National Assembly Committee Approves Technology Act Amendment

Islamabad : The National Assembly Standing Committee on Science and Technology recommended to approve “The National University of Technology (Amendment) Act, 2024 (Government Bill).

2.2nd meeting of the Standing Committee on Science and Technology held today in he Committee Room Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), Constitution Avenue, Islamabad under the chairmanship of Mr. Khawaja Sheraz Mehmood, MNA.

3.The meeting commenced with a briefing on the working and performance of the Ministry of Science and Technology. The Secretary, MoST briefed the Committee on the Ministry’s core mandate, adding that there are five R&D organizations, namely, the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), the Pakistan Council for Renewable Energy Technologies (PCRET), the National Institute of Electronics (NIE), the Council for Works and Housing Research (CWHR), and the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO). The Secretary highlighted that PCRET is on the verge of shutting down due to various concerns, including a lack of human resources and its inability to achieve productivity. The Secretary, MoST also reported that PCRET is currently overseen by PCSIR.

4.Moreover, he also briefed on three S&T Universities and S&T promotion organizations, namely the Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) and the Pakistan Council for Science and Technology (PCST). He mentioned three standards and accreditation organizations: the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), the Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC), and the National Meterology Institute of Pakistan (NMIP), as well as two regulatory authorities: the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) and the Pakistan Halal Authority (PHA). He added that while our R&D research is robust, it is not being commercialized. To address this, there is the Science and Technology Development Corporation (STEDEC), a technology commercialization corporation of Pakistan. Additionally, there are three inter-governmental organizations: the Committee on Science & Technological Cooperation of the OIC (COMSTECH), the Commission for Cooperation for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS), and the Economic Cooperation Organization Science Foundation (ECOSF).

5.The Secretary, MoST also briefed on the budgetary allocations granted to autonomous organizations within the ministry. It was reported that a total of 14,411.072 million rupees has been granted to these organizations for the year 2024-2025, with the highest allocation of 4,137.928 million rupees going to PCSIR, followed by 3998.775 million rupees to NUST. In addition, the Secretary briefed on the scope, functioning, achievements, and strategic initiatives of the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), followed by a briefing on the Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC) Act and the entire organizational performance.

6.The meeting was attended by MNAs: Mr. Irfan Ali Leghari, Mr. Ramesh Lal, Ms. Muneeba Iqbal, and senior officers of Ministries of Science and Technology and Law and Justice.