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NATIONAL SCENE:IT minister speaks of $50 million investment
A MEMORANDUM of Understanding was signed by the Shaheen Foundation and Everyday Communication in Karachi recently for the establishment of a 700-seat call centre. Sindh’s minister for information technology was present on the occasion.
According to a press release, the call centre would become operational within a month and would provide employment opportunities to some 3,000 people.
The MoU came on the heels of an announcement made by the minister, S. Mustafa Kamal, which said an investment of $50 million was expected in the IT industry during the next six months. The investment spree would be triggered by a one-day conference on call centres, it was claimed in the announcement.
The minister claimed that a total of 2,000 call centres were expected to be set up in the province in the wake of the event. “The conference on call centres would certainly prove to be a milestone,” he remarked.
Mr Kamal pointed out that a pioneer in the field of outsourcing, Gurujot Singh Khalsa, was especially invited by the provincial information technology department to share his experiences with the participants of the conference. — APP
Remote lectures
Footage of lectures delivered by world’s renowned professors would be beamed to all public-sector universities in the country via satellite by the end of the year, said the chairman of the Higher Education Commission last week.
Speaking to a journalist, Prof Atta-ur-Rahman said the students attending the remote lectures would be able to put questions to the professors. He added that top quality video-conferencing equipment would be provided to all government-run universities soon. — APP
N-technology for development
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) is utilizing nuclear technology for progress in a range of socio-economic domains, including cancer treatment and enhancement of agricultural productivity, says Dr Masud Ahmed, a technical member of the commission.
Speaking in Islamabad earlier this week, Dr Ahmed said the commission was also harnessing the technology to bring about improvements in the areas of quality assurance and industrial support.
He said this while inaugurating a week-long international event. The conference, being attended by noted scientists from 10 countries, has been organized jointly by the PAEC and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“Based upon our engagements and accumulated expertise in a wide range of nuclear-related applications in the socio-economic spheres and our impeccable safety and compliance records, Pakistan is one of the largest recipients of IAEA technical assistance,” Dr Ahmed said.
In recognition of its above-average performance, some laboratories in the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology had been declared as the Regional Resource Unit of IAEA, while the Isotope Application Division labs were on the list of accredited facilities, he added. — APP
Thalassaemia carriers
More than ten million Pakistanis, that is, between five and seven per cent of the population, suffer from thalassaemia, according to a report that was released recently.
Thalassaemia is a disorder in which the patients lose the ability to form haemoglobin. As a result, the production of healthy blood largely stops.
The report said about 5,000 children were born with the disorder annually, with only 25 per cent of them getting registered in hospitals. As a consequence, a large percentage of the children born with the problem die before reaching adulthood.
The newborns had a 25 per cent probability of being born with the disease if one of their parents were diseased, said the report. The chances increased dramatically, however, if both their parents had thalassaemia.
Eighty per cent of the patients belonged to poor families, added the report. — PPI
Rs30 billion for health project
The prime minister has approved the allocation of Rs30 billion for a project aimed at improving the health of mothers and children. This was announced by the federal health minister the other day.
Naseer Khan said the project was slated to be completed in a period of five years. He made the announcement in Islamabad at the opening of a five-week course being held at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.
He said the government considered healthcare as a priority area. — PPI
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