Tech and Telecom

Earlier today, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan inaugurated 66 new offices of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) in an official ceremony. He also unveiled numerous NADRA-supervised mobile applications for the certified issuance of alien identity cards and work permits for foreigners, including a platform for the verification of COVID-19 vaccination certificates. Prior to these developments, 90 new mobile registration vans for catering to the masses at the tehsil level had been inaugurated by the PM as per his directives for the supervision and deployment of such initiatives. ALSO READ 8.4 Million Farms to Get Direct Subsidy through Kisan…

Pakistani e-commerce giant, Daraz, has won big at the Retail Asia Awards 2021, bagging awards in ‘E-Mall of the Year’ and ‘CSR Initiative of the Year’ categories. The Retail Asia Awards 2021 honors the innovations and accomplishments of enterprises in the past 24 months. Daraz received the ‘E-mall of the Year’ award for its focus on developing a premium and secure channel, DarazMall, for high-quality products and services. Since its inception in 2019, DarazMall has been a major catalyst for e-commerce growth in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Nepal. During the peak of the pandemic in 2020, DarazMall provided…

Students in Gujranwala created a world record on Thursday by planting 52,040 saplings in 40 seconds under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Clean Green Ten Billion Tree Tsunami program. Over 12,500 students, teachers, and civil society members participated in the activity to surpass the record of planting 37,000 saplings in one minute set by India. The plantation drive was carried out along the 14-kilometer greenbelt of GT Road passing through Gujranwala city. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on climate change, Malik Amin Aslam, said that Gujranwala has made it to the Guinness Book of World Records by planting over…

Inovi Telecom, a Karachi-based smartphone manufacturer, has exported another 5,500 smartphones from Pakistan to the Middle East. This is Inovi’s second consignment consisting of smartphones manufactured in Pakistan that has left the country in a space of few weeks. ALSO READ Huawei Sued for Using US Company to Spy on Pakistan Using Safe City Project Earlier in March this year, Inovi Telecom inaugurated its state-of-the-art mobile phone assembling and manufacturing plant in Karachi. The company aims not only to provide employment opportunities to Pakistani citizens but to also export locally manufactured smartphones worldwide, which will eventually benefit the national economy.…

Two Pakistan Army personnel received minor injuries after a Mushshak aircraft, belonging to Army Aviation, crash-landed in Chammala village near Jhelum on Thursday. The two-seater aircraft flew from Nakodar Airbase at 8:41 am on a routine training mission and crashed in the nearby village at 8:45 am. Both pilots ejected safely before the crash. ALSO READ 2 Companies Allegedly Involved in Rs. 6 Billion Mega Tax Fraud Jhelum police Sub-Inspector, Ahsen Butt, said that Captain Ahmed Shah and Captain Daniyal received minor injuries upon landing. They were given first aid after being rescued. This is the second such incident within a…

The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased by $223 million during the week that ended on 6 August 2021. The reserves had been recorded at $17.623 billion for the week as compared to $17.846 billion on 30 July 2021. The SBP has made external debt repayments and payments for the procurement of the COVID-19 vaccine amounting to $245 million during the last week. Coupled with other official inflows, these costs showed a decline of $223 million in the reserves. ALSO READ Forex Reserves Fall by $22 Million in One Week A breakdown of the reserves…

The assets managed by the mutual fund companies in the country crossed the value of Rs.1 trillion in the outgoing fiscal year for the first time in history. According to the data released by the Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan (MUFAP), the assets under management (AUMs) have grown at an annualized rate of 15.7 percent over the last decade. Assets Under Management (AUM) of Pakistan’s Mutual Funds Industry have crossed PKR 1trn for the first time. AUMs have grown at a CAGR of 15.7% during the last 10 years.@Pakstockexgltd @StateBank_Pak#KSE100 #PSX #MUFAP #Equities #MSCI #EM #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/TD2lL1LSke — Arif Habib…

Business Efficiency Solutions (BES) LLC, a California-based company, has moved to California Federal Court against Huawei for stealing its trade secrets during a collaborative project for the Pakistani government and spying on Pakistani police and law enforcement agencies. In a petition lodged by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld LLP, a leading global law firm, BES, contended that the Chinese tech giant used its technology to create a “backdoor” to collect sensitive data that was important to Pakistan’s national security. ALSO READ 2 Companies Allegedly Involved in Rs. 6 Billion Mega Tax Fraud For the unversed, a backdoor means a…

COVID-19 has provided the telecom sector of Pakistan an opportunity to expand further and to strive for reducing existing digital inequality in the country. The experts from the telecom sector said this during a webinar on ‘Future of Telecom Industry amid COVID-19 with special focus on Pakistan’ organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). ALSO READ Jazz Becomes 1st Telco with 100% Staff Now Vaccinated Against COVID-19 Muhammad Arif Sargana, Director General Commercial Affairs Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic has hit every sector of the economy but on the contrary, it proved to be an opportunity…

Blockchain is the future of technology. Globally the blockchain market is forecasted to reach the size of US$23.3 Billion by 2023 representing a CAGR of 81%. Pakistan’s IT industry is growing rapidly as well. Each year, 20,000 IT graduates on average join the tech sector. Our IT exports have hit the mark of US $2 Billion in the first quarter of the FY 2021 alone. That’s a significant indicator of what the future holds for the tech sector of Pakistan but we need to strengthen our economy further. That can only be done when our youth is actively involved in…