Heavy Mechanical Complex (HMC) Taxila is a public sector organisation under the Ministry of Industries and Production Islamabad. On account of an excellent performance HMC has achieved a sales turn over of Rs 1.914 billion during 2009, which is the highest in the last 15 years.
HMC executed the order for design, manufacture, installation & commissioning of penstock (4 meter dia. & 800 meter length) for Malakand-III, 81 MW Hydropower station. HMC has been issued Successful Commissioning Certificate after completion of one years defect free operation. This is the first ever penstock completely designed, manufactured and installed by a local company for hydropower plant. HMC had secured the orders through competitions by participating in international biddings.
HMC designed and is fabricating a Chemical Recovery Boiler (CRB) a paper pulp mill. This is the first ever CRB being designed by a local company and shall also be the first boiler to be installed by a paper pulp mill in the country which is another milestone it has achieved. CRB uses black liquor waste from pulp plant as fuel for generating steam for power generation and process use and also recovers useful chemicals for re-use in the pulp mill process.
HMC has completed very successfully supplies for an 8000 TCD sugar plant equipment for a local company. The plant has been exported by the buyer for installation in Ethiopia. This is the 4th. Sugar plant supplied by HMC for export.
HMC has got a development order for low head turbine vanes on canal from WAPDA for their Nandipur Hydropower plant. These used to be imported by the user up till now. This will ensure local production of low head turbines for Hydropower plants on canals as well as saving of millions of $ US dollars from foreign exchange reserves. Moreover HMC has got orders for design, manufacture and installation of penstocks for three Hydropower plants in AJK. HMC has prepared plans and working on undertaking medium sized Hydropower projects on turn-key basis.
HMC completed supplies for 102 meters high steel tower along with pressure vessels for reduction furnace for Twairiqi Steel Mills being installed at Bin Qasim, Karachi.
HMC after discussing on various fora is in the process of preparing a proposal for establishment of a national level design institute at HMC, for energy sector plants design & engineering locally. This project on becoming operational shall be able to have capabilities for design of Hydro & Thermal power plant and oil & gas process plants, reducing foreign dependence.
HMC is also in the process of preparing a proposal for up-gradation of its aged facilities to undertake manufacture of turbines along with other power plants equipment. This will ensure reduction of time and cost in establishment of power plants, to meet the energy requirements of the country.
Benazir Income Support Program
Redressing women's vulnerabilities: bieIt is an unfortunate fact that women become more vulnerable to social discrimination in societies like Pakistan. Discrimination is generated when a balance is not found. Gender bias and women's vulnerability in our social safety network has led to the creation of the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP): to dispense cash assistance directly and regularly to needy women and their families. Strengthening and expansion of social protection programs for the vulnerable is what Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto set as a priority agenda for her party and the People's Government.
The PPP Manifesto 2008 clearly recognises that the growing gap between the rich and the poor must be bridged by supporting the unprivileged, the downtrodden and the discriminated. Keeping its word, the People's Government has conceived the unique and widely acclaimed BISP targeting vulnerable women across the country. It is a first ever mega initiative of direct cash transfer to the resource-poor women and their families in Pakistan's history.
BISP was initiated by the Government with an initial allocation of Rs 34 billion for the year 2008-2009, which almost doubled to Rs 70 billion in 2009-2010. It became the third-largest financial allocation in the total budget accounting to be 0.3% of the GDP for 2008-2009.
The program has been initiated to partially offset the impact of inflation on the purchasing power of the poorer sections of society. In the years 2005-2007, inflation stood at almost 10 percent with food inflation in the range of 13-15 percent. In the year 2007-2008, a sharp rise in oil prices and primary products in the international as well as domestic markets resulted in double digit inflation rate, which almost halved the purchasing power of the people.
Hence, there was an urgent need for direct and speedy relief to the poor sections of the society, and BISP is the response to the above compulsions. The program is aimed at covering almost 15 percent of the entire population, which constitutes 40 percent of the population below the poverty line. A monthly payment of Rs 1000 per family would increase the income of a family earning Rs 5000 by 20 percent. BISP will cover all four provinces including the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit-Baltistan, and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).