Growth linked to information technology

LAHORE: Provincial Minister for Information, Culture, Commerce and Trade Mian Aslam Iqbal said that provision of best services to the people was the core mission of the PTI government and added that this objective could be well-achieved by promoting the latest information technology in government offices.

Presiding over a meeting of Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) at its office on Wednesday, he said the organisational capacity of the public sector departments was being improved through the dexterous use of information technology.

Secretary Information Raja Jahangir Anwar, Chairman PITB and others attended the meeting in which briefing was given about the steps taken for the promotion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in public sector departments.

The minister said that important reforms were introduced by the government in health, education and other sectors as the objectives of development and public welfare could be achieved by employing the latest technologies in different sectors. He said that promotion of the IT sector on modern lines was the top priority of the Punjab government and added that establishment of a state-of-the-art IT Park had been envisaged by the government. He said the IT sector had a vast scope of investment and the government was also encouraging investors to invest heavily so that the country could be moved forward in the right direction.

Meanwhile, the latest digital technology is also beneficial in achieving the objectives of organisational transparency and austerity. PITB is playing an important role in the promotion of IT in government departments and information technology will be fully utilised in different welfare-oriented programmes of the Punjab government, he said.

PRA, BOR performance: Punjab Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht appreciated the efforts of Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) and Board of Revenue (BOR), for showing an impressive performance in revenue collection growth in both tax and non-tax segment in July 2019 which is the first month of ongoing fiscal year 2019-20.

The total provincial indigenous collection sources comprised of the tax and non-tax of Punjab in the month of July 2019 stood at Rs22.9 billion with a growth rate of registered almost 47 percent growth as compared to corresponding period of July 2018 of Rs15.5 billion in both tax and non-tax revenues.

The total tax revenue collection was increased by almost Rs6 billion, reached Rs19.34 billion in July 219 from Rs13.12 billion in the corresponding period of previous financial year. During the first month of ongoing fiscal year 2019-20, Punjab Revenue Authority collected Rs11.3 billion as compared to Rs6.8 billion in corresponding period of the previous year, indicating a substantial growth of 65 percent.

The Punjab government collected Rs10.99 billion under the head of Sales Tax on Services. Similarly, the Board of Revenue (BOR) collected Rs5.38 billion as compared to Rs3.94 billion last year in the corresponding period, registering growth of 37 percent.

The minister appreciating the performance of the tax collection agencies, including PRA and BOR, said that the department collection was significantly higher than the targets. He hoped that the tax collecting agencies would maintain their pace and performance and surpass the annual revenue collection targets which will play a key role in achieving the development initiatives of the government.

Guru Nanak: Punjab Chief Secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar has directed that best arrangements be ensured in connection with the celebrations of the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak in November.

He issued the directions to the authorities concerned while chairing a meeting at Civil Secretariat here on Wednesday. The meeting also reviewed progress on Kartarpur Corridor project. The chief secretary (CS) said that the government was committed to promoting religious tourism, adding that Sikh pilgrims would get easier access to Kartarpur temple through the Kartarpur Corridor. He ordered the authorities to finalise security and other arrangements for the event of the birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak as soon as possible.