Caretaker Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications (MoITT) Dr Umar Saif distributed Rs. 825 million as a cash prize to the companies playing a significant role in IT and IT-enabled services exports.
The minister said that the IT industry, which plays a pivotal role in the country’s economy, deserves maximum incentives, facilities, and rewards.
He said these companies are strengthening the country’s economy by earning huge foreign exchange in return for the services of digital talent of Pakistani talent worldwide. If the performance of the IT sector continues like this, it is hoped that the target of $10 billion for IT exports will be achieved soon, he added.
Dr Saif expressed these views while addressing the prize distribution ceremony organized by Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), an organization of the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, in Lahore on Tuesday.
Additional Secretary IT & Chief Executive Officer PSEB Ayesha Humaira Moriani, Member IT Syed Junaid Imam, Chairman IT Association (P@SHA) Muhammad Zohaib Khan, other officials from MoITT and a large number of eminent personalities from the IT industry were present on the occasion.
Highlighting the causes behind the distribution of huge cash prizes and awards, Dr. Saif said that the IT ministry decided to encourage companies with positive growth in IT exports, for which the government had allocated Rs. 1 billion in the annual budget. He said that due to timely decisions of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) on the recommendations of the Ministry of IT, the overall IT exports in the country have increased by a record 32 percent in the last 60 days.
In the first and second quarters of the current financial year, the performance of many companies in IT exports also showed a positive trend. In such a situation, it was decided to give cash prizes from the allocated fund to encourage companies and accelerate positive growth.
He said that Rs. 825 million has been distributed to 550 companies with positive growth.
For this purpose, six categories were made, and the first top 100 companies have been awarded Rs. 2.5 million, the second 100 companies Rs. 2 million, the third 100 companies Rs. 1.5 million, the fourth 100 companies Rs. 1.25 million, the fifth 100 companies Rs. 750 thousand and the sixth and last category 50 companies have been awarded Rs. 500,000 each. Out of these 550 companies, the top 10 companies have been awarded cash prizes as well as trophies for outstanding performance.
