Punjab govt launches plan to facilitate investment

LAHORE : The Punjab government on Saturday launched the 100 Days to Doing Business Reform Plan to facilitate businesses and start-ups to improve the investment environment in the province, in keeping with the Punjab Growth Strategy 2018 which sets the target of achieving eight percent economic growth.

According to Census 2017, Punjab is home to approximately 53 percent of Pakistan’s total population. It is the second largest province with a population as high as 110 million. The rapidly growing population necessitates creation of approximately 1 million quality jobs, according to the Punjab Growth Strategy 2018.

Planning and Development Department Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo on the occasion of the launch of plan at a local hotel informed the media that for the economy to grow and flourish, improving the business environment was indispensable.

According to the WB’s flagship Doing Business Report, India’s ranking improved from 130 to 100 – something that business and economics observers have attributed to personal interest from Prime Minister Narendar Modi.

“Ease of doing business involves introducing major reforms across departments like the SECP, State Bank and other national institutions which cannot be done without personal interest from the top leadership,” said Secretary Sahoo. “Which is why the prime minister has set up a steering committee under his chairmanship with top officials from these departments tasked to follow up on the reform and implementation process.”

Conference: A Three-day conference on family medicine “FamilyCon 2018”, organised by the Pakistan Academy of Family Physicians, was inaugurated here at a local hotel on Saturday.

Punjab Minister for Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Khawaja Salman Rafique was the chief guest while Vice Chancellors of FJMU, KEMU, principals of medical colleges, senior professors and faculty of medical institutions, foreign delegates and family physicians from across the country attended the inaugural ceremony of the conference. The conference is aimed at disseminating knowledge of advancements in the fields of medicine and surgery. The first and second day of the conference offered six mega events including workshops on ultrasound, diabetes mellitus, hepatology, gynaecology & obstetrics, dermatology and peadiatrics. On third day, experts will deliver 36 lectures on different topics as there would be six scientific sessions on the day.