The Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology has urged the government to release funds allocated to the ministry of Science and Technology to enable it to complete its various ongoing projects and to lift the ban on recruitment to overcome the shortage of trained manpower in the various organisations working under the ministry.
The committee, which met here on Wednesday with Senator Razina Alam Khan in the chair, had an overview of the working of Ministry of Science and Technology with especial reference to its budget, major ongoing PSDP projects and status of its attached departments. The committee underlined the need for extending maximum support to the Science and Technology organisations as these have a key role in socio-economic uplift of the country.
The committee called for establishing linkages of science and technology organisations with the industrial and agricultural sectors to achieve the desired results. It was also pointed out that benefits of the research conducted in the fields of science and technology should reach the public at large and awareness should be created among the people about the new developments in the fields of Science and Technology.
The committee noted with concern that so far no minister has been appointed to run the important portfolio. The Committee sought input from the ministry to suggest ways and means to overcome the deficiencies in the way of smooth implementation of the policies chalked out for the promotion of science and technology in the country.
Earlier, secretary Ministry of Science and Technology, Saifullah Sherwani informed the meeting about setting-up of institutes and laboratories for research and development in the scientific and technological fields and steps taken for the promotion of research in different fields.
The meeting was also informed that research and development activities were being carried out in the fields of agriculture, biotechnology, food technology, renewable energy, textile and other sectors to improve quality and productivity.
He said that shortage of technical manpower, weak linkages with industrial and agricultural sectors, poor career planning and inadequate pay and service structure were the major hurdles due to which various organisations of the science and technology could not deliver properly. The Committee assured its all-out support to the ministry in overcoming various shortcomings and vowed to take necessary steps for providing conducive environment to the scientists and researchers.
The meeting was attended by Senators Tahira Latif, Dr Abdul Khaliq Pirzada, Rehana Yahya Baloch, Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, Syed Javed Ali Shah, Liaquat Ali Bangulzai and Sajid Mir.
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