The government has set a target of $5 billion for export remittances through information technology and IT-enabled services during the next three years.
This was revealed in a meeting of Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms with Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Aminul Haq.
A senior official of the Ministry who attended the meeting stated that digitalization, broadband, payment gateways, IT exports, and e-governance were discussed during the meeting. The Advisor was informed that the ministry is taking steps to provide broadband services in the country through the IT Universal Service Fund.
The minister added that plans for laying fiber optic cable in remote areas and providing faster internet service are also underway. The IT and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) export remittances comprising computer services and call center services surged by 23.71 percent to $1.230 billion in the fiscal year 2019-20 compared to $994.848 million during the same period last year (2018-19).
After record export remittances through IT exports, the next target is $5 billion during the next three years, said Haq. A payment gateway and e-office projects will be completed soon, Federal Minister for IT said.
COVID-19 provided important and basic IT structure for National Command Operation Center (NCOC) on the situation, said the minister adding that the main role of the human resource system is to collect data from hospitals.
Dr. Ishrat Hussain said the important role of the Ministry of IT in the development of the country cannot be ignored. The Ministry of IT deserves congratulations on the significant increase in IT exports, said Dr. Ishrat, adding that there is a great need to pay attention to human resources.
