PCDMA reminder for membership renewal by 31st
KARACHI (PR): Pakistan Chemicals & Dyes Merchants Association (PCDMA), in its final reminder, has advised all its members to renew their membership by March 31, 2016 in order to avoid any inconvenience. According to PCDMA, the process of membership renewal was currently underway for the year 2016-17 and the last date for renewal of membership is 31st March 2016. PCDMA has already intimated its members that the membership shall expire on 31-03-2016 thus all members must get their membership renewed on or before that date by submitting prescribed membership fee along with proof of submission of the return, statement of final taxation for the tax year 2015.
Under clause 46(iii) of the Article of the Association of Pakistan Chemicals & Dyes Merchants Association, any member who does not pay his subscription by 31stMarch 2016, shall be deemed to have been automatically removed from themembership record of the Association.
All the members of the Association may contact Head Office at Karachi for their renewals of Membership, the Members belonging to all Cities of Punjab except Faisalabad and Khyber Pakhtoon Khaw may please contact to Mr. Talha Bin Zaheer, Secretary, Northern Regional office or Mr. Amir Munir,President, Northern Regional office Lahore, While the members from Faisalabad may please contact Mr. Aijjaz  Saleem.
As per DGTO orders dated 24-02-1997 the Membership will be renewed only upon providing the proof of Filing of Return or statement under section 115(4) of the Income tax Ordinance 2000 (previously section 143-B of the Income Tax Ordinance 1979) for the latest proceeding year i.e. assessment year 2015-2016, (year ending June 30, 2015).
Corporate members which do not fall in the category of Public Limited Company, Private Ltd Company or registered as manufacturers with Sales Tax department must file copies of their sales tax/ Income Tax returns for the year 2015 as a proof that their annual turnover amount is Rs. 50.000 million minimum.

Envoy urges expats in France to invest in home country
ISLAMABAD (APP): Ambassador of Pakistan to France Ghalib Iqbal has asked the Pakistani community in France to invest liberally in their home country by taking advantage of opportunities offered by the Government of Pakistan as well as the European Union. He was addressing the flag hoisting ceremony on the occasion of Pakistan Day in Paris. He said due to the improvement of bilateral investment and trade environment, the efforts of the Mission and participation of Pakistani community in France, the volume of trade between Pakistan and France had increased by 13% in the last one year. The members of Pakistani community, the officers and the staff of the embassy attended the ceremony.
Raja Shaukat Aziz Bhatti, Member of Punjab Provincial Assembly, also spoke on the occasion, said a message received here Wednesday.
He said that foreign remittances sent home by the Pakistani expatriates had been providing much needed relief to the foreign exchange reserves at home.
He said the present government was giving high priority to protect the rights of women and giving them equal opportunities in all walks of life.

Railways CE issues final warning to encroachers
KARACHI (APP): Chief Executive of Pakistan Railways, Muhammad Javed Anwar Bubak has warned the encroachers to vacate the Railway lands immediately. A Railways official said here Wednesday that Javed Anwar has issued a `final warning’ to the encroachers in this regard. He asked them to voluntarily demolish the houses, shops, eateries etc set up on the Railways’ land or else an action would be initiated to the remove the encroachments from the Department’s lands. Javed Anwar also directed the Divisional Superintendent Karachi Division, Nisar Ahmed Memon, to get cleared the Railways’ lands in Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Tando Adam from encroachments.
He also called for concerted efforts for strengthening the Pakistan Railways.

Rice farmers receive training to reduce cost of production
ISLAMABAD (APP): The rice farmers of district Sheikhupura were re-capacitated on latest technique of rice cultivation in a bid to increase per acre yield and reduce cost of production. A capacity building workshop, in this regard was held in Sheikhupura which was conducted by Rice Partners Pvt Ltd.(RPL) in collaboration with Intercoopration. More than 35 farmers were capacitated on precision laser leveling and water productivity. Rice Experts from Pakistan Agricultural and Research Council (PARC) and District Agriculture Departments gave their technical lectures to address the real problems of the rice farmers with small land holding of the district, said a statement received here Wednesday.
On the occasion Project Manager RPL (WAPRO), Zafar Iqbal said that this was the time to support poor rice farmers to reduce their cost of
production and increase yield of rice by adopting conservation
agricultural techniques like Precision Land Leveling, water saving,
field tubes and direct seeding of rice (DSR).
Furthermore Chief Operating Officer RPL Muhammad Ali Tariq said that their main objectives were to to develop latest techniques on rice cultivation and production among farmers.
He said through this training workshop, farmers will be able to contribute more in national economy.

Suraj Vaidya felicitated on becoming SAARC CCI president
Lahore (Staff Reporter): Suraj Vaidya was appointed as SAARC CCI President for two years (2016-17) on Wednesday. An old member of the SAARC CCI, Vaidya formerly remained SAARC Tourism Council chairman. During the period, he worked assiduously to promote South Asia as an attractive tourist destination. Prior to this appointment, Vaidya served as SAARC CCI as Acting President in 2015. SAARC CCI Vice President Iftikhar Malik expressed confidence that the private sector of South Asia under Vaidya’s guidance would achieve new milestones. He said Vaidya, who has already been the president of Federation of Nepalese Chambers, had experience, leadership qualities and the understanding of the challenges that lay ahead.
Malik further said that SAARC CCI’s vision was enshrined in a six-point agenda, which included greater investments, building industrial parks, promotion of Youth Angels and development of Smart Green Villages.
“With fresh and new ideas, with vibrant and dynamic energy, the SAARC CCI team would dedicate their next two years to the betterment of South Asia,” Malik hoped.
He said the chamber needed an experienced and committed individual in that position, and the secretariat was ready to provide all the support for fulfilling the vision of the incoming president.