By Hifsa Raja

ISLAMABAD, July 26: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has taken different initiatives to ensure the digital transformation of the province.

Talking to WealthPK, Muhammad Yaseen, senior officer of digital marketing at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board (KPITB), said that digital transformation was gaining momentum as KP government had signed a total of five agreements to promote digitalization throughout the province.

“The first agreement was on the paperless initiative. The second was on establishment of Pakistan’s first purpose-built special technology zone, followed by an accord to enhance collaboration between KPITB and Udacity, an American educational organisation, to impart digital skills to youth. Yet another agreement was signed to ensure citizen facilitation. The last one is about establishment of a science museum in the province,” explained Muhammad Yaseen. 

Dr Ahmed Faraz, Assistant Professor at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, told WealthPK that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s digital policy served as a roadmap for achieving KPITB goals. “KP’s digital strategy is a detailed five-year roadmap.”

“The KP government has signed the ‘Paperless Government Initiative’ to ensure that government institutions utilise digital technology and innovation to improve service delivery. “To ensure efficient communication, file system exchange and responsibility across the board, a document called ‘Document Workflow Management System’ will be created. As it is for all the 32 administrative departments of the KP government, this project will aid in the digital transformation of the province,” he said.

Dr Ahmed Faraz said the establishment of special technology zones in the province would foster the growth of the technology ecosystem and stimulate Pakistan's knowledge economy. “As the world becomes increasingly digitalised, we must transit to digital modes and abandon these traditional ways.”

“A special technology zone will be established under an agreement signed between KPITB and the National Logistics Cell. This will be built in Haripur and be named as Pakistan Digital City. Such initiatives will not only help in the digitalization, but also create jobs.” He said the digital city in Haripur would create up to 20,000 jobs.

Under the KP Digital Policy 2018-2023, the KP government is promoting digital skills among youth to promote digital transformation.

For this purpose, the provincial government is collaborating with Udacity, which has a specific programme named as ‘nanodegree programme’ to provide digital skills.

This is the first time Udacity collaborates with a government entity in Pakistan. The programme will start in July 2022 to impart high quality digital skills to the youth.

From July 2022, the KP government also plans to shift to the paperless environment in its true sense.

In the budget for the fiscal year 2022-23, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has allocated Rs5 billion to provide digital skills to more than 100,000 young people in the province. This makes it the largest upskilling programme in Pakistan, and if properly executed, KP could take the lead in preparing a workforce of the future that is market-ready and able to access online markets, start their own digital enterprises, or find employment with some of the world's top employers.

Credits: INP-WealthPk