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Indigenous production of CNG cylinders
THE INDIGENOUS production of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) cylinders would be initiated soon in Pakistan. The project is aimed at saving foreign exchange.
Sources in the production ministry informed a private news channel recently that the Pakistan Science Foundation, the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, Pak-Suzuki Motors and Dewan Motors had agreed to collaborate in the initiative under which CNG cylinders would initially be supplied to the two automobile companies. The Pakistan Science Foundation would be providing the funds.
Pakistan is the third largest user of CNG in the world. And about 60 per cent increase in the usage of the gas has been registered during the last couple of years. The country is importing about 100,000 CNG cylinders every year, worth $15 million. — APP
Environment moot
The government had launched a Rs66 billion project for the lining of canals, said the federal minister for information recently. When completed, the project would serve to reduce the wastage of water.
Anisa Zaib Tahirkheli said this while inaugurating the First International Conference on Environmentally Sustainable Development, organized by the Comsats Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad. More than 20 foreign scholars and at least a hundred local experts took part in the event.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister said several initiatives had been opened in various areas to save the environment from further degradation. She pointed out that 75 per cent of the country’s natural resources were found in its rural areas.
Hoaliang Xu, representative of the United Nations Development Programme, said sustainable development could not be achieved until all the stakeholders, including the government, the public and donor agencies, acted jointly and with purpose. — PPI
MoU signed
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was recently signed between the Shijiazhuang Institute of Agriculture Modernization CAS, China, and the Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization, University of Karachi, at the headquarters of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Islamabad.
Prof Sohail H. Naqvi of the HEC and Mingyi Ge of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, were present at the ceremony at which the MoU was inked. The document signed affirms the commitment of the two organizations to enhance collaboration in the area of halophytes. It also envisages some important projects to stimulate halophyte research.
The MoU further aims to improve the laboratory facilities to conduct meaningful research on salt tolerance at physiological, cellular and molecular levels and to develop experimental research stations to test the developed technology under natural conditions and to demonstrate it to users. — PPI
Biotechnology for welfare
Scientists taking part in a recent workshop in Hyderabad stressed the need for adopting biotechnological techniques to benefit the growing population in the world.
They expressed these views at the inaugural ceremony of a five-day training workshop organized by the Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, University of Sindh, in collaboration with the National Commission on Biotechnology, Islamabad.
The session was presided over by the vice-chancellor of Sindh University, Mazharul Haq Siddiqui, while the vice-chancellor of Sindh Agriculture University, Dr Bashir A. Shaikh, was the chief guest. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Shaikh underlined the importance of biotechnology and said Pakistan was not taking timely steps when it came to development.
He said after ignoring information technology for a long time the government finally woke up and now required steps were being taken in the area. He added that the developed world had already taken important steps in the discipline of biotechnology but Pakistanis were still debating its importance. — PPI
Punjab PC programme
The Punjab Information Technology Board, Bank of Punjab and Intel Pakistan Corporation recently announced their participation in the “Punjab PC Programme” under which personal computers are slated to be provided to people at affordable rates.
A press release said the initiative was aimed at bridging the digital divide. — Sci-tech World Report
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