USF, Ignite: minister approves Rs21.242bn annual budget

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Aminul Haque chaired the Universal Service Fund (USF) and Ignite policy committee meetings which approved their annual budget of Rs 21.242 billion for the fiscal year 2023-24.

The meeting was attended by Secretary IT Navid Ahmed Shaikh, Additional Secretary Cabinet Division, Additional Secretary Finance, Senior Joint Secretary, MoITT Ali Asghar, and Member Telecom Muhammad Omar Malik.

CEO USF Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary briefed the chair about the ongoing projects of the USF.

Haque said that telecom companies are facing difficulty importing equipment and upgraded systems due to limited Letters of Credit (LCs), which is also causing a delay in completing USF’s ongoing projects.

The meeting approved USF Company’s annual budget of Rs 18.036 billion for fiscal year 2023-24.

Haque presided over the Policy Committee meeting of the Research and Development Fund. The CEO Ignite apprised the meeting about the different future projects. The meeting approved Ignite company’s annual budget of Rs 3.206 billion for fiscal year 2023-24.

CEO Ufone Hatem Bamatraf, CEO Jazz Aamir Ibrahim, and CEO Telenor Irfan Wahab called on Federal Minister for IT and Telecom Syed Aminul Haque in his office here on Thursday.

During the meeting matters related to the telecom sector were discussed in detail.

The CEOs lauded Federal Minister for IT Syed Aminul Haque’s efforts for the promotion of the IT and Telecom sector in Pakistan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023