Federal Minister for Science & Technology Mir Changez Khan Jamali said on Monday that work on Pakistan Halal Product Development Board (PHPDB) would be expedited and all bureaucratic hurdles will be removed. The minister was talking to LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), here on Monday.
He said that there were some technical issues that delayed the issuance of a notification regarding the establishment of PHPDB but he has directed the Additional Secretary Minister of Science of Technology to sit with LCCI and sort out all the issues.
The federal said that the allocation for science and technology sector would be increased in the coming budget while it would be one percent of the GDP in 2015 and by the year 2020 it would be raised to 2 to 3 percent of the GDP to help the country join the club of technologically advanced nations.
Chengez regretted that the low allocations for the vital sectors like science and technology had kept the country dependent on developed world despite the fact that the country has no dearth of resources. He said that innovation was a key to economic competitiveness and research institutions and researchers would have to come forward to address the gaps in the current scenario by developing world class technologies.
The minister said that science and technology exhibitions provide a marketplace to showcase S&T technological innovations, products, projects, services and solutions in different industrial sectors. These exhibitions enable the industrial experts and researchers from across the country to identify joint objectives, activities and initiatives and to place focus on industrial Science &Technology related problems and their solutions as well as promote S&T partnerships for global sustainable development.
LCCI President expressed concern that despite having enormous human and material resources, the Muslim world was still counted among the backwards due to lack in scientific and technological advancement. Similarly, Pakistan has not been able to earn that status in the world of Science & Technology, which it deserves.
Pakistan has yet to be placed at some respectable position in the innovation index because of low end production of cheap goods and inefficient energy consumption ratio. In view of current resource constraint, there was a need to utilise existing resources optimally through reorganising R&D infrastructure and moving towards knowledge economy to rectify the dismal situation.
Sheikh said Pakistan desperately needed to work for stimulating and managing the flow of knowledge and technology amongst universities, R&D institutes towards the industry. "We must build human capital and invest in science and technology to get parallel with rest of the world," he maintained.
While stressing the need for setting up of technology parks in Pakistan, he said that technology parks in various countries were doing great job in spreading the fruit of science and technology across their respective regions. But unfortunately, this idea could not gain much popularity in Pakistan. "We still need to make best use of this idea," he added.
Today, Pakistan is facing challenges of fast track national economic growth, poverty alleviation, better quality of life and economic independence. Even after more than six decades of its creation, Pakistan still remains to be a producer of primary commodities. The fact is that unlike India, we have neglected the education sector for quite a long time especially in the area of science & technology, he observed. The LCCI president urged the federal minister to arrange greater share of funds in budget for S&T advancement, as Pakistan greatly needs to invest in this sector to achieve the desired goals as science and technology is central to the dynamics of economic development itself. He emphasised the need to conduct modern scientific research, increase skill development and make innovation as integral part of science and technological system of the country to strengthen economy.