Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) on Monday approved to enhance the volume of the Prime Minister’s internship programme and to provide internship opportunities to three thousand IT graduates including 30% female graduates yearly.
This was decided during PSEB’s Board of Directors’ meeting which was chaired by Minister of State for IT Anusha Rahman here in Islamabad today.
Federal Secretary IT, Azmat Ali Ranjha, MD PSEB, Asim Shahryar Husain, Chairman PTA Dr. Ismail Shah, Member Telecom Mudassar Hussain, Member HR/IT Tahir Mushtaq, Chairman @PASHA, Syed Ahmad, and representatives from TDAP were also present in the meeting.
Anusha Rehman, State Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, just before the meeting, told this correspondent that PSEB is currently providing 400 internships to young graduates. She further said that it has been proposed to increase the internship to ten thousand per year to create skilled young people and overcome unemployment in the country. PSEB, while accepting the proposal, approved the internships for 3,000 students only.
According to IT Ministry spokesperson these interns will be placed at IT companies, IT Departments of Telecom Sectors companies, Banks and other such Organizations. “Duration of the Internship will be 6 months”, told the spokesperson.
The Board expressed its concerns on sales taxes being levied by the provincial governments on IT Companies considering that IT exports revenue is exempt from taxes at present. A four member committee comprising of Member IT, Member Legal, MD PSEB and Chairman Pasha was constituted and mandated to look in to the “taxation issue” immediately.
The Committee will submit its report with recommendations to the Ministry for consideration. A formal legal opinion in this regard will also be sought through the Ministry of Law and Justice as well.
The Minister also directed MD PSEB to develop a new interactive website which should highlight the benefits of investing in Pakistan’s IT industry by incorporating necessary details of all IT companies which are registered with PSEB and that it should be updated on a regular basis.
MD PSEB mentioned that PSEB is working closely with STEPI Korea (Science Technology Policy Institute) to complete feasibility study for a new state-of-the-art IT park in Islamabad by February 2016. The Minister directed PSEB to conclude signing the loan agreement with Korean government by summer of 2016.
More details on internship programme — that’s conducted jointly by PSEB and ICT R&D — will be made available for public at a later time.
