ISLAMABAD, Dec 27: Information technology minister Awais Leghari on Saturday offered complete government assistance to companies and individuals seeking to use IT as a tool to improve efficiency in public services.

“We are willing to finance any project, but on one condition that the end product should involve applications produced entirely by the local software industry and it should be accessible to any other company or individual in the country,” he said.

Mr Leghari was speaking at the 12th Undergraduate Convocation of the Military College of Signals (MCS) of the National University of Science and Technology (Nust).

He said his ministry had set up a research and development fund worth Rs1 billion in the Pakistan Telecommunications Company (PTCL) and the funding could be made available to any company or individuals seeking to develop software utilizing indigenous skills and resources.

He also invited the faculty of MCS and Nust to submit their research proposals to the fund and said “if they meet the selection criterion, we will fund them to the fullest possible extent”.

“We recognize that research initially conducted for the military, eventually benefits the wider civilian population,” Mr Leghari maintained, referring to internet, which, he said, was born out of research undertaken by the United States Department of Defence.

He said his ministry had started making serious efforts to develop linkages with the military institutions to ensure that in Pakistan, too, the fruits of research could be reaped by the public at large.

He also assured the youth seeking IT education that his ministry was working on war-footing for creating demand for the IT work in the local industry to generate large-scale employment opportunities.

The minister said the government had provided a conducive and level-playing investment environment to the foreign investors in the telecom sector. And, given the 2.8 per cent tele density and the potential of growth in the sector in the coming years, international players such as Microsoft are keen to invest in the country’s telecom sector, he said.

“We are already negotiation with these companies to help them set up their businesses in Pakistan in a way that they do not merely operate as vendors or sellers,” he said. The country, he added, possessed professionals of high skills and these companies could easily use Pakistan as a launching pad for producing high-quality products capable of penetrating the international market.

The minister also conferred degrees upon 94 students of the college. Among them, Shehla Saleem Rana and Maria Riaz won the President’s Gold Medal, while Umar Khan Niazi and Tahir Javed took away the COAS Gold Medal for their all-round performance in studies and extracurricular studies. Ten students won the Rector’s Gold Medal.

Earlier, Nust rector Lt-Get Syed Shujaat Hussian (retired) told the graduating students that the catalyst behind the developed world’s enviable preeminence had always been technological innovation, culture of research and development.

“As a leader and innovator in the field of quality education, Nust empowers the young talent by creating a stimulating educational environment susceptible to the best trends in academics,” he said.