In partnership with commercial organisations and provincial governments, the government of Pakistan has announced the opening of more than 250 E-Rozgaar centers throughout the country.
An official from the Ministry of IT stated that the goal of these centres is to give competent and hard-working adolescents in smaller cities access to digital opportunities by providing them with basic amenities.
Every district across the nation will have an E-Rozgaar center. These centres are distributed according to data from 1.2 million freelancers who have registered with Ignite, as well as the population of each province.
Punjab is the initiative’s leader with 149 centres, followed by Sindh with 51, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 28, and other regions with substantial representation: Balochistan with 6, Gilgit-Baltistan with 2, Azad Kashmir with 3, and the federal capital Islamabad with 11.
This move is expected to convert more than a dozen private co-working spaces in Punjab into cutting-edge e-Rozgar centres.
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This program is intended to provide the nation’s IT ecosystem a major boost, according to sources within the MoITT. The ministry has already chosen a large number of private co-working spaces that would be turned into e-Rozgaar centres right once. These places are mostly in Punjab.
The sources claim that part of the strategy is to provide government funding to these co-working spaces so they can modernise their facilities and better serve the changing needs of the digital age. The Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) has already received the ministry’s PC-1 application for the e-Rozgar Centres initiative, which is awaiting approval. The first e-Rozgar centre in Pakistan will be opened by Minister of IT and Telecom Dr. Umar Saif.
According to Ministry sources, the government will completely subsidise interest rates for the construction of these e-Rozgar centres. Building owners will be able to apply for interest-free loans, with the PSDP providing additional funding to augment Ignite’s large portion of the subsidy.
The government is lending up to 10 million rupees to each e-Rozgar centre for the sake of infrastructural development, in an effort to establish a model that benefits both parties. Building owners, banks, and independent contractors are all expected to gain from this strategy.
The Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) will oversee the e-Rozgar centres project. The government’s ongoing commitment to creating a robust digital infrastructure is demonstrated by the PSEB’s proposal, which calls for spending Rs. 1 billion to create 250 e-Rozgar centres.
The E-Rozgar centres, which were first established by Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in Punjab, have shown to be extremely beneficial, helping millions of young people. These centres are especially made for people who can’t afford pricey office premises; they give them an opportunity to use their IT talents and get into the digital workforce.
More young people are anticipated to be able to take advantage of the booming IT sector thanks to this program.
This initiative aims to provide essential facilities to hardworking and skilled youth, especially in smaller cities, helping them access digital opportunities.
This initiative is expected to significantly boost the digital economy and provide more opportunities for young people to leverage their IT skills.