PM Shehbaz pushes for digital economy to boost transparency

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said that the government’s foremost goal is to enhance economic transparency through a digitization system.

Presiding over the weekly meeting focused on a cashless and digital economy, PM Shehbaz said that digitising payment processes between the government and citizens would foster transparency and convenience for users.

PM Shehbaz directed that measures for digitization and a cashless economy should be simplified for small and medium entrepreneurs. He further directed that the appointment of the Board of Governors and Chairman of Raast be finalized by September. Experts of economy and business should be included in the Board of Directors of Raast, he added.

PM Shehbaz said all State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) should also be brought under the purview of the digital system. He directed that the progress towards digital economy should be accelerated further.

The meeting was briefed on the progress made in introducing cashless and digital economy. It was told that Raast has advertised for the appointment of its Chief Executive Officer. The number of users using mobile phone applications and digital banking will increase from 95 million to 120 million. Digital payments will increase from Rs 7.5 billion to Rs 15 billion.

A nationwide public awareness campaign on Raast and digital payments will be launched next month. While import duty on digital payment devices was abolished.

The meeting was told that Digital Payments Index was being launched within a month to bring the economy at par with developed countries.

CDA Board had approved right-of-way for digital public infrastructure in Islamabad.

It was told that the remittance system was also being digitized and all funds coming from foreign countries will be received through the banking system.

The governments of all four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir were also being partnered with on digital payments. Islamabad City mobile phone application had been linked with Raast.

Public Wi-Fi and e-libraries at designated locations in Islamabad will be completed by December 2025.

As per the Prime Minister’s directive, third-party validation of digital public infrastructure will also be done and preliminary work was being completed in this regard.

The State Bank of Pakistan has given necessary instructions to the federal government, provincial governments and regulatory bodies regarding the adoption of QR codes as an important payment method.

On the directives of the Prime Minister, the number of commercial points using QR codes and other digital payment methods is being increased from 500,000 to two million.

Consultations are underway with all federal ministries, divisions, affiliated departments, regulatory authorities, provincial departments and district governments on a strategy to digitize the system of tax and non-tax payments from the government institutions to the public and from the public to the government and to link it to Raast.

In the first phase, all data on payments between the federal government and the provincial governments had been acquired and consultations were underway to convert all these payments into 100 percent digital.

In the first phase of introduction of a cashless economy, salaries, pensions of government employees and payments for purchases and sales from contractors will be made completely digitally.

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazir, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima, Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik, Advisor to the Prime Minister Dr. Tauqir Shah, Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani and relevant senior government officials attended the meeting.