200004193 steps for S, T promotion on cards in new budget: Atta

IKRAMUL HAQ

ISLAMABAD: Three major initiatives for promotion of science and technology are on the cards in the next budget.

First, to develop human resources by producing 300 more PhDs annually in the country; second, to groom talented Pakistanis as PhDs in foreign unviersities in new sciences; and third, to embark on an ambitious programme of making science and technology a vehicle for economic development (STED).

Talking to newsmen at the stone-laying ceremony of COMSATS building, Dr Attaur Rahman, Minister for Science and Technology, said that the ministry is launching two major programmes for development of human resources in the country. First is to increase the capacity of producing PhDs in the universities which turn out only 50 or 60 PhDs at present. It is proposed to have at least 300 more Ph.Ds for which an allocation of Rs 50 million is being made in the new budget.

Similarly, talented science graduates would be sent abroad for PhD studies in new fields for which facilities are not available in the country. The budget would earmark Rs 100 million for the scheme under which the scholars would get liberal stipends to complete their doctorates in four years.

A new exciting progamme, he added, is to link economic development with science and technology for which some billions of rupees are to be earmarked. The amount is yet to be determined. Under it, several projects would be worked out, like making use of herbs for pharmaceutical industry, utilisation of algae resources in Arabian Sea, etc.

While the local PhD scheme will be financed by the ministry of education; for foreign studies the ministry of science and technology would bear the cost, he said.

Referring to the thrust on IT, the minister said that focus would be on software development, promotion of electronic commerce, and electronic governance. As the entire operations would be computerised, a strong database would be available. The database would also check tax evasion.

Further, the minister said that next week he would be leaving for London, San Francisco and New York to meet Pakistani scientists and IT entrepreneurs to make use of their expertise in promoting software industry in Pakistan.

About IT policy which would be announced in May, Dr Rahman said that the policy would have a strong action plan to implement it.

PTCL privatisation: Answering a question if PTCL, being a profitable organisation, could be taken off the privatisation programme, the minister said that under WTO commitment, foreign telephone companies are free to operate in Pakistan after December 31, 2002. Nobody can check them, he added. So it is important to gear up PTCL for privatisation by that time. The PTCL, he added, is being modernised to fetch a good price.

Referring to the fears that after privatisation, the new owners would fix their own telephone rates, the ministers said that it has already been decided that telephone rates would be linked with the rise in CPI, (consumer price index). This way, the public interest would be protected, he added.