ISLAMABAD: The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) will build a data exchange layer for government agencies to exchange information securely, as well as, provide citizens with a digital “wallet” to secure credentials, it is learnt.
Official documents revealed that it is the part of Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) under the World Bank financed “Digital Economy Enhancement Project (DEEP)” worth $200 million.
The documents noted that the DEEP will support activities that will increase access to and promote the use of digital services across Pakistan, with a focus on broadband access and reducing the significant digital divide currently existing in many parts of the country.
The project will also support cross-cutting improvements in the enabling environment—supporting reforms to expand broadband connectivity and to strengthen the policy and legal framework for the digital economy.
DEEP will also enable institutional, policy, and regulatory global best practices through technical assistance to the implementation agencies—including the MoITT, Nadra, Punjab IT Board, Board of Investment (BoI), and other provincial institutions. Under the project, Nadra will build a data exchange layer for government agencies to exchange information securely, as well as provide citizens with a digital ‘wallet’ to secure credentials.
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The project is aligned with the 2018 Digital Pakistan Policy, and in particular objective, which calls for the establishment of a holistic (government wide) enterprise architecture and the integration of government databases and systems through e-government service portals.
It is also aligned with the World Bank Group’s (WBG) Country Partnership Strategy and its objective to catalyze inclusive and sustained growth. It also corresponds with the Systematic Country Diagnostic’s (2020) identified priority of “levelling the playing field” by investing in policies to improve competitiveness and promote equity and inclusion. It will improve the efficiency of digitally enabled public services. These activities are expected to improve access to and quality of basic services, thereby improving social and human development outcomes in Pakistan.
The project is comprised of three components:
Component 1: Improving digital economy, governance and service capabilities. This component will provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications (MoITT) for policy and regulatory reforms to address regulatory and market failures in the country’s connectivity infrastructure.
Component 2: Pakistan Business Portal. This component will support the Board of Investment (BoI) to modernize regulatory regimes in Pakistan at three levels of government: federal, provincial, and municipal. The first stage entails reviewing, mapping, and developing a catalogue of registrations, certificates, licenses, and others (RLCOs) across the three levels of the government, potentially including up to 800 government agencies relevant to dealing with investing and operating businesses in Pakistan.
Component 3: Project management. This component will cover the establishment of Project Management Units (PMU).
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022