RAWALPINDI, MAR 16 (DNA) – Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan paid a farewell call on Director General Inter Services Intelligence Lieutenant General Faiz Hamid.

DG ISI received the Service Chief. DG ISI thanked the Air Chief for his contribution in enhancing the professional capability of PAF during his illustrious career.

CAS also appreciated ISI’s performance in guarding and furthering national interests.=DNA

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ISLAMABAD, MAR 16 – Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday stated that the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) track and trace system was crucial for curbing tax evasion in the country.

Addressing a meeting of the federal cabinet, the premier said that the FBR was trying to bring in automation through the system which is aimed at accelerating the digitisation of economic activity, improving revenue forecasting and curbing counterfeit products in the market.

Earlier this month, the FBR had signed a contract with a consortium to operationalise the ‘Track & Trace Solution’ on tobacco, cement, sugar and fertiliser sectors from July 1. The FBR had said that 45 million tonnes of cement, over four billion sticks of tobacco cigarettes, four million tonnes of sugar and 30m tonnes of fertiliser would be brought into the tax net.

“Approximately 40 per cent of cigarettes are sold [without paying taxes] which causes the country to suffer. For the past 15 years, the FBR has been trying to introduce the system, to bring in automation but it is sabotaged each and every time,” the prime minister said.

“The board had assured the government that the new system would be in place by June 1 but now we have been told that the Sindh High Court (SHC) has issued a stay order.”

The premier said that the objective behind informing the federal cabinet was to make the members aware of the kind of tax evasion being done in the country. He maintained that majority of the tax in the cigarette industry came from two companies, while the remaining were not taxed.

“Until this system is in place, we cannot stop tax evasion,” he said, directing the law minister to inform the SHC about the situation to get the stay order vacated. “Because of tax evasion, we have to rely on indirect taxes which leads to inflation.”

In an earlier announcement, the FBR had said that installation of the track and trace system in identified sectors would be a game-changer for improving revenue and curbing counterfeit products in the market.

The FBR had said it expected to start installing UIMs (tax stamps) on products of various sectors from July this year.

Commenting on electoral reforms, the premier said that the federal cabinet should be regularly given updates on the progress of electronic voting machines (EVMs). “They have become inevitable for making our electoral process transparent. During each election, [the opposition] says it was not conducted properly so this is the only way.”

He added that he wanted updates on EVMs and voting for overseas Pakistanis during each meeting of the federal cabinet.

DNA

ISLAMABAD, MAR 16: PARC has started its 15-days long travelling seminars from today March 16, 2021 at NARC. Chairman PARC started off the introductory seminar with DG NARC, Engr. ShamimulSibtain Shah and Project Director, Mansoor Ahmad Joiya. While scientists. It will be carried out in the districts of Punjab, Sindh, KPK and Balochistan provinces.

In the introductory session, Dr. Muhammad Azeem Khan talked about the significance of these travelling seminars and told “PARC is investing in irrigation and planting technologies for productivity enhancement of pulses. For that we have introduced and recommended Ridge sowing methods, Bed planters and Responsive Drip Irrigation system for pulses farmers. Bed planters are available and vigorously manufacturing in Daska. He also advised the seminar participants to fully cooperate with the local farmers in terms of experience sharing. While encouraging the seed breeders and researchers for intensive research, Chairman assured the plant variety protection through Plant Breeder’s rights.

At the occasion DG NARC paid vote of thanks to the participants and said under the mega PSDP project ‘Productivity Enhancement of Pulses’ farmers’ facilitation will be ensured that includes pulses production technology transfer, release of high yielding crop seeds, acquisition of germplasm from international collaboration, transferring germplasm to national institutes and storing them in PARC-PGRI seed bank for further multiplication and research purposes. Moreover, through these seminars stress areas for pulses production will be identified and compost component will also be added to this project.

PD pulses Dr. MansoorJoiya saidthat pulses is an important crop that has an ability to grow in harsh conditions and drylands. It is a meat of poor man but due to low sporting price and less cultivated area, low production is recorded in pulses crop. PARC is conducting these seminars to engage the scientists and farming communities at one platform and enhance pulses productivity through knowledge and germplasm sharing.

ISLAMABAD, MAR 16 (DNA) – Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) got recognition for its progressive practices in Inclusive Communication and Social Responsibility at the Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmark Standards (GDIB) Awards 2021.

Being a large organization with a nationwide reach of staff and customer-base, it is a tremendous feat to be acknowledged for communication practices that are effectively tailored to the diverse characteristics of our customers and employees.

Email bulletins, digital screens, IVR messages and SMS alerts are some of the many ways the company chooses to facilitate two-way communication. Pulse surveys are conducted to gauge feedback and interventions are designed to ensure optimum customer service.

Furthermore, the company’s social responsibility practices have put PTCL at a unique spot among its contemporaries. The organization’s growing commitment to diversity and inclusion in terms of gender representation and development opportunities to Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) has further fostered a workplace culture of inclusiveness.

With the launch of the Justuju Internship Program for PWDs this year, PTCL commits to go only forward with its pledge for excellence. Our employee volunteer force; PTCL Razakaar has set a benchmark for corporate philanthropy and continues to spread smiles year after year.

On the occasion, Mazhar Hussain, Group Chief Human Resource Officer, PTCL & Ufone,said,“We are proud to have won these two prestigious awards by Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks (GDIB).

We are fully committed to fostera culture of diversity and inclusion in not only making PTCL a more inclusive place, but we are also taking conscious steps in making our society at large more inclusive as well.”

These awards recognize and encourage organizations that use GDIB standards to align organizational policies for sustainable financial and social performance.

Approximately 30 companies were honoured in various categories at the prestigious awards ceremony in Karachi.

With such recognition, the GDIB awards motivate companies to become more inclusive, diverse and agile. PTCL being honoured in the list of winners is a testament to its commitment towards its employees as well as the community at large.=DNA

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Invites Hammad Azhar to visit Belarus

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Belarus Andrei Metelitsa met with Muhammad Hammad Azhar, the Federal Minister for Industries and Production Division of Pakistan.

During the meeting the sides discussed the state of bilateral cooperation in industry and avenues of interaction between Belarus and Pakistan in this area.

The interlocutors paid particular attention to the issues of holding the third meeting of the Joint Working Group on industry, as well as preparation for signing of an amended intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of industrial, scientific and technical cooperation.

Muhammad Hammad Azhar received an invitation from Petr Parkhomchik, the Minister of Industry of Belarus, to visit Belarus in order to get acquainted with leading Belarusian industrial companies and to discuss issues of strengthening industrial cooperation between the countries on the topics of mutual interest.

Information Ministry spearheaded by Federal Minister Shibli Faraz plays its role in proper projection of govt activities and various developmental projects

Special Correspondent

ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister had promised to set an example of austerity while using public funds by the Prime Minister’s house and Prime Minister’s office. The Prime Minister fulfilled his promise and has significantly reduced the expenditures to save precious public money. The Prime Minister also set an example for the other government functionaries to save the public money wherever possible.

The Strategic Communication Wing of this Ministry has tabulated data, which reflected saving made by the Prime Minister’s office and Prime

According to the date prepared and shared with various departemtns of the Ministry and the relevant quarters, the expenditure Rs. 46M were used against the allocation of Rs. 218M Providing an example to rest of the government to rationalize their expenditures caring leadership. Effective and efficient use of tax payer money was also ensured thus setting an example of a responsible leadership. It is also a step forward towards Riasat-e[1]Madina.

Similarly, Travel & Transport Head Tax payers Saved 10M out of allocated budget. Entertainment & Gifts Tax payers Expenditure of Rs.1000 were allocated to this head compare to 1.5M 4. Physical Assets Tax payers Rs. 4M were saved under this head. Tour Expenses Tax payers Rs. 1.2M were spent out of allocated budget of 20M. Discretionary Grant Tax payers Rs.1000 were allocated against Rs. 1M 7. Wages of House hold servants Tax payers Expenditure under this head were cut down by Rs. 30M. Likewise, Prime Minister’s Estate Garden Establishment was done and tax payers Saving of Rs. 10M was made

Busting the myth of enhance expenditure at PMO in a recent programme on a private channel, it was alleged that PM office has, in contradiction to austerity measures, increased the budget/expenditures for the fiscal years 2018-19 and 2019-2020, this news lacks factual data and devoid of any supporting evidence from official sources.

In the age of social media, where misinformation spreads with the speed of light, it is expected of traditional media to dig into facts before running a story. According to the official data from finance ministry, the expenditures for PMO has actually been reduced significantly as promised by PM Imran Khan. The federal Budget 2019-2020 volume 1 titled Current Expenditures serial no 13 PMO (page 302-310) clearly states a decrease in expenditures by PMO as compared to previous fiscal year.

In any budget there are two types of expenditures 1) Employees Related Expenses (ERE) 2) Operating expenses (OE). As far as ERE is concerned, these are the expenses that comprised of pay and allowances of officials and staff working at PMO and demand for ERE related expenses in 2019-2020 showed a slight increase that is an outcome of annual increments which is a basic right of government employees regardless of their posting which is also a cause of slight increase in total budget from previous year. 2: The demand estimates for the fiscal budget 2019 -2020 under the head of operating expenses amounted to approx. Rs.218460000 (218 million,) while actual allocated budget was approx. Rs. 46,399,000 (46 million), huge cut from proposed demand estimate. Similarly, a considerable reduction was done under “travel and transportation head” worth of approx. Rs. 10 million. In addition to that, a visible reduction of budget can be seen under the head of “Entertainment & Gifts” from 1.5 million to just only RS. 1000. (that too to keep head of account alive).

As far as expenditures on “Physical Assets” are concerned, a reduction of approx. PKR 4 million was done on the instructions of PM. Another massive cut was placed on “Tour Expenses” of worth Rs.1.2 millions. Moreover, an amount of approximately Rs.20 million was reduced from “Miscellaneous expenditures”. The most important and prominent reduction was shown under “Discretionary Grants” where only Rs. 1000 were allocated (just to keep the head of A/c alive) from original estimate of Rs. 1 Million. The expenditure on “Wages of Household Servant” was cut by approximately Rs. 30 million that shows PM is adhering to his vision of austerity. Under “Prime Minister’s Estate Garden Establishment” a reduction of approx. Rs. 10 million was done.

The above-mentioned data repudiates incorrect data quoted on a talk show. PM Imran Khan has kept his words by reducing expenditures of his office so that a minimum burden may be placed on exchequer. This action of PM Imran Khan sets an example for all other political leaders to reduce unnecessary expenditures while not compromising on their performance.