Thirteen leading organisations have been honoured with the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s inaugural IT Awards (LCCI).
Dr. Arif Alvi, Pakistan’s President, was the Chief Guest. LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah, Senior Vice President Nasir Hameed Khan, Vice President Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry, Convener LCCI Standing Committee on IT Infrastructure Development Muhammad Haroon Arora, and Punjab Minister for Higher Education & Information Technology Raja Humayun Yasir were among the prominent speakers, while LCCI Executive Committee Members and former office bearers including Mian Misbah-ur-Rehm addressed the gathering.
Dr. Arif Alvi, Pakistan’s President, stated on the occasion that the promotion of information technology and digital communication is critical for the country’s economic development. The country’s information technology sector has enormous potential, and the current administration is focusing on its development.
Dr. Arif Alvi, highlighting the importance of training IT graduates and young to improve their abilities in order to satisfy the country’s IT requirements, stated that the country’s IT sector has the potential to increase IT exports to $5 billion by 2023.
Dr. Arif Alvi stated that while information technology and digital communication have always been critical, their significance has increased significantly in the COVID-19 age.
Mian Tariq Misbah, President of the LCCI, stated that the government’s sensible economic measures have lifted us out of the negative growth trap and helped us to expand by about 4% in 2020-21. He expressed hope that Pakistan would be able to attain the 6-7 percent growth rate predicted in the Federal Budget during the next 2-3 years.
He stated that it is a well-established fact that all countries that prioritised the IT sector saw growth in their economies and enterprises, resulting in more jobs, increased levels of innovation, and increased efficiency in their governance systems. Businesses worldwide are capitalising on opportunities created by digitalization, such as increased supply chain efficiency, improved product quality, and lower transaction costs, which enables the economy to generate adequate value added goods and services.
Mian Tariq stated that both the public and commercial sectors must collaborate to spur growth in this area. It is commendable that the government has rewarded the IT industry in this federal budget by providing tax exemptions to IT companies in order to encourage them to participate actively in Special Technology Zones.
He stated that exports are critical to Pakistan’s economy since they are the primary source of revenue and contribute to the country’s balance of payments stability. It must be concerning for all of us that Pakistan’s IT exports have yet to surpass $1.5 billion.
According to LCCI Vice President Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry, our surrounding countries’ IT exports have topped $130 billion, and all growing economies are increasingly relying on information technology services to boost their exports. We are compelled to pursue a similar route in order to capitalise on the immense potential of IT exports.
Dr. Arif Alvi, President of the LCCI, commended the recipients of the LCCI IT Awards for their exceptional performance in providing outstanding services to both domestic and foreign clients and for bringing laurels to the country during these trying economic times.
Convener of the Permanent Committee Muhammad Haroon Arora discussed the LCCI’s first IT Awards’ goals and objectives. He stated that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry is committed to promoting information technology.
Later, President Dr. Arif Alvi distributed awards amongst the winners. Asif Akram of Systems Ltd, Muhammad Usman Ahmad of Bilytica Pvt Ltd, Fatima Asad Khan of Abacus Consulting Technology Pvt Ltd, Adnan Hayat Zaidi of Multinet Pakistan Pvt Ltd, Muhammad Zeshan Altaf of Mentor Graphics Pakistan Pvt Ltd received President IT Awards, Raheel Iqbal of The Games Storm Studios Pvt Ltd, Syed Nadeem Alam of Cyber Advances Solutions, Waqas Ahmed Khan Pitafi of DevBatch Pvt Ltd, Jazib Zaman of TechAbout Pvt Ltd received Best Software House Awards, Abdul Aziz of Lumensoft Technologies, Shahzad Ahmed of OZI Technology, Noman Ahmed Said, Hamza Nadeem Qureshi received Best IT Services Award while Provincial Minister for Higher Education and Information Technology Yasir Humayun, LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah, SVP Nasir Hameed Khan, Vice President Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry and Convener Standing Committee on IT Infrastructure and Development Muhammad Haroon Arora received special awards.
