ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi said that it was inevitable for Pakistan to quickly jump the bandwagon of information technology to achieve fast economic development as well as fulfill the market needs for human capital. The president, addressing the 2nd LCCI IT Awards 2022 distribution ceremony on Tuesday night, called for enhancing the production of human resource in the IT sector, calling it essential for not only local consumption but also the world market. He said though late, Pakistan had joined the tech race to fill the wide gap between the demand and supply in the sector as the existing human capital was unable to analyse the available data. He said owing to its youth bulge, Pakistan’s importance had increased in the current digital era and said the billionaire Pakistanis in the Silicon Valley also repeatedly mentioned the dire need for quality human resource. The president told the gathering that the incumbent government had announced record incentives for the IT sector and also ensured the immediate resolution of the issues faced by the IT industry. Moreover, he said no government in the past could match the facilitation of the business community by the incumbent government. President Alvi said owing to the government’s business-friendly policies, the textile sector had revived, farmers got additional Rs 1.1 trillion and the industrial sector earned an extra around Rs 900 billion. The president said it was also essential for the IT sector to create a linkage with academia to help create jobs as well as fulfill the market needs. He told the gathering that around 2.2 million students joined a course on digital skills announced by the government and the beneficiaries, even those coming from the remote areas, were earning around $150,000. He also highlighted the gap between the market skills and academia and reiterated his call for the IT sector to share the burden else they would be hit by the severe shortage of human resource. The president, who earlier distributed awards among the entrepreneurs including women for successfully running their IT ventures, said the IT sector was playing a key role in women empowerment by allowing them to work while being at home. He also urged the IT companies to encourage women’s involvement in the sector which he said had democratization providing equal opportunities to everyone to excel. He said no other sector could bring about economic return like the IT sector. He said Pakistan would meet a bright future following the expected Chinese investment in agriculture, textile, pharma and IT industries. President of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Mian Noman Akbar said the award ceremony coincided with the completion of 100 years of the Chamber. He appreciated the government for its prudent economic policies which led to impressive GDP growth, besides the incentives for the IT sector which could take the country to the course of economic development. However, he also called for producing quality human capital and hoped that the IT sector would surpass the target of $3.5 billion exports this year comparing $1.5 billion in 2019-20. In his address, Vice President of LCCI Haris Attiq hoped that the government would continue to assist the IT sector to create jobs and support the national economy.