Former Google Executive and the head of Digital Pakistan vision, Tania Aidrus, has finally shared the details of her ambitious plan to uplift Pakistan through digitalization.
In a tweet earlier today, Tania shared the underpinnings of the program, giving a roadmap of how she and her team plans to achieve Digital Pakistan goals.
The 5 key areas of the program are as follows:
- Access & Connectivity
- Digital Infrastructure
- eGovernment
- Digital Skills & Training
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship
As a mission-driven initiative, Digital Pakistan’s focus is primarily on ensuring that desirable outcomes are achieved. Specifically, this means that Digital Pakistan’s success should primarily be measured on whether such outcomes are actually achieved; the concrete implementing body and method is secondary.
Key Principles
The 4 key principles of the Digital Pakistan initiative have been set out as follows:
- #shaamil – Responsible and inclusive access to information and technologies is a fundamental right.
- Affordable access to hardware devices such as low-end smartphones
- Universal data access such as connectivity in remote areas
- Affordable data access such as mobile subscription plans
- Free flow of information
- #hunarmand – 21st-century skills to reap the benefits of technology
- Digital literacy and how to operate devices
- Skills for digitally enable jobs such as home-based selling of goods via social commerce
- #pehchaan – Simplify interactions between citizens, government, and the broader economy.
- Development of a ‘Pakistan Stack’ as technology and data infrastructure connecting these different spheres
- Using digital technologies for easier and more transparent public expenditures, tax collections as well as prevention of tax evasion
- Driving towards the ‘Ask only once’ principle i.e. aim to ensure that citizens, institutions, and companies only have to provide certain standard information to the authorities and administrations once
- #digitaljugarus – An inclusive digital revolution must be an economic boon for all.
- Fostering mass employment creation through digital platforms like marketplaces, freelancing communities or ride-hailing companies
- Creating an appropriate legal, financial and regulatory environment for technology startups to flourish
- Be the conduit for linking local digital skills supply with global demand in areas with high global demand like machine learning or python
Key Areas of Work
The digital revolution will have the work key areas of work:
- Channeling of and representing the Digital Pakistan Movement
- Information dissemination
- Policy advancement or intervention
- Technology development
- Build bridges and facilitating dialogue between citizens, government, local and international players
“We plan on treating these as living and breathing, so something that will continue to evolve”, Tania said in her post.
What are your thoughts on the Digital Pakistan Movement?
stupid remains stupid incompitent and duffers are in power from top to bottom
Can you make constructive comments? Like pointing out flaws (if any) in the program, or suggesting something better?
Passion / Opinion without intellect is useless.
A true depiction of the current Govt. Strategies.
Just like your stupid comment.
Much needed steps time to replicate US model.Turn Pakistan to Mini USA.
Yes, Turn the turtle, your words will be written in Golden if this Govt. and who bring them up, will keep on going. Because they take all actions to ruined this country and democracy.
What’s wrong with that? The tech world is run by USA and most of the technology you use is from USA. There is nothing wrong in replicating that.
The plan is very good. Now the government needs to support her by providing all required resources. If hiring is done on merit bases, we shall start seeing improvements in a year or two. Upgradation of government paper structure to digital format is a must.
Look Man, All plans are good as far as they were tested already and you know their results. But you know when things are in hands of GOONs and security guards.
P.S.: Don’t expected a baby from a transgender.
This is one of the reasons we are not progressing. There is a lot of leg pulling and pessimism.
If initiatives were not taken then today Aeroplanes, Cars, Televisions, Mobile phones etc. would not be possible.
I would say make a start and get some help from delivering project managers for the success of these projects.
Some Points for Consideration Please:
1. Attract People towards “OnLine Financial Transactions” with incentives like:
i. Lower-cost,
ii. Lower-taxes,
iii. Automatic record-keeping (Filing) of All OnLine transactions at FBR, SBP, etc. (No Need to File Manually),
resulting in Transparency & Better Tax Collection.
2. Lifting of stupid ban on better, Secure Messaging platform, i.e. Telegram, hence Stop patronizing Facebook owned privacy-spyware Whatsapp.
3. Treat All People of Pakistan Equally, by 1st Focusing on providing 100% coverage of 3G/ 4G to All Areas & All People of Pakistan (0% no-coverage). Plan for 5G ONLY after providing 100% coverage to All People, All areas of Pakistan
yar camera aur battery achi honi chahiye 20k main koi phone batoa
yar to tecno camon 12 air la lo
level ka phone hai aur camera to hai he kamal
Only talks and good content creation so far! Still old blood sitting on top making decisions and representing youth! How about replacing the Joke of an IT minister for a start!
Happy with the progressive being made. Special attention should be paid in digitising all government services for the common man so they don’t have to spend days for simple government related tasks. Also all government services should me available in Urdu too as that’s our official language.
The program is almost comprises a wide areas of inclusiveness since education is fundamental factor that will enable Pakistan digital transformation. The spending in IT / ICT in govt is in negligible condition if we think of e-governence. E-commerce, B2B needs outreach to the bulk of population and the skill development is needed to be taken care of at municipality. This is only possible when the basic economic indicators are flourishing. finger cross …
Will only happen if MERIT prevails in this country. We need foreign qualified experienced people to lead these departments
Waiting for when they digitize the money, and release a killer app to rival easyapiasa and implement laws
Easypaisa delivers services in form of e payments it is not a threat for govt services overall.
We are making payments at various platforms with its help.
Later this app can be affiliated with more govt services like payment of fines,fares,taxes etc.
“I mean’ sonay py sohagaa”.
All processes related to government should be digitized and the base of digitization payment should be solid and also ID card should be the sole thing needed al all stuff even for payments
Has one who is commenting actually read the text to analyse what quality products will be the outcome?. Its a non-plan, 2 months after the digitalpakistan launch and with the way people are commenting looks like every one got distracted with the rosy language. Wish best of luck but the quality of debate needs to rise from usa did this, mr so and so did that, go paperless do digital. None of that makes sense. Especially the person in the comments asking for a mobile phone recommendation .haha. So we try stand no where. If the audience reading this is making comments like so.