Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Fawad Chaudhry has said that future of Pakistan lies in wisdom, education and science and technology.

There was a need to develop technological skills in competitive areas, he further said on Monday while addressing a seminar. "Ministry of Science and Technology envisions for its 15 research institutions as centres for research excellence, making way for the private sector to utilise their knowledge in developing technologies for general public," he added.

Smart water metering and rational pricing in urban areas is needed to ensure equitable and leakage free domestic water supplies to the general public. National Water Policy 2018 also stresses on 100 percent water metering for urban, peri-urban and rural areas.

The one-day seminar was organized by Centre for Climate Research and Development (CCRD), COMSATS University Islamabad, in collaboration with PCRWR and SDC.

Daniel Valenghi, Head of International Cooperation, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), remarked on the prolonged partnership of Pakistan and Switzerland in the area of water and hoped that such relations will foster in future as well.

Chairman PCRWR Dr Muhammad Ashraf provided that overuse of water at domestic level increases volume of highly contaminated waste water. Water metering at domestic level is crucial to reduce such wastage. Head CCRD, Prof Dr Athar Hussain shed light on the importance of academia and research organization partnership leading to involvement of youth in evidence-based policy making. The seminar continued to a technical session in which Dr Toqeer Ahmed, Assistant Professor, CCRD, CUI, and Hassaan Sipra, Scientific Officer, CCRD, deliberated on the experiences of smart water metering in Islamabad.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019