QUETTA: Balochistan’s Caretaker Chief Minister directed on Saturday that the Information Technology (IT) Department of Balochistan and experts should consult on proposed projects for the promotion of IT in the province and present a comprehensive working paper in an upcoming joint meeting.

He expressed these views while chairing a meeting of the IT Department regarding the Balochistan Digital Roadmap. During the meeting, CM Mir Ali Mardan Khan Domki received a high-level briefing on the Balochistan Digital Roadmap 2030 from the Department of Science and Information Technology, an International IT and Digital Consultant, and a global Banking and Financial Consultant. He was informed about opportunities for long-term IT projects under public-private partnerships.

Addressing the meeting, Caretaker Chief Minister of Balochistan Mir Ali Mardan Khan Domki stated that work was underway to formulate a comprehensive strategy for the promotion of IT industries in Balochistan.

The implementation of real-time system management in the health and education sectors in Balochistan has yielded significant results. In light of these encouraging results, there is a need to extend the scope of real-time system management to other departments, he said.

He directed the IT Department of Balochistan and the consultant to consult on the proposed projects for the promotion of IT in Balochistan and present a comprehensive working paper in the upcoming joint meeting. The final decision on the establishment of a data bank at the provincial level, with the support of the private sector and the ownership of the provincial government, will be made in the cabinet meeting through mutual consultation, he added.

He said that the provincial government would provide all possible support to IT companies for software development and the establishment of data centers, and where necessary, improvements would be made to the existing rules.

He mentioned that with the establishment of a database, better planning related to public interest would be possible, including budget formulation, and the creation of an education ecosystem could significantly improve the education system.

Mir Ali Mardan Khan Domki stated that with software like Student Life Cycle, a student’s data would be available from the first class to their employment. Many other such useful software could help in collecting, verifying, and comparing data from different fields.

He said that the proposed project of B-pay for the collection of government revenue in Balochistan would be reviewed from all aspects and implemented to provide convenience and assistance to the public in government affairs under one roof.

He also noted that using modern IT facilities could improve governance and facilitate the service delivery process. Modern IT methods for performance evaluation can help improve performance; therefore, it’s essential to create such useful and long-lasting feasible IT projects that benefit the people.

During this occasion, Secretary of Information Technology Balochistan Ayaz Khan Mandukhel, DG, IT Malik Shahzad Awan, International IT and Digital Consultant Naveed Khalid Latif, and International Banking and Financial Consultant Hassan Ali Agha discussed the current situation and the future of IT in Balochistan and provided a detailed briefing on plans and strategy.