March 6, 2003	Thursday	Muharram 2, 1424

ISLAMABAD, March 5: Pakistan’s industrial sector is currently losing $7.5 billion per annum because of poor manufacturing quality and related wastages.

This was told to the minister for industries and production Liaquat Ali Jatoi during meeting he presided here on Wednesday to review the role of National Productivity Organisation (NPO).

The minister expressed his concern over such a hefty loss to the national economy and asked the NPO to suggest ways and means to check this situation.

The minister said the NPO was the only organization under the Ministry of Industries and Production that has been entrusted with the task of improving productivity and quality of products and services produced by the country.

He appreciated certain initiatives taken by the small NPO team undertaking the productivity movement in Pakistan and recommended that NPO-Pakistan should focus on developing human skills both in the urban and rural areas to create a marked impact on labour productivity.

The initiative to host the International Productivity Conference in May 2003 was considered an excellent idea to promote the cause of the productivity in the region.

The NPO chief Saquib Mohyuddin said during the presentation that around 40 best practices identified by NPO could increase productivity of average mills by 2.5 per cent and reduce costs by Rs7.5 million annually.

Mr. Saquib elaborated various initiatives taken by the NPO to create productivity consciousness amongst the industry, agriculture, and service sectors. He said the NPO had taken task of changing mind-set and had laid emphasis on conveying the productivity concept to the youth and the academia of the Pakistan.

The concept of knowledge sharing through benchmarking exercise in the cotton spinning sector was introduced in Pakistan by the NPO. A detailed study has been carried out in the cotton spinning sector with the support of all Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Textile Institute of Pakistan at Karachi, and Asian Productivity Organization.

NPO has also started specific training for the industrial sector and has introduced the concept of “Training on Wheels”, which was based on a need analysis and has an in-built performance evaluation system.

The secretary, industries and production, Dr. Akram Sheikh emphasized on the role of NPO in strengthening SMEs through advisory and human resource training.

He also appreciated the efforts the NPO is taking in developing productivity villages.