Bright Future for Freelancers – Pakistan’s National Freelancing Policy
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication is poised to transform Pakistan's freelancing landscape with the unveiling of the "National Freelancing Policy." By making Pakistan a global leader in freelancing, this forward-thinking initiative hopes to increase exports and the country's foreign exchange revenues. The policy provides a number of initiatives aimed at empowering this dynamic workforce in an effort to encourage and support registered freelancers. Tax Incentives: Boosting Pakistan's Freelance Industry The establishment of a reduced sales tax rate, not to exceed 2 percent, for local service revenue produced by independent contractors registered with the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) is one of the main aspects of this programme. It is pertinent to state that this tax break aims to lessen the financial strain on independent contractors and propel the expansion of this rising industry. The strategy expects cooperation between PSEB and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to streamline inward foreign exchange remittances from
Ministry of Information Technology (IT) Begins Preparations for 5G Spectrum Auction
According to sources, the Ministry of Information Technology (IT) has begun making preparations for the sale of 5G technology in Pakistan. Furthermore, it is said that the IT ministry has begun making plans for the rollout of 5G services and has given the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and related ministries directives. It is important to note that the 5G spectrum auction is likely to take place by August 2024, and the government hopes to raise millions of dollars from it, according to sources. Moreover, the amount of spectrum currently used by mobile operators is about 367 MHz, but the forthcoming spectrum auction will boost this volume to more than 600 MHz. It was previously claimed that the much-anticipated 5G spectrum rollout in Pakistan within 10 months is almost impossible since the country's mobile carriers apparently aren't ready to purchase 5G licences due to economic unrest. Dr. Umar Saif, the interim federal minister for information technology
ChatGPT’s New Power to Generate Images & Craft Illustrated Books
OpenAI's wildly successful ChatGPT chatbot now features an AI image creator. This marks a new milestone in the fast-paced digital world. In recent times, the Microsoft-backed business revealed DALL-E 3, the most recent version of the programme that enables users to create images with "significantly more nuance and detail" than earlier versions. OpenAI researchers assert that users will now be able to "brainstorm" ideas with the artificial intelligence by combining the capabilities of its two different generative AI tools. Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI, provided a use case for the dual capabilities by stating that it could write and illustrate a children's bedtime story from a few basic prompts. It is pertinent to mention that due to their incapacity to comprehend precise demands, current text-to-image systems, such Midjourney or OpenAI's Dall-E 2, frequently misinterpret commands from users. As a result, prompt engineers—also referred to as prompt wizards—have begun to appear. They receive training to
Ministry of IT & Telecommunication to train 15,000 Pakistanis in Cutting-Edge Technologies
The "Capacity Building of IT Industry in Specialisation Technologies & Platforms programme" by the Ministry of IT and Telecommunications aims to train 15,000 Pakistanis in cutting-edge and specialised technology. According sources, women and young people will receive training in a variety of disciplines, including e-health, BPO, e-agriculture, digital twins, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and digital twins. The government has allotted Rs. 1,000 million in the first stage, while the MoITT estimates that it will cost Rs. 2,000 million to train 15000 people. Each of the 2,500 trainees who successfully complete the course will receive a salary of Rs. 25,000 per month and be employed as interns in IT companies for 3 months. It is pertinent to state that Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) will choose the most necessary and in-demand technology to offer training after consulting with business and academia. 300 master trainers on specialised technologies like blockchain, cloud computing, artificial intelligence,
Pakistan Debuts its Own Messaging App Similar to WhatsApp
The Ministry of Information Technology has finally made the communication tool Beep Pakistan, which spans 41 federal ministries and agencies, available to government employees. It is important to note that Beep Pakistan will soon be available to the general public as well. Senior members of the Ministry of IT, including Federal Minister for IT and Telecom Syed Amin Ul Haque, attended the Beep Pakistan app's launch ceremony. The introduction of this programme, according to the IT Minister, will put an end to audio and video leaks. He added that over the previous four years, three new incubation centres had been formed. The application is intended to act as a substitute for WhatsApp and other social media platforms. It has capabilities including audio and video calling, video conferencing, and will be used for secure communication amongst government officials. Furthermore, users will be able to securely transfer private papers from the government as well. The software is initially
YouTube Premium & YouTube Music Now in Pakistan
The launch of YouTube Premium, a paid subscription that enhances the viewing experience with ad-free, offline, and background play, has been announced by YouTube for Pakistan. You can access your entire YouTube music library in one place with the help of YouTube Music, a music streaming app. Additionally, YouTube Premium enables you to locally save videos to your device for offline watching. You may save songs to your local storage by subscribing to YouTube songs, which is another benefit of Premium. It is notable that Farhan S. Qureshi, Google's Director for Pakistan, showed delight about delivering these services to Pakistan, where the creative sector is expanding significantly. Local artists are growing their global fan base by uploading their content on YouTube. For Pakistan's music industry, the introduction of YouTube Music and YouTube Music Premium represents a big opportunity. Pricing & Packages Name Package Monthly Price YouTube Premium - Membership to Youtube Music Premium. - Ad-free, offline, and background play. -