Documentation of immovable properties: IIPS holds exercise for mapping & digitization of urban lands

Iqbal Institute of Policy Studies (IIPS) on Tuesday started an exercise for mapping & digitization of urban lands on national basis for documentation of immovable properties records to facilitate federal/provincial authorities and regulatory bodies, including the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

This has been disclosed by Chairman Iqbal Institute of Policy Studies at the launching ceremony of its advisory board which would provide thoughtful leadership and strategic oversight for IIPS as it moves forward.

Launch event and inaugural session of the Board held here on Tuesday was attended by people from academia, government and industry.

The Iqbal Institute is driving research and policymaking through collaboration between the government, academia & the private sector. The over-arching vision of the Institute extends to the development and promulgation of a comprehensive vision for Pakistan 2030, covering multiple sectors of opportunity for the economic and social growth of the nation.

The IIPS Advisory Board operates to realize the vision of the Institute and is headed by Lieutenant General Muhammad Haroon Aslam (Retd) in the capacity of President. Advisory board consists of seasoned professionals from different fields of life, including Tariq Ikram (Sitara-e-Imtiaz), a former minister for state and chief executive trade development authority, Dr Asif Naqvi, International associate director of Royal College of physicians and surgeons UK, Rear Admiral Saleem Akhtar (retd), a former DG Bahria University Islamabad, Dr Shujat Ali, former federal secretary, Dr Zafar Qadir, chairman Taleem Foundation, Air Vice Marshal Sohail Ahmad (Retd) and Khurram Farid Bargatt, vice chairman Town Planning for Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners.

While speaking on the occasion, Shafiq Akbar, chairman Iqbal Institute of Policy Studies said the IIPS will be leading the way in the comprehensive mapping & digitization of urban land in the entire country through PropSure Digital Solutions, with over 3.5 million pieces of land already digitized across 7 largest cities of Pakistan. Leveraging this data, the Institute is in a unique place to make policy recommendations to the government, regulators, academia & private sector, helping to build a fruitful and long-term collaboration between the key stakeholders in the ecosystem in Pakistan.

IIPS is based in the state-of-the-art National Science & Technology Park (NSTP) at NUST in Islamabad, where teams are being deployed in two major areas. The first area covers Research & Development on cutting edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain. The second area covers Programme Management in the identification and mapping of opportunities in sectors such as trade & commerce, health and medical, housing and infrastructure, tourism, hospitality, education, poverty alleviation and others, working closely with academics & student talent bank at NUST.

IIPS in collaboration with National University of Science and Technology (NUST) to launch a special capacity building course RE Science to educate real estate agents and people who want to work in real estate industry.