LAHORE:The National Productivity Organisation (NPO) arranged a conference on ‘Implementation of Productivity Improvement: Competitive Reinforcement Initiative (CRI)’ project to discuss the ways and means for enhancing industrial production in the country at a local hotel, on Tuesday.
Addressing the conference, NPO Chief Executive Officer Muhammad Alamgir Chaudhry said that the organisation had worked out various initiatives aimed at enhancing industrial production in the country and improving internal supply chain. “We have started series of such conference with different industrial sectors with prime objective to bring improvements in various stages including planning, design and manufacturing, etc. in the industry, and the today’s event is focused on sectors of leather, footwear, auto-parts and ready-made garments cluster,” he said.
Alamgir Chaudhry mentioned that these awareness sessions were proving helpful in improving productivity of various industries, adding that the NPO was also supporting and guiding the industrialists to ensure up-to-the-mark production that would not only help increase country’s export base but also overcome the prevailing trade deficit.
The CEO said that Pakistan was among top 10 countries of the world with regard to milk and wheat production, while its coal, mineral and other mega resources were yet to be exploited up to their potential. He mentioned that Pakistan now lagged behind even those countries including Malaya, South Korea, India and Bangladesh, which had been equal or behind Pakistan on economic front in 1960s, adding that it was an eye-opener for the authorities concerned and there was a dire need to study and adopt their economic growth strategies. “We have to remove our technological inefficiencies in the industrial sector to compete in the global market,” he suggested.
In his address, Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC) Managing Director Muhammad Asim Javed said that long pending plans for promotion of the industry could be implemented due to joint initiatives of the NPO and the PSIC. Though Pakistan was among top countries in milk, wheat and various other commodities and industrial products, its growth in these sectors was still slow for which ‘we have to identify the loopholes and gaps in this regard and then take speedy and appropriate measures to remove those shortcomings.’
He mentioned, “Pakistan has great potential in the human resource and by equipping the HR with full and semi skills, we can not only fulfill the demand for local labourers but also send the surplus labour force abroad that will increase foreign remittances to Pakistan.”
During the conference, Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts & Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPAM) former chairman Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) Chairman Mubashir Naseer Butt and Pakistan Footwear Manufacturers Association (PFMA) Secretary General Col. (Retd.) Ahamd Fawad Farooq gave detailed presentations on their respective sectors and the project.