Tech and Telecom

The Government of Punjab has decided to reimpose the token tax on 10-year-old vehicles. Two months ago, it had provided a concession of 25 to 30 percent on the token tax, which has now been reimposed. The provincial Assembly has passed a proposal that posits that older cars produce more pollution, hence the relaxation on payment of their token take must end. It also stated that the provincial government will collect both the current tax and the previously exempted tax on them. ALSO READ Govt Increases Petrol Price by Rs. 1.71 The provincial government’s tax rates are: It had announced…

Karachi’s Urdu-speaking community is diminishing with its citizens opting to converse in other languages, according to Pakistan’s 2017 census results that were recently released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Previous census data had shown Karachi as a linguistically diverse region that was inhabited by mostly Urdu speakers. However, cultural shifts caused by migrations over the last 40 years have transformed many communities that now have more speakers of Pashto, Sindhi, and Saraiki than speakers of Urdu and Punjabi. ALSO READ Pakistan’s CPI Inflation Fell to 8.4% in July 2021: PBS The PBS’s findings indicate that Karachi’s Urdu-speaking population…

The Toyota Indus Motor Company (IMC) recorded its highest sales in 28 years last month and took to social media on Monday evening to announce that it had sold 6,775 vehicles in July, which is its highest sales figure since 1993. ALSO READ Car Carrier Loaded With MG Vehicles Overturns on M-9 Motorway Analysts and car enthusiasts have speculated that the increase in sales is largely due to the recent reduction in the prices of vehicles and a decrease in the rate of interest in auto financing. It is also believed that the reduction in taxes and duties for automakers…

Last week, we covered news of the Mi Band X, which was rumored to feature a 360-degree wraparound display and more. This Mi Band was leaked through an internal Xiaomi presentation, which showed a slide of the Mi Band X. ALSO READ Xiaomi Mi Pad 5 Will Have Three Models With SD870 and SD860: Leak However, Wang Hua of Xiaomi’s PR department has debunked these theories, saying that while the leaked presentation was real, there is no such thing as a Mi Band X. He added that this presentation was, in fact, the company’s internal training program for new employees…

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Mr. Shaukat Tarin, presided over the meeting of the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) held at the Finance Division. ALSO READ Rupee Touches Nine and A Half Month Low Against US Dollar The Price Monitoring Committee also reviewed the prices of wheat, sugar, pulses, chicken, and other essential food items in the country. The Secretary, M/o NFS&R, updated the Committee about the wheat procurement process. He apprised that the order for the purchase of 220,000 tons of wheat has already been placed. While taking stock of the situation, the NPMC directed the Ministry of…

The meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production was held at Parliament House under the Chairmanship of Senator Syed Faisal Ali Sabzwari. ALSO READ SECP Issues Draft Cloud Adoption Guidelines For Companies The agenda entailed a detailed comparison of car prices and specifications in the region and a briefing on the impact of the government’s incentive on the Automobile Industry and the end-users and functions. The Committee was also briefed on the functions, projects, and future schemes of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA). While discussing the pricing of cars in Pakistan, the Committee was…

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has reinforced coronavirus restrictions in several major cities to control the spread of the coronavirus in the country. In a press conference after the NCOC meeting on Monday, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar, said that the government is targeting the most affected areas to contain the spread of the virus. The revised restrictions, coming into effect from 3 August, until 31st, will apply to Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar, Abbottabad, Karachi, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Gilgit, and Skardu. ALSO READ Lack of Policy Puts Academic Year of Pakistani…

The Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) remained non-complaint of most of the performance threshold as per Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) licenses, revealed independent quality of service (QoS) survey carried out by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). In order to measure the performance and service quality of Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs), an independent Quality of Service (QoS) Survey has been carried out in twelve different cities of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Balochistan. ALSO READ IHC Issues Notices to MoIT&T & PTA for TikTok Ban The QoS survey was carried out using Automated QoS Monitoring & Benchmarking Tool i.e. “SMARTBENCHMARKER”. Drive…

The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany shares a cordial relationship in development cooperation with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (GoP) for over 60 years. Germany has proven to be a key partner in supporting the GoP to achieve its national priority policies since the 1960s in different development sectors. Based on the energy sector’s long-lasting cooperation, a new implementation agreement between GIZ Pakistan and the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) has been signed today at the Ministry of Energy (Power Division). Under the agreement, GIZ Pakistan will implement the “Promotion of Renewable Energy and Energy…

Prime Minister’s Advisor on Commerce, Abdul Razak Dawood, says Pakistan’s exports touched the mark of over $25 billion during the last fiscal year, and now the government has set an export target of 38.7 to 40 billion dollars for the current financial year. Addressing a joint news conference with Prime Minister’s Special Assistant, Shahbaz Gill, in Islamabad this afternoon, he said in June alone our exports were 2.7 billion dollars, while in the last month, they were 2.3 billion dollars. ALSO READ SECP Issues Draft Cloud Adoption Guidelines For Companies Abdul Razak Dawood said the export target for the previous…