Lanka advocates industry
involvement in TVET
Lahore (Staff Reporter): There is a lot of room for collaboration between Sri Lanka and Pakistan especially for the promotion of technical education and vocational training. Both countries can learn from each other experiences. This was stated by Secretary General/CEO of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Sri Lanka Mangala P. B. Yapa while addressing a networking and experience sharing seminar here yesterday at local hotel. The delegation of employers from Sri Lanka inspired the Pakistani companies on how they can participate in the delivery of technical education and vocational training (TVET) according to the needs of the market.
The delegation of Sri Lankan employers was in town to share the first-hand information about the TVET reforms that took place in their country and helped mainstreaming of the role of the industry in different phases of TVET delivery. This visit was facilitated by the Punjab Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (PTEVTA) with the support of TVET Reform Support Programme in Pakistan which is funded by the European Union, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Royal Norwegian Embassy. This Programme has been commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and is being implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

Cement dispatches increase 6.23pc
in 6 months
Lahore (Staff Reporter): The cement dispatches during the six months ended on 31st December, 2014 increased by 6.23 per cent to 17.12 million tons compared with dispatches of 16.11 million tons during the corresponding period of 2013, says latest data of All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association.  “The most pleasant aspect of this growth is that it is led by domestic consumption which increased by 9.10 percent during July to Dec 2014. According to statistics, during the first 6 months of this fiscal, cement dispatches crossed the 3 million tons bench mark in three months in 2014. During July-December 2013 this benchmark was not crossed in any of the six months.
Further analysis of dispatches revealed that the factories located in north showed robust growth in domestic consumption by selling 10.96 million tons in domestic markets from July to Dec 2014 against 9.9 million tons during same period of last year thereby registering growth of 10.50 percent. The South based factories witnessed nominal growth of 2.39 percent in domestic dispatches supplying 2.10 million tons of cement to local markets from July to Dec 2014 against 2.05 million tons during same period of last year.

Aptma flays SNGPL for halting
gas supply to textile industry
Lahore (Staff Reporter): As the domestic sector continued to face gas supply suspension, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association has condemned the SNGPL for gas supply halt to Punjab textile industry. APTMA chairman SM Tanveer said gas supply suspension to the Punjab textile mills would have dire impact of $52 million on industry’s productivity in case no gas is provided with for two consecutive days. Furthermore, it would also disrupt supply chain to value added textile industry and render thousands of textile workers jobless. Neither benefit of the GSP plus facility from the EU nor booking of orders from Heimtextile exhibition are possible due to adverse situation, he added.  

According to him, the Prime Ministerial Committee on Textile Industry had made special instructions to the SNGPL for continuous 100MMCFD gas supply to the Punjab textile mills during winter.


Although, the SNGPL supplied only 70MMCFD gas but the Punjab textile industry compromised with the situation in order to keep partial productivity and jobs of textile workers intact.
He said the worries of Punjab-based textile industry are multiplying with every passing day due to supply suspension of electricity, gas and petrol. Especially, he said, the textile workers are prime victim of the situation arising out of mills’ closure.

PEW for allowing private sector
to import petroleum products
ISLAMABAD (INP): The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Saturday said petrol crisis has exposed competence of petroleum officials and the claims of the government regarding good governance. Over half of the country’s population and economy continue to suffer because of the fuel scarcity but government seems uninterested in resolving the crisis, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW. He said that top government functionaries continue to hide their mismanagement through different baseless excuses. Dr Murtaza Mughal said that the situation can be normalised in two months if there is a political will to resolve the crisis.

Blaming petroleum ministry, PSO and Ogra for the crisis, he said that only one cargo was imported in December 2014 while not a single drop of fuel was imported in the current month.
He said that PSO has defaulted on local and international obligations which has dented its credibility, adding that provision to fuel to defaulters like PIA, Railways, NLC, Hubcap and IPPS was a crime. Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that provision Rs 17 billion to PSO by Finance Ministry was a joke as the institution need Rs one trillion minimum.  The oil marketing companies also broke the law by keeping stocks that could last less than two weeks but these would get a clean chit after a probe, he feared.
He said that Ogra should not be run by a bureaucrat but a technocrat while there must be a qualified, experienced and full time chief of the PSO to improve things. The masses must brace for a new round of unprecedented loadshedding as oil stocks have dried up, he warned.
He said that private sector should be allowed to import petroleum products as they would not give the commodity to defaulters. Government must not push masses to the wall lest it regret the incompetence.

Exporters aim to increase kinnow export to $500m by 2017
SARGODHA (APP): Director Citrus Research Institute Altaf ur Rehman said that Pakistani exporters were making efforts to increase the kinnow export up to $500m till 2017. The director citrus institution said that guidance would be taken from Technical Assistance Programme of European Union trade system to increase the kinno exports. He said that due to persistence endeavors of Citrus Research Institution, the cultivators had taken keen interest in the production of seedless Kinnow. He further said that exchange reserves of Pakistan would be increased by the seedless production of kinnow in the future.

Citrus Research Institution was playing its role in providing plants of seedless kinnow to the cultivators and landlords, he maintained.