The government of Pakistan has finally decided the budget which they shall allocate to the development of Information Technology and Telecom Division and according to reports the budget allocated is, Rs. 6.672 billion for the 2020-21 year. This is a reduction considering the fact that last year the same budget allocated amounted to Rs. 7.34 billion in 2019-20 under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
As per the budget documents, the government have opted to allocate around Rs. 6.672 billion under the PSDP 2020-21 and in turn have also added Rs. 1.25 billion foreign aid and Rs. 5.42 billion local components. The government has allocated Rs. 4.78 billion for 13 ongoing and Rs. 1.892 billion 15 new development schemes of Information Technology and Telecom Division.
The document shares with us the following information of where exactly the budget shall be used. The budget shall taken in to account, ongoing schemes which amount to a sum of Rs. 535 million for expansion of Broadband Services through MSAN Technology and Upgradation of IP Core & Access Network in AJ&K and GB,
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In addition, Rs. 750 million is to be used in the expansion of Cellular Services in AJ&K and GB Phase-III, Rs. 709 million for expansion and Upgradation of NGMS (3G/4G) Services and Seamless Coverage along KKH (in support of CPEC) in GB, Rs. 230 million for E-Office Replication at all Divisions of the Federal Government (Revised), Rs. 90 million for Crime Analytics & Smart Policing in Pakistan, Rs. 150 million for National Expansion Plan of NIC’s All over Pakistan, Rs. 1747.480 million for Technology Parks Development Project (TDP) at Islamabad (Phase-I) (EDCF Loan Exim Bank Korea) and Rs. 70 million for Project Monitoring and Digital Transformation Cell.
In addition some new projects are also set to start and for those projects as well the budget that has been allocated shall be used. Rs. 300 million is to be used for the Blended Virtual Education, Rs. 50 million for construction of SCO Education and Accommodation Complex for Employees Families at Rawalpindi (Phase-I), Rs. 200 million for expansion of Broadband Services in Cities / Towns of AJ&K and GB, Rs. 235 million for implementation of PECA, 2016 and S.R.O 904(I)/2017 for DIRBS AJ&K and GB and so on.
In addition, Rs. 250 million will also be allocated for the Protection and Upgradation of Pak-China Phase-I OFC Project for Establishment of Cross Border Connectivity Project, Rs. 200 million for Upgradation of Existing TDM Based Backhaul microwave with IP Based Backhaul Microwave network in AJ&K and GB and finally Rs. 250 million for upgradation of Transmission Network and Replacement of Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) in AJ&K and GB.
