To deny
the positive results of the steps taken by the current government in the last
ten months of its tenure for the betterment of the national economy despite the
serious challenges of political chaos and terrorism is tantamount to denying
the facts. In order to keep the wheel of the economy moving steadily, attention
is being paid to removing the basic obstacles and providing better facilities
to those sectors that can play a crucial role in increasing export earnings.
Yesterday, significant progress was made in this regard on two issues, namely,
cheap power generation and increasing income from information technology. While
chairing a review meeting on the power sector, the Prime Minister directed to
immediately close down inefficient power plants in order to further reduce
electricity tariffs. He clarified that the closure of such plants will not only
save valuable foreign exchange spent on fuel imports but will also reduce the
cost of electricity for consumers.
The Prime
Minister said that in the future, only environment-friendly and low-cost power
projects and local resources for them will be given priority. The meeting was
also briefed about the progress on ongoing hydropower projects across the
country. The Prime Minister directed that the existing electricity capacity
should also be converted into solar energy. Cheap electricity is an
indispensable requirement for sustainable economic development. On the one
hand, by reducing the cost of production, the country's agricultural and
industrial products gain better competitiveness in the global markets, and on
the other hand, by reducing inflation, the life of the common man in the
country becomes easier. However, in addition to hydroelectricity and solar
energy, nature has also provided another easy means of generating free
electricity in the form of strong winds blowing in almost all seasons in the
coastal and desert areas of this country, which should be fully utilized.
Wind
turbines and solar systems generate electricity without any fuel, and if our economy
is freed from the captivity of IPPs for decades and the country's electricity
needs are met through these low-cost sources, there is no reason why, God
willing, the pace of our development will not increase many times over. Just
yesterday, a high-level meeting of the Prime Minister's Committee on IT Export
Remittances was held under the chairmanship of the Finance Minister, in which
the exports of this sector were increased from 3.2 billion to 4.5 billion in
the next fiscal year.It was planned to take it to 2 billion. The participants
were told that although IT exports are continuously increasing, a large portion
of the revenue still does not come to the country.
The
meeting also revealed that out of 2.32 million freelancers in Pakistan, only
38,000 have bank accounts in the country. To increase IT export earnings, the
participants stressed the need for “simplified procedures, permanent tax
exemption for freelancers, classification of remote workers and addressing
issues related to small IT firms to create a more conducive environment for IT
businesses to repatriate their earnings to the country.” It is encouraging that
practical steps are underway in this direction and according to the data of the
State Bank of Pakistan, 500 new accounts are being opened every week. The
Governor State Bank apprised the committee of the steps taken to address these
challenges, which include improving the account opening procedure, conducting
awareness campaigns, improving the grievance redressal mechanism and prioritizing
the IT sector in the banking framework.
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