Federal government is endeavouring to further accelerate the pace of business activities as well as to evolve development strategy for different business sectors of the country. Official sources told Business Recorder here on Thursday that under the plan development strategy for sports goods, surgical instruments, agro processing & dairy, engineering, marble & granite, gems & jewellery, furniture and fisheries sectors would be formulated keeping view the needs and demands of businessmen engaged in those sectors.
The federal government had deputed the task to Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (Smeda) to collect the required data pertaining to the needs of those sectors. Under the directives, Smeda had initiated series of meetings with the business community connected with those sectors to determining the needs and demands of their respective industrial sectors.
The government, under the programme, would provide the facilities like skill training, marketing and technologies to those sectors of the country.
The main objective of the programme was to upgrade those sectors as well as to enable the business community to cope with the global challenges more easily.
Meanwhile, the business community, engaged in surgical instruments and sports goods, hailed the plan and said it was a matter of great encouragement that government had initiated drastic steps for the uplift of surgical and sports goods industries.
The input of stakeholders in the form of feedback on the problems of surgical and sports goods industries, and recommendation for the uplift was sought which undoubtedly was a true step in the right direction, they said.
Both the industries need full support of the government, especially, for upgradation to cope with the requirements of changing trends in the global market.
Currently, the sports goods industry of Sialkot is facing a big test to, successfully, encounter the challenge posed by the introduction of mechanised ball called 'Roterio Ball' which has already been played in European Championship 2004.
The sport industry needs financial and technical support from the government to effectively face this ominous challenge.
There are some other areas like technical training, forceful marketing techniques in which government can play an instrumental role for the uplift of sports goods sector. Besides, capacity building and advancement of the industry, especially the export based industry is a continuous exercise but there are circumstances where total change of machinery and production process is required that industry itself cannot afford and need the government's support.
It is the need of the hour that 'Private and Public' sectors join hands so that sports industry, especially the export based industry, adopt certain standards like quality parameters, environmental issues and social responsibly that are imperative for any industry including sports goods industry to survive and remain active in the international market.
Similarly, the business community engaged in surgical industry has demanded to convert of Metal Industries Development Centre (MIDC) Sialkot into a "Surgical Training School" aimed at producing trained and skilled industrial workers for ensuring technical support to the surgical industry. They also demanded the establishment of "Export Development Board" immediately not only for upgradation of the industry but also for introducing new technologies and exploring new markets.