Month: August 2018

Karachi: Uber, the global smartphone app that seamlessly connects riders to drivers, has announced launch of UberPITCH 2018, a nationwide competition to select a startup with the most compelling idea. This announcement was made at an event attended by Uber’s management, thought leaders from various industries and entrepreneurs.

Powered by Ignite and in collaboration with the National Incubation Centres (NIC), UberPITCH will see selected startups guided by experienced trainers, as they have their ideas judged by investors and mentors during the course of the competition.

“UberPITCH is our way of supporting young startups in the countries we operate in,” said Anthony le Roux, Regional General Manager of Middle East and Africa at Uber. “A thriving startup environment is representation of a youth ready to take the reigns of tomorrow. Uber, a startup itself, wants to share its global expertise and resources with young entrepreneurs around the world, so they too can make a positive difference.”

As per the white paper on Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Pakistan, if development proceeds at its current pace, the digital entrepreneurial ecosystem is likely to become self-sustainable by 2025. Several factors will support this baseline scenario: a global trend toward digital entrepreneurship, demand for digital technologies to improve basic services such as healthcare in remote areas, availability of low-cost smartphones, and a support network for entrepreneurs in the biggest cities. Countries typically take five to 10 years to build a self-sustaining entrepreneurial ecosystem from scratch. Having taken its first steps in this direction in 2012, Pakistan could create a sustainable ecosystem by 2020 if it continues to put the necessary elements in place.

Speaking at the launch event, Safee Shah, GM Uber Pakistan said “Pakistan has a bright future ahead if the startup ecosystem continues to thrive and Uber wants to play a leading role in that domain with programs like UberPITCH.”

Registrations for this year’s UberPITCH opened on August 17, 2018. Participants willing to take part need to complete an online application form before September 8, 2018. Uber will then announce the top 20 startups from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta, each, that will go on to the first round, called the PITCH camp. During this phase, mentors from both NICs and Uber will help the selected startups practise their business pitch.

Once the startups graduate from the PITCH camp, they will be given the opportunity to present their startup idea to a panel of judges during the qualifier round.

In the last round, successful startups from the qualifier round will get a chance to pitch their ideas to some of the biggest investors in the industry during an Uber trip.

The winning startup stands a chance to showcase their business idea at ArabNet Digital Summit in Dubai, free of cost work space at one of the NICs for two months, mentorship hours with Uber team and Uber credits.

KARACHI: Mayor Karachi Waseem Akhtar said no government has ever given anything to Karachi and if now PTI government also did so, the Karachi will stand against them.

Talking to media after inaugurating the Shamim Shaheed Park in Orangi Town on Thursday, he alleged that the Sindh government is doing nothing for betterment of Karachi or Larkana or Nawabshah but shifting money to Dubai. He said we will work for our city and complete a project every week to provide better facilities to Karachiites. He said that we have supported PTI for Karachi and hope that they will provide facilities to citizens in education, healthcare, roads and other sectors.

Akhtar said the West district was neglected in last ten years and now we are working here to provide better facilities in this district.

KARACHI: In compliance with the initiative of Chairman NAB, DG NAB Karachi Mohammad Altaf Bawany along with his team held a Khuli Katchehry at NAB office here Thursday.

A large number of citizens gathered at NAB office and submitted applications regarding cases of corruption.

Majority of complainants got their complaints registered on matters of land frauds, illegal appointment in education department, misuse of water resources by irrigation department in connivance with influential persons and, other different complaints related to the federal as well as provincial govt departments.

A number of complainants also lodged their complaints against cooperative societies’ managements and builders mainly for their grievance of usurpation of their properties and looted money.

DG NAB marked certain complaints to concerned departments for redressal of grievance with regard to administrative and municipal matters.

DG NAB Karachi also issued orders on the spot and directed his team for initiation of prompt actions as per National Accountability Ordinance 1999.

Mohammad Altaf Bawany, at the end of Khuli Katchehry, appreciated the confidence reposed by general public for coming forward to lodge complaints, showing an increasing trend during previous public hearings, which is a great contribution in process of accountability.

He called upon general public for joining hands with NAB in fight against menace of corruption by lodging their complaints under National Accountability Ordinance 1999.

In compliance of the orders of Chairman NAB, Khuli Katchehry is conducted every last Thursday of each month at NAB office between 2pm and 4pm.

However, for those members of public who cannot attend Khuli kutchehry can send their complaints via email on sindh@nab.gov.pk and 021-111-622-622, Fax on 02199207949 or personally or via post at PRCS Building, Dr. Daudpota Road, Cantt Karachi.

Karachi: The national selection committee headed by Inzamam-ul-Haq has announced 18 players for the camp for Asia Cup.

According to PCB media release, the chief selector has consulted captain and the head coach before announcing the names.

The camp will take place from September 3 to September 10 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. The players will undergo fitness tests on September 3.

Players called for the camp:

Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul Haq, Shan Masood, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Haris Sohail, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Hassan Ali, Usman Khan Shinwari, Muhammed Amir, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Faheem Ashraf.

Karachi: Indus Motor Company (IMC) held its 27th Annual Dealer Conference at a local hotel in Karachi. Mr. Susumu Matsuda, President Toyota Motor Asia Pacific, DCEO China and Asia Region, was the Chief Guest of event.

The Dealer Conference, themed as “Start Your Impossible” was attended by the Dealership CEOs, Guests from Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Toyota Motor Asia Pacific, senior management from House of Habib, business partners and the IMC Management Team.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Matsuda introduced the Global Campaign and theme of the conference, “Start Your Impossible”. He explained that Toyota doesn’t want to remain a car company but to emerge as a mobility company, one that embraces innovation and challenges. He mentioned the three key components of success in the face of challenges, which include plant improvement, process improvement and product enhancement. He thanked IMC and the Dealers for making Toyota a household brand of Pakistan and concluded on the note of being “One Team, One Toyota”.

Mr. Ali S. Habib, Chairman, IMC, in his address, mentioned that the fiscal year 2017-18witnessed a dramatic transformation in the automobile industry globally and that a glimpse of this transformation can now be seen in Pakistan as well. The company has prepared itself to embrace transformation through capacity enhancement projects and a refreshed and innovative vehicle line-up to excite the market. He established the direction for the coming year as working towards sustainable business growth through collective and integrated efforts.

CEO IMC Ali Asghar Jamali took the wraps off the all new Toyota Rush. The new CBU will be available at dealerships from 10th September. Two additional HV vehicles, CHR and Prius C (Aqua) have also been added to the product Line-up. The Toyota Corolla spec improvement was also revealed. With the Connect Application, the Corolla is set to become the First Connected Vehicle of Pakistan.

Finally, to recognize the dealers’ efforts, various awards were presented during the conference to the best dealerships in the three regions. The Best in Customer Relations award was won by Toyota Jinnah Motors, the Best in Service award by Toyota Highway Motors whereas The Best in Parts Sales award went to Toyota Faisalabad Motors. The Best in TSURE was awarded to Toyota Faisalabad Motors.

The Best in Nationwide Sales Award was bagged by Toyota Faisalabad Motors and Best of the Best category Award, indicative of the excellent performance in all fields, was won by Toyota Gujranwala Motors.

Karachi: Increasing water storage on war-footing basis is a must for economic survival of Pakistan, said speakers of a moot here.

According to details, the Research and Policy Division of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) organized Roundtable on water scarcity in Pakistan at FPCCI Head Office Karachi, Capital Office Islamabad and Regional Office Lahore through video conferencing.

The aim of this roundtable was to discuss the water scarcity in Pakistan for minimizing risk and maximizing benefits.

The session was graced by Lieut. General (retd0 Muzammil Hussain Chairman WAPDA and attended by leaders of business community, office bearers of FPCCI, water research councils, stakeholders, representative of academia and trade bodies.

In his welcome address, Ghazanfar Bilour President FPCCI stated that water scarcity presents a transnational and transboundary problem which seriously affects our agriculture and industrial sector productivity. He added that Pakistan has very little capacity of storage water compared to India, China and USA.

Successful reforms in the water sector need to be accompanied by improvements in the agricultural production techniques, recycling plants and construction of small and large dams.

FPCCI Vice Presidents Mr. Tariq Haleem, Mr. Zahid Saeed, Mr. Waheed Ahmed, Mr. Karim Aziz, Mr. Arfan Yousuf, Mrs. Saeeda Bano, Mrs. Shabnum Zafar and Mr. Shafique Anjum also highlighted water scarcity issues and emphasized on concrete steps for resolving the issues.

In his remarks, S. M. Muneer former President FPCCI stated that water scarcity is a serious issue in Pakistan which may dry-out Pakistan by 2025 because of over depletion, overexploitation and pollution of water resources.

Pakistan is blessed with one of the world’s best and largest irrigation system, but we failed to get maximum benefit from the system by utilizing efficiently. At present per capita availability of water is just 1000 cubic meters. He also highlighted challenges related to the global warming like rising of sea level, high temperature, frequency of flood, high frequency of droughts and melting of glaciers etc. but Pakistan doesn’t prepare itself for these challenges.

Iftikhar Ali Malik, Sr. Vice President SAARC-CCI stated that water is a chronic issue that affects yield per hectare, livestock, energy and minerals explorations. There is a need that all provinces and political parties should be same page for resolving of water issues. He added that industrial and household waste is another issue that affects the quality of water and subsequently increases death rate due to water borne diseases.

Muzammil Hussain, Chairman WAPDA in his keynote address said that WAPDA being the biggest stakeholder is aware on water issues whereon economic growth, food security, development and security of Pakistan depend. He added that Pakistan receives 145 million acre feet of water every year but only 14m acre feet of water is preserved.

Due to soil gathering at the base of Tarbela and Mangla Dam, the storage capacity of the dam has decreased by 35 to 40 percent. At present the capacity of water storage is only for 30 days and 94 per cent of surface and groundwater is used for agriculture in Pakistan. He stated that lack of governance is the main problem as there are many anti-dams lobbies that are under control of donors. Pakistan need concrete steps for resolving of water issues like adoption of water efficient technologies, water safety and saving system in agriculture, as Pakistan ranked 46th out of 48th countries in water efficient usage country.

During the technical session, Dr. Mirza Ikhtiar Baig Chairman FPCCI Standing Committee Banking, Finance and Credit indicated that if Pakistan doesn’t take immediate measures to build water reservoirs then Pakistan will face serious crises of water which will be more devastating than terrorism. He also highlighted violation of Indus water treaty agreement by India in term of building of dams on those rivers which are flowing towards Pakistan.

Waseem Vohra, Chairman Industry-Academia Committee on Water highlighted wasting of rain water and absence of recycling water.

Mazhar Talpur, President Mega Tech also suggested usage of water efficient technologies.

Dr. Moazzam Ali Khan highlighted the movement of saline and contaminated sea water towards the Indus River and water losses during the distribution to household in Karachi.

Dr. Shafqat Kakakhel from Glacier Protection Organization suggested the implementation of minimum hygienic standards in water usage.

Dr. Ayub Qutub, Director PIEDAT highlighted the social practices in water usage in Pakistan like usage of water in producing sugarcane and others, etc., and emphasized on the control of water usage.

Waqar uddin Siddiqui Director NDMA talked about the initiative taken by NDMA for controlling of floods and disasters in Pakistan like disaster policy, 10 years flood management plan and creation of disaster funds etc.

Dr. S. M. Imran Professor NED University highlighted the exploration of ground water resources by India on border which may create shortage of ground water to Pakistan.

Tahir Imran Qureshi from NFCIET underlined Thar situation where people are drinking highly saline and fluoride water and facing bones and kidney related diseases. Moreover, malnutrition is another issue that increases the death rates in Pakistan.

During the open discussion session, the participants highlighted corruption related issues, tanker mafia, dumping of industrial wastage in sea, evaporation-losses from reservoirs and creation of reliable data of water resources, frequency of flood, high frequency of droughts, melting of glaciers and establishing of dam by India and Afghanistan, etc, and suggested installation of desalination plant in Karachi, Reverse Osmosis plant, good governance, establishment of Kalabagh and all other dams, creation of barrage, price of water usage in agriculture sector, maintenance and repair/restoration of Tarbela and Mangla dams, rivers, canals and storage of rain water and improvement of water quality for food security, alleviation of poverty, stability, sovereignty, etc.

The house also emphasized that private sector should collaborate with government for resolving water issues and creation of dams.

The house decided to form FPCCI Committee on water scarcity under the head of S. M. Muneer who will meet and make presentation on water issue to Prime Minister.

The committee will make necessary recommendations to be gathered from water experts.

KARACHI: Karachi University’s (KU) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Ajmal Khan while addressing at a faculty meeting at KU’s Arts Auditorium on Thursday said KU is facing financial challenges especially due to the merger of morning and evening funds by the former administration.

He appealed from HEC to double its grant of two billion rupees and also asked the Sindh government to increase the grant up-to one Billion Rupees to KU on immediate basis.

He said all the decisions of varsity’s syndicate and selection boards are carried out on pure merit and without any pressure since the authorities of these bodies are legally well defined.

He added that KU receives grant of Rs2billion from HEC while generates the same amount from its own resources which is still insufficient.

While describing the expenditure of KU, VC informed that KU spends Rs3.5 billion yearly only on salaries and pensions while Rs250 million on employees’ medicines.

Other major expenditures include bills of electricity, gas and water, payments to hospitals, advertisements, lab equipment, chemicals, papers, office furniture, electric equipment and other necessary items. These expenditures are not allowing the issuance of research grant.

He said that they were reviewing the billing of electricity, gas and water and devising a mechanism to control them which will save Rs40 million.

He informed that KU accounts section will soon be computerized, a survey is also being conducted on illegal residents in KU campus and soon action will be taken without any discrimination.

He said that he was successfully secured the grant of around Rs3bn which is unprecedented and no Vice Chancellor secured this in future. KU, the largest university of Pakistan, needs funds of Rs7billion on annual basis, varsity’s major purpose is to promote academics and research rather worrying about its funds and financial crisis.