ISLAMABAD, MAR 13 – The government is currently working on a new policy to distribute advertisements across different digital platforms, the head of the government’s digital wing Imran Ghazali has said.

Ghazali — the general manager of the Digital Media Wing — said that once approved by the prime minister, the new policy will allow the federal government, through the information ministry, to run ads on different online platforms.

Earlier this week, Information Minister Shibli Faraz apprised Prime Minister Imran Khan of the Digital Media Advertising Policy, which was proposed by the information ministry.

The prime minister was told that currently there were 93 million internet users, including over 45 million social media users in Pakistan. Keeping in view the rising trend, a mechanism for releasing public-sector advertisements on digital media had been proposed.

The new policy aims to bring in place a set of procedures for the government to distribute its advertisements across different channels, similar to what already exists for print and broadcast media.

Once it is approved and implemented, news websites as well as individual content creators on social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube will be able to register with the information ministry.

Subject to meeting yet-to-be finalised criteria, they will become eligible for the government’s advertisements.

While no specific outlay has been identified as yet, initially it will be for national campaigns such as Independence Day or Pakistan Day.

The advertisement tariffs will be based on a number of factors and an exact mechanism is currently being worked out.

“It will be in line with industry standards with variables such as monthly traffic, subscribers, placement on the page, and CPMs in the overall market,” Ghazali said.

Based on that, different tiers will be specified. Whether those rates will be higher than private sector advertisers is yet to finalised.

To verify a website’s traffic or impressions, the Digital Media Wing is proposing the use of third-party software like Google Analytics. However, for publications, that might be a step too far.

“There needs to be some sort of verification mechanism in place for the government to get a return on its money. That could be any credible tool, like Alexa or Google Analytics.”

Moving beyond just news platforms, the proposed policy also aims to tap on the growing list of Pakistani influencers on YouTube and Instagram.

“This will provide a good avenue for individual creators to monetise [their content] provided they meet certain criteria,” Ghazali said. In line with the industry conventions, these influencers will have to guarantee a mutually agreed upon number of views in a given period.

They will have to register with the information ministry as individuals while there would be another category covering platforms, which includes both fully digital news publishers as well as online arms of traditional news organisations.

Given the one platforms’ proliferation and digital advertising’s sophistication in tracking reach, it is likely that the federal government will be channeling an increasing share of its advertising spend towards these channels even though the exact details and plans are yet to materialise.

This still leaves the provinces, which devise their own rules for running ads.

In fact, Punjab included digital media in its Advertisement Policy of 2012 while there was some talk of Sindh doing the same a few years ago.

Ghazali stated he felt the federal administration’s lead will eventually roll down to the provincial level.

With print media’s circulation constantly falling for years and broadcast quickly ceding space to online platforms, the nature of advertising is rapidly changing. According to Aurora, the share of advertising spend in Pakistan increased by seven percentage points to 23pc in FY20, from 16pc in FY19.

In terms of absolute values, digital advertising spending jumped by 30pc to Rs13.65 billion in FY20, from Rs10.5bn in FY19.

ISLAMABAD, MAR 13 (DNA) – On the special directives of management of Capital Development Authority (CDA), the repair and rehabilitation work of Blue Area and IJP Road has been started.

The completion and rehabilitation of IJP Road and 4 lane project PC-1 has been approved. However, patch work and carpeting is being done to temporarily restore the flow of traffic.

According to details, road carpeting, lane marking, and repair work are being carried out by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) across the city.

In this regard, the management of CDA has immediately started the repair and carpeting work of the said highway in front of F-9 Park on the dilapidated condition of Blue area Road, and the carpeting of the highway will be completed as soon as possible. On the other hand, repair and rehabilitation work of long neglected IJP Road has been started.

The road will be completed in two phases. In first phase repairing from Faizabad to Sir Syed Avenue will be done, however in second phase repairing work will be done from Khayaban Sir Syed to GT Road.

Along with this project, overhead bridges, interchanges and underpasses will also be constructed. The existing bridges will also be widened.

New concrete roads will be constructed on both sides of the road. After that, IJP Road will be widened from 2 lanes to 4 lanes.=DNA

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KARACHI, Mar 13 (DNA): President Dr Arif Alvi has said the national
economy has been put on the right trajectory due to prudent policies of
the government.

Addressing the Third Financial Crime Summit in Karachi on Saturday, the
President said effective measures are being taken to control inflation
and price hike at the lower level.

“Good Brand Pakistan has to be projected as we, after paying a heavy
cost, have come out of the polarization,” he said emphasizing need to
restore country’s perception as a vibrant and moderate society on solid
lines.

Addressing 3rd Financial Crime Summit here he said, “Its impression was
tarnished by the enemies and we have to restore it through concerted and
collective efforts,” said the President.

The event with the theme “Pakistan’s Regtech – Shoulder to Shoulder with
the Government’s vision of addressing Terrorist Financing and Financial
Crime,” was jointly organized by different private sector financial
entities of the country, attended by the representatives of concerned
public sector institutions.

President Alvi reminding the fact that Pakistan has been able to comply
with 24 of the 27 FATF conditions, prerequisite to help country getting
out of the gray list, referred to the propaganda it has been subjected
to in the international arena.

About steps taken by the government to address the issue of financial
crime and its challenges, he said, no country could afford to buckle
down before the menace and did require strong institutions equally
secured for the benefit of its people.

President Alvi said the scenario has led to opportunities leading
towards the vibrant digitization of financial sector of the country. He
said it has been proves as a fast way paving for a digitized economy
that would help in its documentation.

Mentioning that Pakistan with the series of corrective initiatives at
macroeconomic level, has been able to put the economy in growth mode, he
said, this has effected the purchasing power of the masses.

Poverty, identified as a root-cause of this menace, was said to be taken
head-on by the government with a direct impact on the people pertaining
to low socio-economic strata.

“Ehsaas Program is an example with Rs.200 billion plus disbursement with
not a single complain of any misappropriation,” said President Alvi
mentioning that major beneficiaries of the said programme were women.

“Government is encouraging women to be truly empowered,” he said
mentioning that women constituting 52 percent of the country’s total
population were non-registered contributors to the economy.

Meaningful efforts were made in bringing them to register for the
programme through series of initiatives including discounts in loans
procured by them.

“This is unfortunately not being duly publicized,” he said mentioning
that the facility was also available to other relevant sections of the
society which, but demanded an environment giving environment of
confidence to approach them and avail the facility.

“They are required to be mentored, guided and encouraged by our banks
and concerned financial institutions,” said President Alvi. DNA

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