the case because of restricted development work in the North region due to the early onset of the winter season and an increasing number of COVID-19 cases. That said, the local sales are likely to be still up 2 to 6 percent YoY during Nov-2020.

On the export side as well, the cement sector will likely see a decline of 1 to 3 percent on a monthly account, but an increase of 6 to 8 percent on an annual comparison.

The report stated, “Industry utilization in Nov-2020 is expected to clock in at 82 percent vs. Oct-2020 utilization level of over 100 percent (adjusted for dead capacities of Flying Cement, Dewan Cement Hattar and Dandot Cement).

The company-wise break down of the seasonal shift in cement sales, by Topline Securities show Lucky cement to remain among the winning companies with a projected increase of 23 percent on a year over year basis, while Fauji Cement Company Limited is projected to lose around 14 percent of their previous year’s sales.

About the expected sale price of cement, the report predicted prices in the North region during Nov-2020 to average Rs. 545 per bag, and in the South region at Rs. 611 per bag.

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