Hewlett Packard to launch new products in Pakistan

RECORDER REPORT LAHORE (June 20): A Singapore based multi-billion computer hardware producing giant, Hewlett Packard (HP) has announced it would launch its three products in the local market of Pakistan. The products will have competitive price for the local market which has great potential said David Ong, Country Manager HP Pakistan while addressing a news conference here Wednesday.

Ong said that there was great potential for the hardware consumption in the Pakistani society. HP Pakistan design, manufacture and provide service facility and system for measurement, computation and communication.

Lahore Chamber to hold Computer Mela from Aug 16

RECORDER REPORT LAHORE (July 22): The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), in connection with the Golden Jubilee of Pakistan celebrations, is holding a three-day 'Computer and Multimedia Mela, 97' at its exhibition centre from August 16 to 18. The Mela is aimed at creating awareness about the latest developments in the use of computer for 'Internet' and 'E-mail.' Modern equipment would be displayed and use demonstrated for general public in the Mela. The president of the LCCI, Sheikh Wahiduddin, said the Computer Mela would be the third event in the series of exhibitions organised by the LCCI for the Golden Jubilee celebrations. He said he was confident that the Mela would be highly helpful in acquainting the businessmen as well as the general public with the multimedia use of computer technology for promotion of trade and industry in the modern era.

Fourth National Computer Conference in October

ISLAMABAD (July 23): The 4th National Computer Conference will be held in Islamabad in October, officials of the Pakistan Computer Bureau (PCB) said here on Tuesday. The event will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the independence of Pakistan and silver jubilee of the establishment of PCB. The main theme of the 4th National Computer Conference will be "Role of computers and Information Technology in Development" and discussion and business sessions will be held on various topics. The previous three Conference held in 1981, 1986 and 1991 were attended by large number of computer professionals, DP managers and users from important public and private organisations, banks and financial institutions, universities, computer suppliers, software houses and other connected with the computers and their applications. Most of the recommendations of the three conferences have already been implemented through government policies and decisions taken from time to time on the subject, says a press release.-APP

'Science basic infrastructure for uplift'

ISLAMABAD (July 10): Science education is one of the basic components of infrastructure for industrial development of a country. A heavy investment on universities for production of highly skilled manpower can ensure meaningful development. This was stated by Capt. U. A. G. Isani, Chairman, University Grants Commission (UGC) while addressing the certificate distribution ceremony of the first National Physics Talent Contest held in the auditorium of Centre for Nuclear Studies (CNS) here on Wednesday. Citing an example of Japan, he said that to be at the cutting edge of knowledge and able to produce new knowledge is the strategy followed by the industrially advanced nations and this was achieved through greater investment in human resource development. Congratulating CNS for taking initiative to locate talent that exists in different parts of the country and inculcating in them a desire for higher learning in science, he said that it was equally important for the academicians and educational administrators to come forward and gear up efforts in this direction.

Pakistan plans to embark on technology development project to meet challenges

IKRAMUL HAQ ISLAMABAD (July 9): Pakistan with assistance of the World Bank is embarking on an industrial technological development project which would enable the country's industry to meet the challenges of globalization of open trade under WTO, and new standards of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 for exports. Sources stated that under the ITD project technological infrastructure will be restructured, upgraded and strengthened matching the highly competitive environment in trade, industry and investment. Technological infrastructure includes facilities for standardization, quality management, productivity improvements, R&D, and human resource development without which the industry would not be able to expand production, improve quality for exports and curb costs. Sources stated that the project is estimated to be costing $85 million of which the World Bank would provide assistance of $ 35 million. The project has been prepared in the light of the science and technology policy which was announced over three years ago and a lot of preparatory work has been completed in the form of studies on restructuring of the technological facilities. The Bank is waiting to undertake appraisal, but counterpart funds from the government side are still to be ensured. The major restructuring will be of PCSIR, standards and testing institutes with the participation of the industrial sector so that these respond quickly to the needs and problems of the industry. Important elements of the ITD project are: 1) Restructure Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PSCIR) to commercialize its activities . 2) Restructure Pakistan's meteorology, standards, testing and quality (MSTQ) infrastructure to ensure Pakistani products compete in international markets. 3) Develop technology-oriented venture capital sector to assist technology-oriented high risk businesses. 4) Develop local technology service centres (LTSCs) to assist clusters of small and medium-sized enterprizes. Since PCSIR's centres are core of Pakistan's technology infrastructure, it is proposed to restructure them from public sector budget to a commercially oriented market-driven self supportive, autonomous but accountable technology business institutes which will work in close contact with and respond to needs of industry. In the first phase six centres of PCSIR will be converted to business institutes: Mineral and Metallurgy Research Centre (MMRC) Lahore; Applied Chemistry Centre, Lahore; Food and Biotechnology Centre, Lahore; Environment Centre, Lahore; Glass and Ceramic Centre, Lahore; and Plastic and Polymers Centre, Karachi. Regarding development of MSTQ Infrasturcture, sources stated, there are only 15 companies in Pakistan with ISO-9000 certification as compared to over 1000 in India. There are three MSTQ bodies in Pakistan: Pakistan Standards Institute (PSI), Central Testing Laboratory (CTL) and National Physical and Standards Laboratory (NPSL), one of the PCSIR institutes. None of these provides the advice and services needed for a growing and increasingly quality-conscious industrial sector. They are insufficiently autonomous, too weakly linked to industry, and, in the case of PSI, overly concerned with regulation. The Ministry of Science and Technology ( MoST) will shortly submit draft of a new law for an appropriate organizational framework for the MSTQ sector. Referring to Local Technology Service Centres (LTSCs)sources stated that public-sector centres do exist in many Small and Medium Enterprizes (SMEs) in Pakistan, but they have proven neither sustainable nor dynamic. The LTSCs under the project are to be private sector led and sustainable. They will be independent of budgetary contributions by Government for recurrent expenditure. An endowment would be established in each case using contributions from the industrialists and Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) to ensure that shortfalls are met and that equipment is upgraded and replenished. The structure is designed to be professional and in regular contact with external industrial and technological developments. In the first phase the following four centers will be developed: Sialkot surgical goods industrial cluster; Gujranwala/Gujrat fan manufacturers industrial cluster; Multan bedsheet and upholstery manufacturers industrial cluster and Lahore industrial electronics/engineering cluster. Technology Financing- Establishment of Technology Venture Capital Cos (TVCCs) The first three components aim at helping bridge the information and skill gaps and providing direct technical support and adapting and improving imported technologies in existing firms. This component aims at building new enterprizes by helping in the growth of dynamic, mostly fairly new industrial enterprizes often led by technocrats or entrepreneurs with management or technical backgrounds (but without large amounts of resources or connections). The project would facilitate launching this initiative by helping set up one such technology-oriented VC company and help structure the enabling environment - guidelines, taxation rules, capital market procedures - for VC to operate. Funds from World Bank would be loaned to the Government who would on-lend them to the respective institutions - PCSIR , PSQI, and LTSCs-interest free. For Government funds an option would be to allow PCSIR to sell off part of their lands, in a judicious manner, to raise the local resources.