Federal Cabinet Approves Rs. 6 Billion for PSEB to Boost IT Sector

The federal cabinet on Wednesday approved Rs. 6 billion for Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) to promote the IT sector of the country. The cabinet meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan. The cabinet approved an allocation of Rs. 2 billion, as a single line budget, to PSEB, an apex government entity mandated to strengthen and promote the IT sector exports. In addition, the cabinet gave a nod to Rs. 4 billion for disbursement of cash rewards to incentivize IT exports and encourage documentation of exporters and exports. Earlier, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had considered and approved the summary, presented by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, seeking an allocation of Rs. 2 billion as a single line budget to PSEB. Moreover, the ECC had also approved an allocation of Rs. 4 billion to PSEB for disbursement of cash incentives to encourage IT exports and documentation of exporters/exports. The cash reward incentives will be provided for the IT and IT-enabled services exporters promoting export proceeds through banking channels via the SBP-allocated banking codes. According to Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Amin-ul-Haque, the approval of funds on the demands of the Ministry of IT will be an important milestone in increasing IT exports. There is no doubt, he said, that the record increase in IT exports is an important step toward the Digital Pakistan vision. He observed that IT was the only sector where decent employment opportunities were numerous and income was unlimited.