ISLAMABAD:Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal Tuesday chaired a meeting to review the performance of technology centers of excellence here.
During the meeting, he said four Centers of Excellence were established in 2017-18 to meet the demands of the fourth industrial revolution.
The establishment of a Center of Excellence and artificial intelligence, robotics, big data and cloud computing were aimed at preparing for the fourth industrial revolution.
We started work on the centre of excellence of nano and space technology, but the successive government of PTI showed coldness towards it and no progress was seen during the previous government, Ahsan Iqbal said adding that a strong relationship between research centres and industry is key to the future
Despite limited resources, the minister said, the government is providing financial and administrative support to thecenters of excellence.
Ahsan Iqbal hoped that technology centres of excellence will make the country famous by creating platforms like Google and Facebook. “Centers of Excellence will play a key role in preparing the country for the digital revolution”, he said adding that technology Centers of Excellence collaborate with Central Asian and Gulf states.
He said development and accessibility in modern scientific fields are indispensable to cope with the new demands.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Planning also chaired another meeting held here to review the local projects.
Secretary Ministry of Planning, Chief Economist, Members of the Planning Commission and Project Directors attended the meeting.
The meeting reviewed special measures taken for the rehabilitation of flood-affected areas and the current situation of the 5E Framework, Outlook 2035, Internship Programme, and Special Plans for 20 Most Backward Districts.
The meeting decided in principle to adopt an effective procedure for seeking opinions from the private sector on the PC-1 and feasibility reports submitted by the provincial governments and federal ministries for approval from the Ministry of Planning.
The minister said consultation and opinions of the private sector and experts are indispensable for the formulation and completion of national projects of the best quality.
He said a special section dedicated to expert opinions should be added in PC-1.
“As a champion of reforms, the Ministry of Planning has a large volunteer team of experts of national and international standards”, he said adding that there is a need to shift the process of federal projects’ planning and approval of PC-1 to a fully automated system.
The Ministry of Planning should hire a Chief Technology Officer to automate all internal planning, consultation, issuance and execution phases, Ahsan Iqbal added.