M. Tariq Badsha
Member (IT)
Ministry of Information Technology
Government of Pakistan
Dec 19, 2009
Outline
 Background
 Start-up Phase
 Consolidation Phase
 Sustainability and Scalability
 Challenges and the Future
Background
 IT Division Formed in 2000 - consolidating IT &
Telecom functions under M/o Science & Technology
 IT Policy Approved by the Cabinet in August 2000
 Mandate of the IT Division:
 IT Sector Development and use of IT for better
government services
 Telecom Sector Development
 IT Ministry formed in 2002
Start-up Phase
(Inception to 2002)
 Recruitment of IT and Telecom Professionals
 Setting up Organizations:
 Electronic Government Directorate (2002)
 Higher Education Commission (2002)
 Strengthening of Pakistan Software Export Board
 Virtual University
 Creating an Enabling Environment
 Pilot projects of a wide variety
 Major thrust on HR and Infrastructure Development
Start-up Phase
(PSDP allocations)
Research &
Development
0% Others E-Government
7%
Infrastructure
3%
Industry 13%
Support
4%
E-Government
Human Resourse
Development
Industry Support
Infrastructure
Human Resourse
Development
73%
Research & Development
Others
Achievements and Lessons
 Achievements:
 Breaking the inertia
 Building the team
 Creating Basic Organizations
 Developing the Telecom Infrastructure
 Testing the waters in various sectors
 Long lead activities (HR) put in motion
 Key policies and Legislation
 Lessons:
 Bring Focus
 Strengthen Implementation
Consolidation Phase
(2003-2007)
 With the formation of HEC a significant part of the HR
program was shifted to HEC
 Program was focused on:
 Citizen Services
 IT for improving efficiency as a means to support Services
 IT industry Development - increasing exports and/or creating




local employment
Infrastructure to meet specific needs
Targeted HR Development
Telecom Sector Deregulation and Privatization
Legislation and Enabling Environment
IT Industry Development
Activities/Major Functions
 Advisory and Information services
 Infrastructure Support (STPs)
 Exhibitions and Events
 Industrial Automation
 Quality Certifications
 Corporate Training Programs
 IT Industry Internship Programs
 Open Source Resource Center (www.osrc.org.pk)
 Facilitate resolution of Industry’s Operational Issues
E-Government Strategy

Basic Infrastructure
Hardware, LAN at Ministries, Centralized Data Centre

Common Applications
E-Office comprises of Common processes (IC, HR, PM, Budget, Inventory)

Agency Specific Applications
Example: Hajj Applications. Online registration of companies with SECP, Online
recruitment at FPSC, Online Access to case laws, Court Automation, etc

E-Services
Domicile, Driving Licenses, International Driving Permits, Arms License
Issuance, Food, Agriculture & Livestock Information Repository (FALIR), Land
Record Revenue MIS etc

Replication and Reuse
Replication of E-Office applications to 45 Divisions
HR Development
 National ICT Scholarship Program (R&D Company)
Opportunities for students from remote areas to study in ten top universities of the country
 Internships (PSEB)
Match making between fresh IT graduates and IT companies by placing IT graduates in IT
companies
 IT Apprenticeship Program (R&D Company)
Rs. 15,000 per student per month to groom young professionals
 Corporate Training Program (PSEB)
A program that brings in trainers from abroad to train and subsequently certify individuals
nominated by their companies
 Capacity Building Programs (PSEB)
“Specialized Training” for local IT companies in and “General Training” in the field of project
management, network/security systems and business process modeling
 Federal Govt. Employees Training Program (Computer Bureau)
Training in basic IT to Federal Govt employees working in various Ministries/Divisions
 Virtual University with enrollment of over 50,000
Telecom Sector
 Governing Legislation
 Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-Organization) Act
1996 (Amended 2006)
 Sector Policies
 De-Regulation Policy for the Telecommunication Sector
– 2003
 Mobile Cellular Policy – 2004
 Broadband Policy – 2004
 Universal Service Fund Policy – 2006
 Formation of Companies to manage USF and R&D
Funds
National ICT R&D Fund Company
 Independent Company .
 Activities funded by mandatory contribution from
Telecom Operators
 Goals:
 Cultivate industry-academia partnership
 Enhance the national ICT related human resource
development capacity
 Make Pakistan an attractive destination for high tech jobs
 Use ICT as a tool for wealth creation
 Spread the ICT activities at the National level.
National ICT R&D Fund Company
Major Programs
 National ICT Scholarship Program
 IT Apprenticeship Program
 Technical R&D Projects
 International Publications
National ICT R&D Fund - Projects
Category
Proposals
Amount
(Rs. Mil)
1 VLSI Design
6
104
2 4G Wireless Development
2
30
3 e-Health and e-Education
5
71
5 Social Networks
2
21
6 Mobile Device Software Systems
7
86
Network Security/Multimedia
7 and P2P Systems
9
108
8 Open Source Development
7
135
9 University Excellence Program
1
16
10 Human Resource Development
7
121
11 Conferences
4
2
Universal Service Fund Company
 Independent Company
 Contributions by Licensed Telecom Service Providers
 No Government Funding
 Spent by Telecom Service Providers to provide
services in un-served and under-served areas
 Ministry acts like a “Trustee” of the Fund
 Disbursed through open competitive bidding by USF
Company (bidder requiring least subsidy wins)
Universal Service Fund
 Currently has three programs:
 Rural Telecom and e-Services
 Fiber backbone
 Broadband
Universal Service Fund
26 “Lots” of Rural Telecom
Universal Service Fund
Optic Fiber availability in Pak.
Unserved
areas
Served
areas
No
Province
Tehsils
without
Fiber
In
Percent
1
Punjab
05
04 %
2
Sindh
18
19 %
3
N.W.F.P
16
31 %
4
Baluchistan
42
64 %
5
FATA
32
76 %
Total
125
31 %
Universal Service Fund
Broadband status in Pakistan
• Previous efforts
to improve failed
• Affordability a
major issue
• Growth picking
up but confined to
large cities!
Score Card – IT industry
Development
 Exports- SBP – From US $ 23 million in 2002-03 to US
$ 184 million in 2008-09
 IT Parks – 700,000 sq feet.
 Land earmarked at Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore for
purpose-built technology parks
 ISO 9001:2000 certification to 100+ IT companies
 24 companies certified in CCM/CMMI levels 2 to 5
Score Card – e-Government
 Basic IT infrastructure at all Ministries
 Electronic File Movement and MIS (Common
Applications) implemented at the Ministry of IT
 Over 30 agency specific applications developed for
Health sector, Municipal services Recruitment, Law
enforcement, District Courts, and federal government
Ministries
 Federal Government Data Center being established
 Maintains Government of Pakistan Web Portal
Score Card - HRD
 600 apprentices through IT Apprenticeship program
 Over 1,500 rural/non-metropolitan area students
currently studying, through National ICT Scholarship
Program
 Training of 5,000 Government Servants in IT
 Distance learning education to over 50,000 students
through VU
 Internships- 4460 graduates from 220
universities/institutes placed in 250 IT companies
Score Card - Telecom
Parameters
Current Stats
Fixed lines (teledensity)
3.526 Million (2.2)
Mobile lines (teledensity)
95.918 Million (58.6)
WLL lines (teledensity)
2.716 Million (1.6)
Total lines
102.16 Million
Combined teledensity
62.4%
FDI (2008 – 09)
US$ 815 Million
Total Direct & Induced Jobs in
Telecom Sector
1.36 Million
Telecom sector Revenue (2007 – 08) Rs. 278.459 Billion
year ending 2008 statistics
Telecom Score Card (Cont..)
Parameters
Current Stats
Total Internet Connections
3.7 Million
Total Internet Users
17 Million
Total Broadband Subscribers
350,000
Cellular Mobile Operators (No.)
06
Long Distance International (LDI) (No.)
12
Local Loop (Region wise) Operators (LL)
(No.)
72
No. of under sea cables – International
bandwidth
3
Domestic Fiber Backbone Networks
4
Year ending 2008 statistics
Sustainability and Scaling Up
2008 onwards
 Update of policies
 USF and ICT R&D Fund Companies gaining full
momentum
 Impact analysis of completed IT Projects
 Scaling up successful pilots:
 e-office at M/o IT replicated to all Federal Ministries
 Federal Government Data Center
 Adjusting policies and regulatory environment in light
of changed telecom environment to maintain sector
growth.
Challenges – e-Government
 Acceptance of IT enabled processes by government
functionaries (cliché: Culture Change)
 Ownership of IT projects and resources for
sustainability:
 HR for operations
 Recurring expenditure
 Electric power and other infrastructure
 Security of Networks
 Hiring and retention of IT Professionals in
government
Challenges – IT Industry
 High Quality HR to feed the industry – technical as
well as middle management
 Affordable IT-enabled space
 Country Perception
 Increased global competition
 Attrition of HR to lucrative markets
 Venture Capital and Financing
 Exploiting niche markets
Challenges – Telecom Sector
 Sector health in light of
 higher saturation levels
 lower ARPU due to price wars
 Shrinking margins
 Introducing value-added services
 Optimal Frequency management
 Management versus speed of processing
 Flexibility in terms and conditions of licenses
 distribution (Defence, Public Sector, and Commercial)
Challenges – Telecom Sector
 Maintaining Investors’ Interest
 Legislation and Policies to deal with possible mergers
and acquisitions – to maintain a fair competitive
regime
 Using ICT infrastructure for Socio-economic
development
 Increasing Broadband penetration – Supply side as
well as demand (consumer appetite)
 Convergence of media, telecom, and VAS
Challenges – ICT for Development
 Cost of Access devices
 Broadband service charges have come down
significantly but still above the price point for mass
acceptance
 Content for Broadband services
 Mindset of service providers
 Literacy and Capacity for absorbing technology
 Basic services (electrification, roads, drinking water,
etc.)
Future
 Telecom Policies are being revised in consultation with




all the stakeholders to address the challenges of the
current market dynamics.
Similarly, the IT Policy of 2000, is being updated.
Targets would have to be set for government ministries
New legislation in the areas of Data Protection,
Privacy, Consumer Protection, IPR
IT must be introduced in our SME sector more
aggressively if they are to remain competitive
IT companies would have to scale up – partly through
organic growth but mostly through mergers
Future
 Work on affordable solutions
 Using FOSS technologies where applicable
 Lightweight software for extending the life of hardware
 Localization
 Public access points – like telecenters
 Generate viable business models for small
entrepreneurs around ICT