ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Dr Umar Saif Wednesday highlighted the revolutionary initiatives undertaken by the ministry in the last two months to bolster exports of the IT and telecom sectors. Addressing a press conference along with Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi, he said the government would provide interest-free loans to free-lancers for establishing e-working centers. He said each freelancer would receive financial assistance of Rs 100,000 to set up their own e-working center. The initiative was aimed at addressing the challenge of lack of suitable workplaces for freelancers so that they could work in a conducive and peaceful environment, he added. Dr Saif asserted that each freelancer could earn upto $30,000 annually which would significantly contribute to the national economy. He projected that the measures could increase IT sector’s exports by $3 billion. The minister said the government was also working for easy access to loans and investments for IT startups, with the expectation of attracting external investments of upto $1 billion within the next six months. DNA
