KARACHI, March 4: The Governor, Dr Ishratul Ibad, on Saturday stressed the need for extensive use of information technology for rapid progress of the province. Addressing a meeting regarding the application of information technology, he said its extensive use should be aimed at ensuring transparency in government affairs, increasing job opportunities and facilitating the common man.

He said the computer should not be limited to typing and record keeping only, but its techniques should be applied to all fields.

He asked the IT department to provide guidance and required software to different departments according to their specific needs.

Ibad also stressed the use of computer for preserving revenue record and making matters related to land more transparent and easier.

He said the vision of e-government could be materialized only by activating the IT department, while also saying that with the said department’s assistance the government could achieve its targets easier.

He said centralization of the computer system had become the need of modern times.

The governor said that many countries had obtained economic benefits due to call centres, adding that we too should engage our jobless graduates in this field by providing them training. He said that it would also help in improving the economy.

He called for maintaining a balance in supply and demand in the information technology sector.

About the country’s graduates, Ibad said they were at par with those of other countries and all they needed was proper training and skill-polishing.

He said if all government departments could be interlinked through information technology, their performance could be increased, besides reducing costs. He said the file-tracking system could also be improved in this way.

He also stressed providing computer training to students, housewives, retired people and special persons.

He said all developed nations were going towards paperless work and “we would also have to adopt this system to be a part of modern world”.

The IT Adviser, Muhammad Noman Saigol, said that his department was trying to introduce information technology in society by setting up free information technology awareness centres.

Training was being provided to jobless graduates with the help of call centres, he said.

Finance Adviser M A Jalil, Secretary IT Yahya Waliullah and others were also present.

—PPI

Services hospital: The Governor, Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan, who is also the chancellor of public universities in Sindh, has in principle agreed to associate the Sindh Services Hospital with the Dow University of Health Science as its teaching hospital, adds our reporter.