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Pakistan biggest recipient of IAEA assistance
AMONG THE member states, Pakistan has become the highest recipient of the technical assistance provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), by virtue of its active participation in the agency’s technical cooperation and training programmes.
The chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Parvez Butt, revealed this while inaugurating a one-week PAEC/IAEA Research Coordination Workshop on “Irradiation of fruits and vegetables” recently. He said some 20 technical projects funded by the IAEA were currently being run at various PAEC institutions.
Based on their efficiency and credibility, some PAEC laboratories at PINSTECH had been declared as Regional Resource Units of the IAEA, he added. “This ever-increasing expansion of the technical assistance programme is due to the recognition by IAEA of our excellent utilization of the resources,” he said.
Speaking of the necessity of irradiating plants to enhance the shelf lives of fruits and vegetables, Mr Butt said a lot of such items went to waste because of their small natural shelf life and enhancing the same through the use of irradiation would bring better returns to farmers.
Chairman of the PAEC said all the provinces had expressed interest in the setting up food irradiation plants and the commission was fully capable of meeting this demand through indigenous efforts. — APP
Software competition
The 15th All Pakistan Software Competition and Exhibition opened in Islamabad last week. The event was aimed at encouraging the local development and export of software.
Maj-Gen (R) Raza Hussain, the chairman of Suparco, was the chief guest at the opening ceremony of the three-day event, which was organized by the Dr A.Q. Khan Research Laboratories, Kahuta. The organizers also sought to create awareness among the government functionaries about personal computers and their applications. A number of students and professional took part in the competition.
Software of various types — including seven in the professional category, four in the commercial category, 32 in the students’ category and 13 others involving people of 16 and under were on display. A number of prizes, having a total worth of Rs250,000 were up for grabs.
— APP
Tsunami warning system
The Tsunami Early Warning System will be strengthened at a total cost of Rs193 million, following the upgradation of the first phase of the seismological network of the Pakistan Meteorology Department.
This was disclosed by Dr Qamar-uz-Zaman, the director-general of the Met department, while talking to a journalist. Speaking of tsunamis, he said these were generally rare events.
“This tragedy happened in 1945 in the coastal area of Pasni, Balochistan, with an earthquake measuring 8.3 on the Richter Scale and with 40-foot-high waves lashing the area affected.” About 4,000 people perished in the tragedy.
He added that the prime minister had constituted a committee, headed by the federal minister for science and technology, and having representation from all the departments concerned to develop a tsunami early warning system in the country.
The government had already allocated Rs40.2 million for the upgradation of the first phase of the department’s seismological network, which was a basic component of the warning system, he pointed out. — APP
Dies and moulds
Production of dies and moulds could help accelerate the process of technology upgradation in the country, according to Minoru Ohira, an expert from the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro).
Speaking at a meeting in Lahore last week, Mr Ohira said strengthening die-making could lead to a saving of millions of dollars. Mould-making for plastic injection was not new to Pakistan because considerable work had already been carried out in the area.
However, said Mr Ohira, there was a need for building capacity in various companies for the production of modern dies so that indigenous production of automotive parts could be expedited in the country. — APP
E-government initiative
The governor of Sindh, Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, inaugurated a networking project at the Sindh Secretariat last week.
The project is being undertaken by the provincial information technology department as part of its e-government initiative.— APP
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