National IT Policy Envisions $6 billion Telecom Exports by 2020

The long awaited Draft National IT Policy 2016 will take its final shape soon as the consultation sessions have been completed by MoITT.

The policy envisions software and telecom enabled services exports at $6 billion by 2020. Earlier, the Ministry made the draft of National IT Policy 2016 public for opinions, comments and criticism.

According to the concerned officials, consultation course is nearly complete and the draft policy would be given ultimate form soon. It is likely that the draft policy would be given to the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) for its endorsement next month, official further added. Though stakeholders have dubbed the export target of $6 billion by 2020 naive while keeping in view the ground realities.

National IT Policy Envisions $6 billion Telecom Exports by 2020

While talking to Business Recorder, Syed Ahmad CEO of DPL Software Company said government states that IT exports are almost $2.5 billion, though SBP data reveals only $500 million. However there is no study to measure the precise export amount, he added.

Also Read our Blog: Draft National IT Policy 2016: Will IT Deliver?

Syed Ahmad revealed that exports of formal IT industry are stretching from $500-600 million and non-formal industry i.e. self-employed is about one billion dollars. Nevertheless it is not easy to legalize or bind the freelancers to get authentic figures. IT exporter revealed that government needs to offer inducements to the sector, particularly to the freelancers for growing exports.

Some of the main features of the draft National IT Policy are

  • Sectoral Digitization
  • Big Data
  • Data Analytics
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Internet of Things (IoT)
  • E-commerce
  • E-agriculture
  • Software Export
  • Cyber Security
  • Cloud Computing
  • Persons with disabilities (PWDs)
  • Open Source

According to the draft policy, there has been healthier growth in current years in general IT industry in the country with IT companies making almost $560 million, mostly in software expansion and service outsourcing. Still it has been assessed that almost 75% of earnings are held overseas to back the cost of foreign offices and international marketing making the actual figure over $2.2 billion. IT exports have observed 41% increase during past one year.

The policy is aiming to augment exports of software and IT/IT empowered services to make jobs and subsidize towards government’s efforts to surge whole exports and IT payments.

It primarily focuses on developing areas of mobile applications, receptive web applications, and animation. It is further directing on moving up the global IT value chain while it is also discovering new areas where low end business process outsourcing jobs can be generated. The policy visualizes appealing cosmopolitan global companies to use Pakistani manpower for back end facilities by offering suitable motivations in a transparent manner. And utilize the Pakistani Dispersion in the US and European markets to pad young tycoons into the global IT value restraint.

The Ministry spokesperson further added that given the rising drifts of information technology, it has become imperious to reformulate the national IT policy to allow for the transformative basics of technology and its eco-system balanced on digitization.

Also Read: Industry Stakeholders to Review Draft National IT Policy 2016

PTA Taxes Portal

Find PTA Taxes on All Phones on a Single Page using the PhoneWorld PTA Taxes Portal

Explore NowFollow us on Google News!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button
Get Alerts!

PhoneWorld Logo

Join the groups below to get the latest updates!

💼PTA Tax Updates
💬WhatsApp Channel

>