Pakistan government wants to create 200,000 jobs in Information Technology (IT) sector in the next 3 years. This information was stated by Pakistani Minister for Information Technology, Awais Ahmed Khan in a seminar today. The minister also said that his ministry was taking up a special internship program under which top 100 or 200 students from each university will work in IT companies. He said, " My message through this conference is that please look again towards the IT discipline as it has a huge potential and my strong opinion is that if you are a good IT graduate there is no way a Pakistan company would not pick you up."
Awais Ahmed Khan informed the audience that Pakistan currently had 28 million mobile phone users and within 3 years 85% people of Pakistan will have access to telecommunication facilities. He also stated that the government has taken an initiative to connect 1.5 million to 2 million households with high speed Internet in the urban areas.
I think that if Pakistan government can implement its programs successfully then there is every possibility that 200,000 jobs will be created in IT sector in the next 3 years. However, I have just one concern. I feel that people living in rural areas are becoming victims of digital divide and I can see the same thing happening in Pakistan too.
Do you agree with me?
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I saw a recent report that tagged Pakistan as one of the most unfriendly environment for investors in the world. My breath is not being held.
As for the digital divide between rural poor and urban middle/upper class, this trend is sweeping Asia. Japan, China, and India have all been reported to have a yawning gap in this regard, and there is no reason we should think this trend limited to those countries.
The question then becomes: Is such a gap a necessary evil for the development of an economy?
Posted by: Christopher Cassidy | May 18, 2006 12:07 PM | Permalink to Comment