Punjab enters the era of end-to-end paperless automation technology

LAHORE: Punjab has taken the lead in paperless and automation technology under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, ushering in an era of digital transformation encompassing “Government-to-Government”, “Government-to-Business” and “Government-to-Citizen” services.

The Punjab government has become the first province to establish e-FOAS, e-Procurement, e-Pay, e-Auction, OneMap, HRMIS and a Data Warehouse.

The chief minister commended Chief Secretary Zahid Zaman Akhtar, Finance Secretary Mujahid Sher Dil and PITB Chairman Faisal Yousaf for their efforts. She directed the PITB to take steps for importing paperless automation software and ordered continuous feedback from applicants.

A special video-link meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, was held to review the province’s progress in digitalisation and automation. Chairman Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) Faisal Yousaf gave a detailed briefing.

The meeting was informed that more than 6,000 systems across the province had been connected with the PITB’s central system, while 600 organisations and institutions had been digitally connected through e-FOAS.

The e-filing system had issued 176,173 summary notices and resulted in savings of Rs9.1 million.

The briefing further revealed that Smart Monitoring of Development Projects had established a new benchmark for transparency in development schemes. More than 25,000 suppliers had been connected with the province-wide e-Procurement system, under which digital purchases worth Rs6 trillion and 1.29 million tenders had been processed.

The e-Procurement system had introduced a transparent, end-to-end tendering mechanism without requiring applicants to visit any government office, resulting in savings of Rs1.3 million. Revenue collection through transactions had reached Rs1.137 billion.

The meeting was informed that 3,784 bidders had been registered through the e-Auction system, which had generated Rs527 billion in revenue within a short period.

Through the Punjab Government Data Warehouse, the use of 100 percent open-source technology with zero licensing fees had resulted in savings of billions of rupees.

Under the “Maryam Ki Dastak” initiative, 110 services and 434 business services were available through the e-Business system. Artificial intelligence was being extensively used for verification of documents under the e-Business digital system.

Of the 130,941 applicants who had applied through e-Business, 110,170 had received the required services. The briefing stated that services applied for through e-Business were required to be provided within 15 days, while objections were reviewed by a high-level committee.

Under the Punjab government’s 434 business services, a businessman was not required to visit any government office.

As many as 9,800 representatives were active across Punjab under the “Maryam Ki Dastak” service. In case a service was not delivered within 10 days, the relevant secretary would take notice. More than four million people had applied for the 110 services available through “Maryam Ki Dastak”, while over 3.1 million citizens had received services from the comfort of their homes. More than 2.6 million citizens had applied through the “Maryam Ki Dastak” web portal.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif also reviewed the procedure for issuance of NOCs for petrol pumps and flour mills under the e-Business system.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif said that an end-to-end automated paperless system would prove effective in eliminating corruption. “We want to save people from the inconvenience of visiting government offices for even minor tasks,” she said.

She said services provided through a digital automation system without requiring applicants to reveal their identity would help eliminate corrupt elements. “We are putting every sector, every department and every institution of Punjab on the path to digitalisation,” the chief minister said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026