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- 1. PlantTech www.technologytimes.pk ABC CERTIFIED Price Rs.60 Pages: 4 Vol: VII No: 04 January 25 – 31, 2016 Sunflower superlative choice for Diet and Health SUNFLOWER (Helianthus an- nuus L.) belongs to the family Compositae. Its plant is 5-feet tall and it produces large bril- liant yellow flowers and edible seeds. This tall plant earned its name because its flowers .......... Notice The office has estab- lished an Investigation Cell in order to unfold il- legitimate activities as well as sensitize our readers on grey areas in various sectors including Science & Technology, Energy, Information Technology, Agriculture, Environment, Education and Health. Under this initiative, we plan to start publishing articles and news reports this Cell would clear af- ter thorough scrutiny of information and related documents. Our readers can also share with us any information or documents about any illegitimate or non-professional activity or policy in these sectors for a good cause. Their identity would be kept confidential in any case. Information can be shared at: +92 51 2607219 Mobile: 03336383241 Email: ic@technologytimes.pk World moot suggests reformed approach to tackle climate change STAFF REPORT ISB: The loom- ing threat of water scarcity and ad- verse impacts of climate change have complicated the serious chal- lenge of ensuring food security for fast increasing populations of the Asian countries. However, active measures such as better watershed management, introduction of wa- ter recharge dams, water storage facilities and rainwater harvesting would go a long way to make the people more resilient to climate change. These views were expressed by expert at a recently held three- day International Conference on “Challenges in Water Security to Meet the Growing Food Require- ment” here at Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS) in Islamabad. The workshop was organized by PAS in collaboration with the As- sociation of Academies and Socie- ties of Sciences in Asia (AASSA). Leading experts from Pakistan, Turkey, Malaysia, Korea and Nepal were the resource persons at this important scientific forum. Minister for Education Baligh ur Rehman and Zahid Hamid, Fed- eral Minister for Climate Change, attended the inauguration and concluding ceremonies respective- ly. Besides, President PAS Dr. An- war Nasim, Engr. Shamsul Mulk, Secretary General PAS Prof. Dr. Zabta Khan Shinwari, Fellow PAS & Workshop Coordinator Dr. Ab- dul Rashid also addressed on the occasion and shared their valuable knowledge and experience with the participants. In his remarks, Zahid Hamid said that the worst issues of climate change could be controlled by suc- cessful adaptation, which would probably be less than the cost of impacts that would occur without adjustments. “Given the threat of climate change we must change our devel- opment paradigm and adopt inclu- sive, green growth strategies, and other eco-efficient approaches to urban development,” he said. He suggested that they need to address the ignorance toward protection of water first. Much of the water that is accounted for is wasted by inefficient water use by households, industries and agricul- ture. On this occasion, Baligh ur Re- hman said that the water scarcity and climate change, food security for the fast increasing populations of Asian countries is achievable. This can be accomplished on a sustainable basis by employing well thought of science-based solutions and strategies. He also said that the current trend of water use in Asian coun- tries is not sustainable in the face of fast increasing populations, and the challenges posed by climate change. Thus, ensuring food secu- rity for fast growing populations of Asian countries with shrinking water resources is a daunting task, he added. On behalf of the govern- ment of Pakistan, he assured the implementation of the recommen- dations of the workshop. After technical presentations and discussions by the experts, three Penal Discussions of the Workshop were led by senior sci- entists like Dr. Amir Muhammed, founding chairman PARC, former chairman WAPDA Engr. Shamsul Mulk and Dr. Mubarik Ali made some recommendations. PAS President Dr. Anwer Nasim said that the country is heading toward a serious water crisis. By 2030, experts expect this semi-arid nation to decline from being water stressed to water scarce. Because of overuse and misuse, the country is facing declining water availability and quality, growing water pollu- tion, and overall environmental insecurity. “The domestically driven con- flict over water in Pakistan needs to be better understood so that ap- propriate development strategies can be implemented,” he said. Director General Pakistan Meteorological Department Dr. Ghulam Rasul, Chief Executive SACAN Engr. Mushtaq Ahmad Gill and Member (FS&CC) Plan- ning Commission of Pakistan Dr. Mubarik Ali presented detailed recommendations of their groups to tackle the climate change impact and water security for sustainable food production and related issues. They said the concrete recom- mendations made by the experts; need to be implemented by the government. They said, we must learn from the past. They urged the capacity building of national institutions to tackle these issues effectively. NUST sets up Chinese learning centre STAFF REPORT ISB: The National University of Sciences and Technology has established a Chinese Studies Centre (CSC) at its School of Social Sciences and Humanities.The univer- sity administration said the centre will serve as a centre of excellence, and will un- dertake studies in Chinese society, strategy, politics, language, economy, culture, defence, diplomacy, environ- ment and science and tech- nology. In addition, the centre will undertake studies deal- ing with various aspects of the China-Pakistan Eco- nomic Corridor, as well as provide technical input to the government in general, and relevant organisations in particular regarding the project’s development.The centre will also offer courses in Chinese development. In addition, the centre will hold seminars and confer- ences on various aspects of the Pak-China relationship. The centre is headed by recently retired ambassa- dor Syed Hasan Javed, who has spent nearly 10 years in China on two diplomatic as- signments. Javed has authored two books on the Chinese lan- guage, and has a deep under- standing of the culture, soci- ety, economics, politics and diplomacy of the country. Video game based on Peshawar school attack removed Climate change impacts hitting Pakistan hard Dr. Khalida appreciated for getting ‘researcher of the year’ title STAFF REPORT ISB: A screen grab from the video game “Pakistan Army Retri- bution,” set during the 2014 attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar, has been removed from the site. Online critics call it “dis- tasteful” and said that the attack was “no game”. The first-person shooter (FPS) game, called “Pakistan Army Retribution,” invited gamers to play the role of a Pakistani soldier ridding a school of insurgents. It was removed from circulation on the internet. It begins with a rousing rendition of the Pakistan national anthem, before rec- reating in nine levels the ter- rible events that comprised Pakistan’s worst-ever insur- gent attack, in which 145 people, including 132 chil- dren, were killed. A review by a local English-language news outlet called the deci- sion by developer Punjab Information Technology Board, a government agency, to base the game on the in- famous attack saying it has failed on every front. STAFF REPORT KHI: Pakistan is among the 12 countries that is hard hit by the climate change prob- lem and unfortunately due to unprecedented climatic change and human activi- ties are habitats are being lost or are being degraded. These views were ex- pressed by University of Ka- rachi Vice Chancellor Dr M. Qaiser while addressing an inaugural session of the con- ference on ‘Climate Change and Phytodiversity: Chal- lenges and Opportunities’. The event was organised by the Pakistan Botanical Soci- ety and University of Karachi at KU. He said that unfortu- nately due to unprecedented climatic change and human activities, habitats are being lost or are being degraded in Pakistan. The VC said that the Paki- stan Botanical Society is one of the oldest and the lead- ing scientific societies of the country and soon it would get a worldwide recognition by the scientific fraternity. National and Internation- al Scientists were present on the occasion including KU former VC and senior most Botanist Dr Syed Irtifaq Ali and Dr Anjum Perveen, Pa- kistan Science Foundation Chairman Dr Muhammad Ashraf, Pakistan Council of Science and Technology Chairman Dr Anwar ul Has- san Gilani, UNESCO Eco- logical Science Advisor Dr Benno Boer. The VC said, “A changing climate means changing of habitat, threatening vulnera- ble species consequently lead- ing to extinction. Balanced and healthy ecosystems and rich biodiversity are funda- mental to life on earth and because of climate change the humans and biodiversity face new challenges for sur- vival.” Dr Qaiser said, “This year we have chosen a very perti- nent topic of climate change and Phytodiversity and as we all know that climate is chang- ing due to unlimited fossil fuel burning and the release of green house emissions that result in global warming. STAFF REPORT ISB: The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) graciously congratulates Pakistani geo-morphologist and postdoctoral DRR re- searcher Prof. Dr. Khalida Khan, who has been titled ‘ISDR Researcher of the Year’ at the National Post- doctoral Association (US) by the Inter-regional Direc- tors’ Board of the SAARC- ASEAN Post-doc Academia. Director General of ICIMOD, Dr David James Molden has sent his warm congratulations on the on this benevolent victory of Pakistani academia. Dr Molden is a development specialist with more than 30 years of experience in designing, planning, ex- ecuting, and monitoring programmes on water man- agement, livelihoods, en- vironment, and ecosystem services. Khalida M. Khan 58 is an ex- tensive canvasser of community education, skill- empowering and equality-based civil rights for the neglected inhabit- ant populaces of mountains valleys. He has now become an icon within the disciplinary spheres of relevance by re- ceiving the 2016’s first post- doc scholarship for ‘DRR Strategies & New Research Horizons for ISDR in the United Nations SDGs Per- spectives’ at NPA (US) un- der the UN-KAKHTAH DRR programme. Dr. Khalida Khan, is a former chair holder of UNESCO with a portfolio comprising of ‘Community Education Mountain Con- servation and Watershed Management’. Seminar discusses to raise higher education quality Govt committed to connecting the unconnected: Anusha STAFF REPORT ISB: The government of Paki- stan is committed to con- necting the unconnected as it has made great progress in development of informa- tion technology and now the road for digitization of the country is clear after introduction of the telecom policy. Minister of State for IT Anusha Rahman expressed these views while addressing at the recent launch of the Telenor Pakistan report in Islamabad. “We appreciate the ef- forts of Telenor Pakistan in realizing the digital compe- tence of Pakistan and stay- ing committed to develop- ing a digital innovation ecosystem in the country,” the minister said. The Telenor report re- flects how the country is proceeding when it comes to use of digital technology in all walks of life, and the immense potential it has to secure a better future for its people. In his keynote address to the forum, Tore Johnson, Senior Vice President of Telenor Group and chair- man of Telenor Pakistan, said: “Pakistan has an im- mense potential of piloting a sustainable digital turna- round.” PTA Chairman Dr Ismail Shah said that it gives me great satisfaction to see the country is now embracing digital technology as a pow- erful tool that is not just a means of communication, but a life-changing catalyst. Michael P Foley, CEO of Telenor Pakistan, said: “With the launch of this report, we are putting countrywide digital access at the centre and attaching utmost priority to offering cutting-edge technological solutions to facilitate digital connectivity.” ECOSF chief delivers lecture at GCU Dr. Atta exhorts scientists to concentrate on R&D STAFF REPORT LHR: Directorate of Quality En- hancement (DQE) Virtual University (VU) of Pakistan has recently organized a one- day national seminar on “How to raise the quality of higher education” here in Lahore. Prof. Dr. Pervez Hoodb- hoy a renowned Pakistani scholar, essayist and national security analyst, was the re- source person in the seminar. The seminar was attend- ed by the principal officers and faculty members from the Virtual University of Pa- kistan from various stations connected through video link, QECs representatives from the universities in La- hore and those connected through video conferencing from various cities across the country. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Nawaz, Advisor DQE, in- troduced the university and brought to light its journey towards quality. Dr. Hoodbhoy deliv- ered a comprehensive and thought-provoking lecture on the quality-related issues faced by higher education institutions. Prof. Dr. Naveed A. Ma- lik concluded the seminar with the remarks that the is- sue of quality in higher edu- cation is multi-faceted which requires concerted efforts to curtail its effects. STAFF REPORT LHR: President of Economic Co- operation Organisation Sci- ence Foundation (ECOSF), Manzoor Hussian Soomro, has delivered a lecture at the Government College Uni- versity (GCU) on Science and Technology on econom- ic development and coopera- tion in the region. He visited the university on the invitation of the Of- fice of Research, Innovation and Commercialisation (GCU ORIC). Vice Chancellor Hassan Amir Shah, ORIC Direc- tor Prof (emeritus) Ikramul Haq, Quality Enhancement Cell Director Iram Sohail and a large number of fac- ulty members attended the lecture by the scientist who had previously served as the Chief Scientific Officer at the Pakistan Science Foun- dation. Dr. Soomro briefed the participants about the goal of the ECO. He said that pro- moting youth engagement in science, technology and edu- cation for economic develop- ment and peace within the ECO region and beyond was the ECOSF’s priority. He also talked about the process of ECOSF funding for the science projects. STAFF REPORT KHI: Sci- entists of the Islamic world need to concentrate on re- search and devel- opment (R&D) to clinch the Nobel prize for their con- tribution towards science and technol- ogy, said prominent scientist and former federal minister Prof. Dr Atta-ur-Rahman. He was speaking at the recently held convocation ceremony of Commecs Institute of Business and Emerging Sci- ences (CIBES) where a num- ber of students who did their BBA and MBA were awarded degrees. Prof. Atta also urged the fresh graduates to strive hard in their practical life so as to achieve success in their profession and to become productive citizens of the country. He also advised them not to seek only jobs after graduation but try to be- come entrepreneurs so that may create jobs for their fellow citizens. The convocation ceremony was large- ly attended by the CIBES faculty mem- bers, educationists, business leaders and parents of the fresh graduates.Later, he conferred degrees upon fresh graduates and awarded medals to the students for their outstand- ing performance in the exam- inations. He felicitated the graduates and their parents. Dean of CIBES, Dr M.M.A. Feeroze, in his wel- come speech, highlighted the performance of the insti- tute, while the CIBES Board of Governors’ chairman Ir- fan Nadeem congratulated the fresh graduates and their parents. Pak-USCentreforAdvanced StudiesinEnergystartsinUET STAFF REPORT PESH: US Consul General William J. Martin and Khyber Pa- khtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has recently unveiled a plaque at the KP Provincial Assembly to formally launch the US-Pa- kistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Energy. The centre, housed at the University of Engineer- ing and Technology (UET) Peshawar, aims to produce technical experts and to fa- cilitate applied research to find innovative and practical solutions to Pakistan’s en- ergy challenges. This five-year $15 million initiative funded by the US- AID enables the UET Pesha- war to partner with National University of Sciences and Technology in Islamabad and Arizona State University in US. “This centre will bring together scientists from both Pakistan and the United States to jointly combat Pa- kistan’s energy challenges,” Martin said adding, he ex- pects the centre will also foster better collaboration among academia, industry and the public sector. The centre plans to pro- vide scholarships to 250 Pakistani students from economically disadvantaged families. It plans to imple- ment 50 research projects, provide internships to 50 students, and establish five public-private partnerships to produce, store, and man- age electricity.
- 2. OPNIONDisclaimer: The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the newspaper. 2 January 25 – 31, 2016 EdTweet Executive Editor A. M. Zaidi Editor S. A. M. Z. Paras Incharge Editorial Section Sidra Saif Cheema Bureau Chief Karachi Syed Ali Raza Technical Editor Tajammul Hussain www.technologytimes.pk E-mail: info@technologytimes.pk Head Office Bureau Office House No. 81, Service Road (W), C-89, Sherton Heights, 7th Avenue, G-6/1-1, Islamabad. Abul Hassan Isphahani Rd, Karachi. Phones:+92 51 2607219 Phones:+92 321 242 6088 +92 333 638 3241 +92 333 575 5926 No. 8444/2 (100) Press - 2009 Published and Printed by S. A. Mustafa Zaidi Paras Ali for Foundation for Comprehensive Social Development (FCSD) at Khursheed Printers (Pvt) Ltd., Aabpara, Islamabad. HEALTHTECH BIOINFOTECH By Aamir Mahmood Insects…not enemy How to be a successful Bioinformatician Generally, insects are con- sidered as a worst enemy of humans and destructive creature of the planet. Mostly insects are termed as a pest and literally pest are those organisms that com- pete with humans and cause economic losses, but all insects do not cause economic losses rather some insects also have a lot of bene- ficial aspects which are directly and indirectly related to humans and environment. No ‘doubt, a large num- ber of insects are phy- tophagous like borers, bollworms and suck- ing bugs in nature, voraciously feed upon crops and trees cause an enor- mous economic loss. Moreo- ver, a number of insects are vectors and carriers of many fatal pathogens and play a key role in transmission of diseases .e.g. mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches and kiss- ing bug, etc. Many insects are parasites like lice and fleas much more of humans and animals. Of these many insects are friends of human beings and even their exist- ence is the promise of this universe survival. It is nec- essary for us to understand their beneficial aspect so that we are able to change the absurd concept that in- sects are always pest. For ex- ample a hundred species of insects have farmer friendly behavior locally known as ‘’kissan dost keery’’. These insects are either predator (Lady Bird bee- tle and Green lace wing) that feed gregariously upon other phytophagous insects and mites. Some insects are parasitoid in nature, para- sitizing those insects which are threat to our crops and fruit trees like Bracon spp and Trichogramma spp. For example, lady bird beetle can eat as many as 5,000 aphids in its lifetime, which makes them a gardener’s best friend. These insects are called biological control agents, play a crucial role in the reducing population density of phytphagous in- sects and balancing our bio- logical equilibrium. For the reproductive stage of plants, pollination is essential process; insects are the best pollinators among all other pollinating agents. Butterflies, beetles, wasps and honey bee are involved in pollination of many flow- ers, the most important step in the formation of a fruit. Pollination by insects is a very sensitive and complex process and, as a matter of fact, these are qualitative properties, which cannot be measured in terms of eco- nomic index. Among all, honey bee is the excellent pollinator, its legs are naturally modified into pollen collecting basket to facilitate the pollination. It’s thought they make about 10 million nectar-collecting trips to produce enough honey to fill a 450g jar. That’s why Elbert Ein- stein said that if the Bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would‘ve only four years left. Many insects deal as de- composers and recyclers thereby making environ- ment clean and pollutant free. Spring tail, ants and termites are magnificent de- composers and recyclers that enhance soil fertility and nutrient availability to our crops. Many insects are weed feeder like Loony moth, and there are combating 30,000 species of weeds, which are a threat to crops. These insects nourish upon the weeds; eventually reduce the com- petition between plants and weeds. Moreover apiculture, sericulture and lakh culture are stunning commercial cottage industries that are totally dependent upon in- sects. Insects are the best experi- mental animals in almost all branches of zoological stud- ies because of their frequent abundant, easy rearing in labs and high fecundity rate. For instance, cockroaches, honey bees, wasps, silk- worms, flies and many other insects are used all over the world to explore the myster- ies of nature in the fields of genetics, ecology, biochem- istry, cytology, embryol- ogy, environmental sciences, physiology, toxicology, neurobiology, and tax- onomy. The rapid rise in population, migration to cities and urbaniza- tion has resulted in scarcity of food. To meet this requirement, insects are consumed as food. At least 1,200 species of insects are eaten in vari- ous parts of the world such as Brazil, China, Korea, India, Mexico and Japan. According to modern research, insects are a rich source of protein and vitamins but they are fat de- ficient. In Muslims commu- nity locust are declared as a halal food during the starva- tion period. Insects also involved in our society welfare, their role in the field of criminology: Forensic entomology deals with the knowledge of ‘time of death’ by using behavior and development of carrion fly maggots, which are con- sidered as the first witness to murder. There are many cas- es on record in which foren- sic entomology help the po- lice to trace the murderer by using all information about the presence of suspects on the place of the death and the time of the death. If fo- rensic entomology is intro- duced in our investigation system there would be great deal of change in the out- look for the investigation. Due to the massive use of pesticides and IGRs raise a question mark on the survival of these beneficial insects. There is a need to revolutionize our thoughts about these insects and take serious steps to aware our public that these insects are not only harmful, but these are innocuous friends too. The writer can be reached at Zaeem.mehdi@yahoo.com BIOLOGICAL SCIENC- ES are divided into a number of disciplines in order to un- derstand biological phenom- ena well and easy. Most of these disciplines are depend- ent on each other and thus one needs to have knowledge of multiple disciplines in or- der to understand it. Let’s have an example of Biochem- istry; to be a Biochemist you must have knowledge about both Biology and Chemistry. So we can call such kind of multidisciplinary as Network based disciplines because they form a kind of network among multiple areas. In the current era of science and technology Bio-re- searchers are strug- gling in their areas of interest to unveil the unexplored nature and solve a Biological problem. So amongst number of fields in Biological science we have a fast growing new and ad- vance field that is termed as Bioinformatics which is a fu- sion of life and information technology. We can also de- fine it as a branch of Biologi- cal science where we collect, classify, store and analyze bio- logical data using computers especially. Bioinformatics is a mul- tidisciplinary field, which requires expertise in biol- ogy, genetics, mathematics, statistics, computers, phys- ics, etc. There are so many other factors involved in this field of science and being a student of bioinformatics let me share few of them which I think should be consider if you want to be successful in bioinformatics. 1-Be a good biologist: Be- ing a bioinformatics special- ist, you must know about a living system; it may be both on cellular and molecular level. Let’s say I am working on designing a drug for a dis- ease so obviously I must have knowledge about how im- mune system works and how a biological system respond to that effect. Lacking basic information means “shoot- ing in the dark”. Therefore, it is very important to be a good biologist before you plan to be a good Bioinfor- matician. 2-Be a computer past master: Being a Bioinformati- cian, you must be a computer expert because 99 per cent of your project will be com- puter based. Secondly, a lot of software and online serv- ers are used to do different tasks and analysis during a project which is not possible if a person is not good with computer. Apart from these, different software requires different operating systems .e.g. Molecular dynamic simulations and genomics studies is most suitable to be run on Linux OS. Similarly, a software “Enzyme-X” mostly works on MAC OS. That’s why a person must be used to with all kind of operating systems. I will prefer Linux to be the best operating system for a Bioinformatician and I believe every bioinformati- cian must learn it. 3-Be a good Programmer: Bioinformatics allows you to create software and tools for different biological/research processes and thus saves your time with great accuracy and precision. So to be a tool crea- tor one should know about a very common programing language “C++”; because majority of the software are written in C++. These days bioinformatics code writers also use Python, Perl, PHP, MatLab and R for statisti- cal related analysis. In short a person who wants to be a good Bioinformatician must be familiar with such kind of computer languages. 4-Molecular biology and Genetics:Itismandatorythat a person must have knowl- edge about Molecular Biolo- gy and Genetics because Bio- informatician mostly work on DNA and proteins. If you know about how a gene expression, translation and transcription is processed and have the idea about how proteins behave in certain environment, then you can figure out how a simple gene can cause a disease and how can you manipulate the bio- logical pathways for bringing it to normal state. Moreover, you should have the knowl- edge about immune system of the organism if you are planning to design a molecu- lar drug. 5-Statistician and Mathemati- cian: Bioinformat- ics or computa- tional Biology has a great significance that it can reduce the number of wet lab experiments from 100 to 10 or 5. We predict the best options and then we confirm it in a wet lab. Also Bioinformatics helps us to manage large biological data very easily which requires data mining. For such kind of data mining and epide- miology studies, heavy cal- culations and algorithms are involved. 6-Excitement about work: Projects in Bioinformatics are sometimes easy but very long and time consuming which sometimes make you uncom- fortable and frustrated. To overcome such situations; always be excited about your work and hope something new comes out of it. Be pa- tient because sometimes small tasks take too much time and energy. You can be a successful person in every profession when your pas- sion becomes your job. 7-Creative skills: A good Bioinformatician is a very creative person and solves a biological problem in an in- teresting way and creates new ways to overcome obstacles in the way of research. These are some worthy points which I have gathered from my personal experienc- es and it will help you if you want to be a successful Bioin- formatician. The writer is an undergraduate student at Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. REPORT BOOK LAUNCHINGBy Sajjad Ahmed By Engr. Ali Akbar Shah E-Pakistan ‘Recruitment Made Easy’ book launchedPakistan Institute of Infor- mation and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for De- velopment (PIID launched the E-Pakistan (Vision-2025) titled “Good Governance and Women Entrepreneur- ship” at Convention Centre, Islamabad, on December 14, 216. The PIID is a subsidiary centre for information tech- nology. The ceremony included interactive session and panel discussion on ICTs for agri- culture, educations, women empowerment, good govern- ance, health and tourism. Speakers on the occasion highlighted the importance for imparting modern tech- niques and technologies for developing society, empow- ering women, enhancing la- bour’s working efficiency. Representatives from Aurat Foundation, Fatima Jinnah University and UN- APCICT emphasized on women education to ensure that they can contribute to the society. They said ICTs can help reduce literacy rate in the country. Vice President PML- N Women Wing Punjab, Amna Malik, lauded the government’s efforts by es- tablishing e-village in differ- ent sector of the country. She said we are determined to empower women so they pave the way in building bet- ter Pakistan. In her remarks, Fauzia Kausori, senior party leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, said women can play a bet- ter role for the betterment of society if they are facilitated well. Education can help women to help understand- ing their rights. “By using modern technologies they can search and communi- cate with anyone, anywhere in the world,” she added. The PIID partners in- cluded Our International Partners UN-APCICT, ITU - ICT4Girls, Telecenter. org, APTN, ICTs For OIC, Google/ MicroSoft and In- tel. Giving briefing on the E- Pakistan, Ammar Jafri, Presi- dent, Pakistan Information Security Association (PISA), revealed that under this ini- tiative, the PIID has concepts that included: ICTs are fast changing the world around us, Pakistan need to catch up with the upcoming changes in the region & globally, we in Pakistan have challenges and opportunities. He said that as a global best practice ICTs for E- Education, E-Health, E-Ag- riculture, E-Governance is immediate solution to our challenges. He said that under this project, they have achieved: E-Village project in 2009, stretched over 200 villages in different parts of Pakistan, outreached to remote loca- tion on Partnership Model, started E-District Project in 2013 like E-Lahore, E-Pesha- war, MoUs are being signed with partner organizations, Expert Group Meetings (EGMs) with subject special- ists are being arranged. He mentioned that they have the strategy to move fur- ther including: partnerships with government, public private universities, NGOs, corporate sector, technol- ogy partners; focus on E- Districts; up-ward linkages of E-Youth; Linking Village; level entrepreneur youth (males/females ) with Dis- tricts level ICT Professional and onwards, linking our Diaspora with economic em- powerment/development in their respective Villages/ Towns, engaged Commu- nity Learning, linking stu- dents of Colleges/Universi- ties with development work of local universities; project based engagements with our partners; logical and Physi- cal linkages between our partners. Under this project, this focus areas included, in- novations & entrepreneur- ship through use of ICTs, E-Women, focus on consoli- dated reporting of MDGs and Global Plans for SDGs, preparing our Youth to meet the upcoming Challenges, knowledgeable response to Information Security/Cyber Security threats at District level and close working with local government organiza- tions. Benefits to PIID part- ner organizations would be: Joint efforts under a planned road map, Branding at Inter- national level, Availability of reliable technology plat- forms, Enhanced Financial gains due to economies of scale, Availability of expert knowledge on cutting edge technologies in their areas of interventions. PIID conducted main events in 2015 including (April 19th) Women Entre- preneurship Summit, (April 26) ICTs for Girls Day by ITU UN, ICTs for Good Governance’ Conference in NCRD, Start of Initiative from Mazar Quaid Karachi and engaging partners in Sindh & KPK, E-Pakistan Celebrations in NCRD Islamabad, Launch of ‘E- Pakistan Vision 2025, In- ternational Conference on ICTs for Good Governance in Pakistan. PIID projects for the cur- rent years included, IQRA (Using ICTs for Education), Bring 100,000 out of school children in formal school system and vocational train- ing, SHAFA (Using ICTs for Health), extend E-Health fa- cilities to 100,000 persons in remote parts of Pakistan us- ing ICTs based systems, AR- GI-CHOWK (Using ICTs for Agriculture), train and empower 10,000 women in rural and urban parts of Paki- stan in entrepreneurship and innovations, Silk –Chowk (using ICTs for E-Tourism), train people of 100 commu- nities around tourism facili- ties in ICTs skills to promote tourism in their areas. Upcoming initiatives un- der this project would be scaling up of our traditional initiatives E-Villages, E-UCs, E-Districts, ICTs for Disas- ter Management, Climate Change, Water Manage- ment, Economic Empower- ment, Entrepreneurship, Tourism & Culture Herit- age, ICTs for Peace and Har- mony.Similarly,theproducts of E-District (to be provided through District Technol- ogy Center, included District Portal, Broad Initiatives …E- Health / E-Education / E- Agriculture / E-Governance, E-Village off-line software (Formal & in-formal educa- tion ) in each village, E-Ser- vices, E-Education, E-Health, E-NGOs, E-SME, E-Women, E-Agriculture. PIID projects for the cur- rent years included, IQRA, bring 100,000 out of school children in formal school sys- tem and vocational training, SHAFA, extend E-Health facilities to 100,000 persons in remote parts of Pakistan using ICTs based systems, ARGI-CHOWK, train and empower 10,000 women in rural and urban parts of Pa- kistan in entrepreneurship and innovations and train people of 100 communities around tourism facilities in ICTs skills to promote tour- ism in their areas. On the invitation from Meh- ran University of Engineer- ing & Technology Jamshoro and IEEEP Local Centre Hy- derabad, Engr Jawed Salim Qureshi vis- ited the Mehran University and was warmly welcomed by Vice Chancellor and Dean Faculty of Electrical, Electronics and Computers System Prof. Dr. Bhawani Shankar Chowdhry on Sat- urday -- 9th January 2016. On the occasion, he and ad- dressed engineers in MUET. In his remarks, Engr. Jawed Salim Qureshi, Chair- man PEC, highlighted the programmes envisaged by the PEC for the betterment, wel- fare, implementation of PEC by-laws to protect the rights and interest of engineers and formation of Engineers Foundation. He announced up-gradation of PEC liaison office Hyderabad to PEC Re- gional/Branch office. He also announced formation of En- gineers Club at Hyderabad. He assured unemployed engineers for PEC support in seeking employment and informed about the Introduc- tion of Supervisory License for the Young Engineers free of cost for basic Supervision of Construction Projects to deliver quality work, which would create 5,000 jobs for self-employed engineers in the first phase. Earlier, Engr. Prof Dr. M.A. Uqaili, Vice Chancel- lor of Mehran University of Engineering & Technology Jamshoro and also Chairman IEEEP Local Centre Hy- derabad, welcomed the Chief Guest. In his address Engr. Prof. Dr. M.A. Uqaili briefed the Chairman PEC about the history and achievements of the university and proposed for up-gradation of PEC Li- aison Office Hyderabad to the status of PEC Regional/ Branch office. He lauded the role of public sector engineer- ing universities especially on catering the need of the poor class for seeking engineering education. He also urged for welfare of engineers and engi- neering students. Engr. Prof. Dr. A.K. Baloch, Vice Chancellor Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering& Technology, Nawabshah, also addressed the ceremony. Engr. Prof. Dr. B.S. Chowdhry, Dean Faculty of Electrical, Electronics and Computers System Engi- neering and Vice Chairman IEEEP Hyderabad Local Centre, gave brief introduc- tion of the ceremony events. He expressed that it is a rare occasion for the entire com- munity of engineers of this region to have an opportuni- ty to meet the newly elected PEC Chairman. He further highlighted that the book “Recruitment Test Made Easy” will immensely help young unemployed engineers in seeking jobs through Re- cruitment Test. Later, the book “Recruit- ment Test Made Easy”- a dedicated guide for Electri- cal, Electronics, Telecom & Computer Engineers was launched by the PEC Chair- man. The book is written by Engr Junaid Sheikh and ed- ited by Engr Prof Dr. M.A. Uqaili and Engr Prof Dr BS Chowdhry. Engr. GS Kandhir Pro- Vice Chancellor Mehran University Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti Khairpur Mirs Campus paid the Vote of Thanks. Program Coordinator Engineer Arshad Chugh- tai, in his opening remarks, said that Engr. Jawed Salim Qureshi is a charismatic lead- er. He is visionary and man of action. Such is the impact of his presence in PEC that momentum on various activi- ties has been picked up and the entire system appears to be energized. Engr. Amir Zamir Ah- mad Khan, DG Monitoring &Evaluation Planning Com- mission Energy Coordinator to Federal Minister, and Engr Mukhtar Sheikh, Vice Chair- man Sindh PEC, also graced the ceremony. Host of the ceremony Engr. Prof. Dr. MA Uqaili decorated the guests with traditional Souvenir-Sindhi Ajrak and Cap and present- ed Memorial Shield to Engr. Jawed Salim Qureshi, Chair- man Pakistan Engineering Council. A large number of engi- neers from Jamshoro, Hy- derabad, and other areas in- cluding members of IEEEP Hyderabad Centre and Suk- kur Centre attended the cer- emony. As the government of Pakistan has embarked upon a task to make Urdu as the official language of the country, all the state institutions, government ministries and departments are in the process of achieving this target. Initially, the timeframe for this conversion is set at 15 years from now. This means that prime minister, president and other government officials will deliver speeches and greet foreign officials in Urdu lan- guage even when outside the country. Thus everything of- ficial including websites for government institutions, utility bills, driving licences, passports and other documents will carry text in Urdu. At the same time, we need to take into account the bottlenecks in achieving this gigantic goal at the time of digitization. It is often speculated that the internet is a new and efficient form of imperialism that controls peo- ple’s minds and perceptions without physically invading their homes. However, it should be taken as an opportunity to- wards cultural revival of marginalized languages, creating an environment of multilingualism. The last two decades have witnessed a rapidly increasing presence of other languages, including Urdu, on the World Wide Web. The earliest of Urdu websites in the country were dedicated mainly to news and literature. Although majority of the Urdu newspapers claim an online presence today, cyberspace is still relatively uncharted territory for them. Unfortunately, the popular perception of the Urdu medium as a symbol of lower status has hindered the efforts to translate Western knowledge into Urdu. Moreover, the future of Urdu language on internet seems in jeopardy as the Urdu language offered on the world’s prominent web – Google – is of the Indian version. Since the conventional ways of spreading knowledge and communities’ interaction fading gradually due to the free styles of communication on internet, texting and emailing remains the most recent source of anxiety for those proponents of languages preservation. Some believe that Urdu or any other endangered language is not in jeopardy due to the domination of English, but by the mindset of its literary practitioners. As a remedy, the people of Pakistan should allow the cultural forces to direct change. Schools and colleges should keep teaching academic or scholarly Urdu as this is only acceptable in informal lan- guage. The best way to promote Urdu on the internet is to just improve the quality of contents offered by Urdu websites and the advancement of automatic translation in addition to digitizing the Urdu literature. Otherwise, the Urdu language with its purely local version will get instinct in near future as is being witnessed for the last over two decades. Preservation Urdu language on Internet M. Zaeem Mehdi
- 3. January 25 – 31, 2016 PLANTTECH By Sajid Hussain, Dr.Muhammad Maqsood, Dr. Muhammad Ather Nadeem and Muhammad Zain By Wahab Ali Khan, Dr. Muhammad Saeed and Iqra Yasmin Sunflower a superlative choice for diet and health SUNFLOWER (Helian- thus annuus L.) belongs to the family Compositae. Its plant is 5-feet tall and it pro- duces large brilliant yellow flowers and edible seeds. This tall plant earned its name because its flowers re- semble the sun and twist on their stems to follow the sun throughout day. While sun- flowers are thought to have originated in Mexico and Peru, they are one of the first plants to have ever been cultivated in the United States. They have been used for more than 5,000 years by the Native Americans. A. Sunflower Seed: Sunflower seeds are very rich in protein and in es- sential fatty acids. These nutrients are essential for the good health of the nerves, brain and eyes and for the general health.Two types of sunflower seeds are produced, oilseed and con- fectionary. Sunflower seeds can be dried or roasted and used as a medicine in world. Amazing health benefits of sunflower seeds There are great benefits of sunflower seeds but some of these are given below. I. Avoids cellular destruc- tion: Sunflower seeds are rich in vitamin E, which is a vital component of your day-to- day nutritional needs. These seeds are great antioxidants that stop the extensive spread of free radicals within the human body. These free radicals can lead to a variety of cellular damage and dis- eases. Rich, natural sources of vitamin E are rare, but sunflower seeds are rich in this vitamin, which aids in the proper functioning of the circulatory system. II. Increases the process of digestion: Sunflower seeds have a large amount of dietary fib- er. If your body is deficient in fiber, you may experience a host of health problems like constipation, piles and colon cancer etc. The rec- ommended amount of fiber is around 30 grams per day for an adult and most peo- ple fail to consume even 15 grams per day. By includ- ing sunflower seeds in your diet, you can easily get a rich supply of the dietary fiber and reduce the possibility of digestion-related problems. III. Supports Bones and Mus cles: The iron in sunflower seeds distributes oxygen to your muscles, while zinc strengthens your immune system and helps you to avoid coughs and cold. Mag- nesium is also essential for strong bones and energy production. Almost 2/3 of the magnesium in the hu- man body is stored in the bones. Magnesium aids the bones in their physical struc- ture and strength, while the remaining magnesium is found on the surface of the bones, which is used up by the body as required. IV. Recovers Brain Health: It has been proven in several studies that sun- flower seeds can actually have a calming effect on your brain and also help up- lift your mood. This prop- erty of sunflower seeds is due to the high content of tryptophan present within the seeds. When you have foods containing trypto- phan, it efficiently increases your brain’s fabrication of serotonin, which is a neuro- transmitter. Serotonin also effectively reduces tension, thereby creating a relaxed feeling. B. Sunflower oil: Sunflower oil has cleans- ing properties; it is both a diuretic and an expectorant. Sunflower oil and kernels meet that challenge with their combination of health benefits and flavor. HEALTH BENEFITS OF SUNFLOWER OIL i. Anti-Inflammatory and Cardiovascular Benefits Sunflower seeds are an excellent source of vitamin E, the body’s primary fat-sol- uble antioxidant. Vitamin E has significant anti-inflam- matory effects that result in the reduction of symptoms in asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis, conditions where free radi- cals and inflammation play a big role. In addition, vita- min E plays an important role in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Vi- tamin E is one of the main antioxidants found in cho- lesterol particles and helps prevent free radicals from oxidizing cholesterol. ii. Phytosterols decreases the level of cholesterol: Phytosterols are com- pounds found in plants that have a chemical structure very similar to cholesterol, and when present in the diet in sufficient amounts, are believed to reduce blood levels of cholesterol, en- hance the immune response and decrease risk of certain cancers. Phytosterols benefi- cial effects are so dramatic that they have been ex- tracted from soybean, corn, and pine tree oil and added to processed foods, such as “butter”-replacement spreads, which are then touted as cholesterol-lower- ing “foods.” iii.Calm your nerves, mus- cles and blood vessels with sunflower seeds’ magnesium: Sunflower seeds are a good source of magnesium. Magnesium is also necessary for healthy bones and en- ergy production. About two- thirds of the magnesium in the human body is found in our bones. In many nerve cells, magnesium serves as Nature’s own calcium chan- nel blocker, preventing cal- cium from rushing into the nerve cell and activating the nerve. Insufficient magne- sium can thus contribute to high blood pressure, mus- cle spasms and migraine headaches, as well as muscle cramps, tension, soreness and fatigue. iv. Improved detoxification and cancer prevention from sunflower seeds’ se- lenium: Sunflower seeds are also a good source of selenium, a trace mineral that is of fun- damental importance to hu- man health. Accumulated evidence from prospective studies, intervention trials and studies on animal mod- els of cancer has suggested a strong inverse correlation between selenium intake and cancer incidence. In addition, selenium is incor- porated at the active site of many proteins, includ- ing glutathione peroxidase, which is particularly impor- tant for cancer protection. One of the body’s most pow- erful antioxidant enzymes, glutathione peroxidase is used in the liver to detoxify a wide range of potentially harmful molecules. Its se- lenium richness is another reason that sunflower seeds can make a good snack. FOODTECH Refreshing and delicious grapefruit is rich in phyto- nutrients like lycopene, vi- tamin A, and beta-carotene. The fruit is well known as “fruit from the paradise” for its unique health promoting as well as disease preventing properties especially among the health conscious, fitness and enthusiasts. The scien- tific name is Citrus paradisi. Citrus paradisi is a subtropi- cal citrus tree. Botanically, it belongs to the large Ruta- ceae family of citrus fruits, in the genus: Citrus, and closely related to oranges. Grapefruit is an ever- green, medium-sized tree grown for its fruit. It grows up to 15 meters in height and bears numerous yellow- orange fruits in clusters dur- ing each season. It is, in fact, a natural hybridization of pomelo and orange. It was first discovered in the forests of Caribbean island, Barba- dos. Today, it is one of the widely cultivated fruits in the United States, particu- larly in Florida, California, and the other semi-tropical southern states. Grapefruit is oblate in shape, ranges in diameter from 3 to 5 inches and can weigh up to 150 g. Char- acteristically, it has thick, tough skin than that in the oranges. Inside, the fruit is segmented into arils as in other citrus fruits. Its arils are very juicy, acidic, and varying in color depend- ing on the cultivars, which could be white, pink and red of varying sweetness. While some varieties are seedless, there may be up to 50 white, elliptical, pointed seeds about 1/2 inches in length in some. Grapefruit, with its bitter sweetness, is a popular citrus fruit commonly eaten for breakfast to help start diges- tion and aid in weight loss. This refreshing fruit could also hold the key to treating conditions such as high cho- lesterol and type II diabetes. It is found that naringenin, an antioxidant derived from bitter-flavoured grapefruit and other citrus fruits, may cause the liver to break down fat while increasing insulin sensitivity, mim- icking the actions of lipid- lowering and anti-diabetic drugs. Naringenin may also protect against liver damage. Grapefruit is also a good source of vitamins C and A, which help strengthen immune function. It is also a rich source of the soluble fiber, pectin, which helps to lower cholesterol levels. The rich pink and red color of grapefruit is given by lyco- pene, a phytochemical with powerful antioxidant prop- erties, which helps fight free radical damage in the body. Lycopene, also found in tomatoes, is known for its ability to lower the risk of prostate cancer. Choose fully ripe grapefruit as they have the highest levels of an- tioxidants. Grapefruit juice sig- nificantly increases the production and activity of liver detoxification enzymes responsible for preparing toxic compounds, including cancer-causing carcinogens, for elimination from the body. Grapefruit also con- tains phytonutrients called limonoids that have anti-tu- mour activity. The citric acid present in fresh grapefruit juice also increases alkalin- ity in the body, which can be useful for treating diseas- es caused by too much acid. Consuming fruits and veg- etables of all kinds has long been associated with a re- duced risk of many adverse health conditions. Many studies have suggested that increasing consumption of plant foods like grapefruit decreases the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and overall mortality while pro- moting a healthy complex- ion, increased energy, and overall lower weight. Grapefruit may not be a miracle weight loss food as touted in some previously popular fad diets, but con- suming grapefruit as part of a healthy diet may just give you a little boost. Delicious, grapefruit is very low in calo- ries, consists of just 42 calo- ries per 100 g. Nonetheless; it is rich in dietary insoluble fiber pectin, which works as bulk laxative. Dietary fiber helps to protect the colon mucous membrane by de- creasing exposure time to toxic substances in the co- lon as well as binding to can- cer-causing chemicals in the colon. Pectin has also been shown to reduce blood cho- lesterol levels by decreasing re-absorption of cholesterol in the colon. Further, vitamin A is also required maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in vita- min-A, and flavonoids helps to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers. It is an excellent source of antioxi- dant vitamin-C; providing about 52 per cent of DRI. Vitamin-C is a powerful nat- ural anti-oxidant and helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful free radi- cals. It, furthermore, is re- quired for the maintenance of healthy connective tissue and aids in early wound healing. It also facilitates di- etary iron absorption in the intestine. 100 g of fresh fruit contains about 135 mg of potassium electrolyte. Potas- sium is an important com- ponent of cell and body flu- ids, helps regulate heart rate and blood pressure through countering sodium effects. Red varieties of grape- fruits are especially rich in powerful flavonoid anti- oxidant, lycopene. Studies show that lycopene protects skin from dangerous UV rays, and offers protection against prostate cancer. Ad- ditionally, it contains mod- erate levels of B-complex group of vitamins such as folates, riboflavin, pyridox- ine, and thiamin in addition to some resourceful miner- als such as iron, calcium, copper, and phosphorus. The fruit contains very good levels of vitamin-A (provides about 1150 IU per 100g), and flavonoid antiox- idants such as naringenin, and naringin. Additionally, it is a moderate source of lycopene, beta-carotene, xanthin and lutein. Stud- ies suggest that these com- pounds have antioxidant properties and are essential for vision. The total antioxi- dant strength measured in terms of oxygen radical ab- sorbance capacity (ORAC) of grapefruit is 1548 μmol TE/100 g. As an excellent source of the strong antioxidant vitamin C as well as other antioxidants, grapefruit can help combat the formation of free radicals known to cause cancer. Lycopene in- take has been linked with a decreased risk of prostate cancer prevention in several studies and foods high in vi- tamin C and beta-carotene have been shown to lower the risk of esophageal can- cer in particular. Grapefruit, because of its water and fib- er content, helps to prevent constipation and promotes regularity for a healthy diges- tive tract. As one of the most hydrating fruits in the world made up of 91% water (just below watermelon) and full of important electrolytes, grapefruit is a great snack to have on hand to prevent dehydration. The antioxi- dant vitamin C, when eaten in its natural form (in fresh produce as opposed to sup- plement form) or applied topically, can help to fight skin damage caused by the sun and pollution, reduce wrinkles and improve over- all skin texture. Vitamin C plays a vital role in the formation of collagen, the main support system of skin. Hydration and vitamin A are also crucial for healthy looking skin, both of which grapefruits can provide. The risks for developing asthma are lower in peo- ple who consume a high amount of certain nutri- ents. One of these nutrients is vitamin C, found in many fruits and vegetables includ- ing grapefruit. The authors are associated with the National Institute of Food Science & Technology, University of Agriculture Fais- alabad, Punjab, Pakistan. Grapefruit: a fruit from the paradise Media partner Muhammad Zain
- 4. 4 January 25 – 31, 2016 Tunnel farming getting popular in Punjab APTMAseeksremedialsteps tomeettextileexporttarget WEF head focuses on climate change impacts PINSTECH to host facility for radioactive wastage management Govt focusing on skills provision to youth Degrees awarded at UET Lahore convocation Lastingsolutiontorising globaltemperaturestressed LEADorganisesdebrieftoraise climatechangeawareness UC Browser launched for Android users Pakistan turns to coal to keep factories running BUMDCorganizesworkshop on‘pedagogicalinnovation’ STAFF REPORT KHI: With the introduction of modern agricultural tech- niques like tunnel farming the agriculture has started fast changing the cultivation practices in Pakistan espe- cially in Punjab. Tunnel farming, also adopted by neighbouring In- dia, has the farmers of Pun- jab to reap more profits from the vegetable crops mainly grown in summer. Now the Punjab province has started witnessing a mushroom growth of the structures in the fields in its central dis- tricts of Nankana Sahib, Sheikhupura, Lahore and Kasur where farmers now prefer to grow tomatoes, capsicum (shimla mirch), cucumbers, bitter gourd and okra. Tunnel farming involves constructing tunnels like Greenhouses i.e. hut-like structures swathed in plas- tic that serve as cocoons for growing cucumber, tomato, pepper, carrot and lettuce etc. In addition to summer vegetables, production of strawberry inside tunnels has also become very popu- lar in areas around Lahore in the recent years. The idea of tunnel farm- ing is to shield the crops from the elements and trap the heat of the sun, extend- ing the growing season and increasing production. Tun- nel farming operates on the principle that of creating Summer-like conditions dur- ing winter. The vegetables sown in summer are then cultivated in these tunnels during winter. The entire farming area is covered by transparent polythene sheath fixed over D-shaped bamboos or steel pipes. STAFF REPORT ISB: Pakistan textile industry is impaired due to heavy taxes and surcharges, rendering it uncompetitive compared to regional economies. Other irritants include energy tariff, under utilization of power generation capacity and energy shortage, says a re- search report prepared by the APTMA.The export sector is subject to five percent duties, taxes and surcharges, while competitors in India enjoy tax-free regime on exports of textile products, while in Bangladesh and China, lev- ies on exports are around one percent.The report, cit- ing the World Trade Organi- zation, said this tax structure resulted in only 18 percent growth in Pakistan’s textile and clothing exports during 2006-2014, while Bangladesh posted 175 percent growth, China 107 percent and India 96 percent during the same period.The All Pakistan Tex- tile Mills Association (Apt- ma) said that one percent turnover tax has also pushed up the cost of production and there is no concept of such a tax in other three re- gional countries. Besides, it said the aggre- gate corporate tax, includ- ing workers participation profit fund of five percent and workers welfare fund of two percent, turns out to be 40 percent. In Bangladesh, it is 27.5 percent and in India and China the same is 25 percent.Pakistan’s textile ex- ports peaked to $13.8 billion in 2010/11, but after falling to $12.4 billion in 2011/12 they regained momentum to touch $13.1 billion and $13.7 billion in 2012/13 and 2013/14, respectively. How- ever, textile exports slipped to $13.5 billion in 2014/15. STAFF REPORT KHI: Chairman Water Environ- ment Forum, Nisar A Me- mon, has recently visited the OICCI to give a lecture on the climate change chal- lenges. He was welcomed by President OICCI Atif Bajwa, Vice President Shahab Rizvi and Secretary General M Ab- dul Aleem. On the occasion, Memon highlighted that climate change is already happening in the form of rising tempera- tures, atmospheric carbon dioxide level, frequency of tropical storms and sea levels. Its impact are already being felt by Pakistan in the form of recurring floods leading to widespread damage to infra- structure, livelihoods and set- tlements, increasing heat-re- lated mortality and drought related water and food short- ages causing malnutrition. He mentioned that cli- mate change is on the present government’s agenda, as for the first time a separate Min- istry has been formulated on climate change. However, national climate change strategy must be for- mulated through research and provincial integration, and public-private partner- ships must start to conserve, protect, develop, fund infra- structure projects like early warning systems for Glacial Lake Outburst Flood and small and large reservoirs to store water and produce elec- tricity. Atif Bajwa agreed with Nisar Memon that this is a most important subject for everyone as floods cause loss- es of billions of rupees due to water being lost to sea which could have otherwise been used to enhance agricultural production and produce elec- tricity. STAFF REPORT ISB: Liv- ing up to the expectations of the nation as a responsible organisation, the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Sci- ence and Technology (PIN- STECH) is going to host the country’s maiden licenced facility for radioactive wast- age management in Nilore. Certificate for hosting the storage facility was awarded to the PINSTECH at a cer- emony recently held in the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) head- quarters in Islamabad. Besides this Chairman PNRA also awarded operating licence of iso- tope production facility to the PINSTECH and design certification of B (U) Package for trans- port of radioactive mate- rials to PAEC Chairman Muhammad Naeem (HI.SI.). In his address, the Chairman PNRA appreci- ated the efforts of PAEC for compliance of regulatory requirements which has con- tributed towards the regula- tory decision for issuance of licenses and authorizations. He congratulated the PAEC and PINSTECH for their efforts towards achiev- ing these authorizations. Commenting on the PIN- STECH Pre-disposal Radio- active Waste Management Facility (PPRWMF), he em- phasised that during all the peaceful uses of nuclear en- ergy, generation of radioac- tive waste is unavoidable. The only effort one can do is to keep it minimum possible and ensure safe management. Chairman PAEC M. Naeem apprised the par- ticipants that the radiop- harmaceuticals produced in the PINSTECH facility are being used in the medical centers of PAEC providing treatment to around 80 per cent of the cancer patients in Pakistan. He emphasized to his col- leagues that more and more young engineers and scien- tists should be involved in such activities. STAFF REPORT LHR: The government of Paki- stan is promoting the higher education for improving the country’s economy through highly-educated and skilled youth so that an highly edu- cated generation is produced for the national progress. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said this while address- ing the recently concluded ceremony of Pakistan Coat- ing Show in Lahore. He said that the govern- ment is paying special atten- tion to provide skills to the youth. He said the country’ econ- omy is progress- ing due to the economic poli- cies. Local and foreign inves- tors are invest- ing in various sectors in the country. Ahsan Iqbal said the government will soon organize an interna- tional level brand confer- ence in Pakistan. He said under the Vision 2025, the government wants to take Pakistan’s economy to the top ten strongest econ- omies of the world. Ahsan Iqbal said 2016 will be marked with industri- al productivity, quality and innovation. STAFF REPORT LHR: The 22nd convocation of the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) has recently been held at its New Auditorium Hall. As many as 13 PhD, 53 MPhil, 187 MSc, 44 MBA and 1,380 bachelor’s stu- dents were awarded degrees. Medals were distributed among 58 students. Sharia Hussaini, the first Iranian to complete a PhD (architecture) from the UET, was also among them. Ayesha Liaqat from the Chemical Engineering Department and Hafiz Ahmad Waqas from Civil Engineering De- partment received six gold medals each. Deans Abdul Sattar Sha- kir, Ghulam Abbas, Suhail Aftab, Shahid Rafique, Na- deem Feroze and Nadeem Mufti, Registrar Muhammad Asif, Examination Control- ler Nusrat Zargham, chair- persons of academic and administrative departments and members of the alumni were present on the occasion. In his remarks on the oc- casion, PEC Chairman Javed Saleem Qureshi stressed the need for modernising engi- neering education and peda- gogical techniques to take Pakistan into the rank of de- veloped countries. “Our country is faced with multiple crises. Promo- tion of technological strate- gies can help us rise to the challenges. Engineers should be prepared in this regard,” he said.The PEC chief called for creating more opportuni- ties for students to demon- strate their talent. Qureshi said the government had been working in collabora- tion with several institutions to lift the standard of engi- neering education. STAFF REPORT KHI: The average temperature of the world has increased by 0.7 degree since the begin- ning of the 21th century and it may rise by 1.6 to 4.3 degrees by the end of the 21st century, Karachi University (KU) Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr Muhammad Qaiser has this. He said this while ad- dressing the local and inter- national delegates gathered at the Sheikh Zayed Islamic Centre at KU for the four-day 14th national and 5th inter- national conference of the Pakistan Botanical Society (PBS), which hosted botanists from more than 10 countries. The theme of the conference is, ‘Climate Change and Phy- todiversity: Challenges and Opportunities’. “A changing climate means changing of habitat, threatening vulnerable spe- cies consequently, which leads to their extinction,” Dr. Qaiser added. He said that humans and biodiversity face new challenges for survival due to climatic changes in the world.He further said that all the climate changes are harm- ing animals, plants and wreak havoc on livelihoods and communities due to decrease in agricultural yield, diseases and decrease in water supply. Unesco senior programme officer Dr Miguel Clusener- Godt emphasised on the im- mediate actions that needed to be taken, considering the environmental issues like floods and increasing tem- peratures. National and internation- al scientists were also present on the occasion, including former KU VC and senior botanist Prof. Dr Syed Irtifaq Ali, Pakistan Science Founda- tion chairperson Professor Dr M. Ashraf and ecological science advisor of Unesco, Dr Benno Boer. STAFF REPORT ISB: Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) Pakistan, an NGO, has re- cently organized a debrief on COP21 to discuss the outcome of COP21 and way forward. Arif Ahmed Khan, Sec- retary, Ministry of Climate Change, was the chief guest at the occasion while Hina Lotia, Director Programmes, LEAD Pakistan, highlighted the objectives of debrief and the deliberations. It is impor- tant to note that COP21, also known as the Paris Climate Conference 2015 successfully reached a historic agreement to combat climate change. Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, CEO, LEAD Pakistan, and Direc- tor Asia, Climate & Develop- ment Knowledge Network (CDKN), hoped that the Par- is Climate Agreement, rati- fied by almost 200 nations, will help to keep temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius and also contribute towards efforts to limit the tempera- ture increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Major General Asghar Nawaz, Chairman, NDMA, gave a keynote address and highlighted NDMA’s role in adapting to climate change and how DRR (disaster risk reduction) is being looked from the preparedness and resilience perspective. Key decisions on COP21 were discussed by experts in- cluding Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, Malik Amin Aslam, VP Glob- al IUCN and Chair KP’s Green Growth Initiative; Ai- sha Khan, CEO, MGPO; Na- deem Ahmad, Policy Analyst, LEAD Pakistan; Dr Ghulam Rasool, DG, Pakistan Me- teorological Department (PMD) and Syed Mahmood Nasir, Inspector General For- ests (IGF). STAFF REPORT KHI: UCWeb, maker of the world’s number 1 third-party mobile browser, with 35.3 market share in Pakistan, has released the biggest update in last one year to its mobile browser for Pakistani An- droid users.Unlike any other mobile browsers in the mar- ket, UC Browser for Android is first of its kind to give its us- ers complete freedom to per- sonalize the way they discover and access web content. The new browser also comes with a new selection of specially designed back- ground images for an en- hanced and classy browsing experience, which includes fastest access, ease of naviga- tion and resourceful content. UC Browser now empow- ers its Pakistani users to dis- cover and access the content with brand new customisable homepage offering various options through a manage- able card system. They can rearrange the cards (in-app widgets) - such as headlines, cricket match, funny pictures, music trend, videos, top free apps, top sites and more - according to their own preferences and pin their favourite one to the top. “The UC Browser was the first mobile browser to incor- porate cloud technology, and now the latest UC Browser completely changes the way how Pakistan users discover access mobile web content and services,” said UCWeb International Business De- partment Director Kenny Ye said.With the help of its iconic cloud technology, UC Browser is able to achieve the industry-leading web page loading speed. Now, it’s one more step towards its com- mitment to provide better and faster mobile experience to users around the world. MONITORING REPORT ISB: The government of Pa- kistan has signed a number of financial and technologi- cal agreements with China aimed at exploiting massive coal reserves at the Thar- parkar mine in Sindh prov- ince. Under the terms of these agreements, 3.8 million tons of coal will be produced each year at the Tharparkar open- cast mine to fuel a 660MW power plant and other facili- ties. The estimated cost of the project is $2 billon: China’s banks and private compa- nies will provide $1.5 billion in loans, while Pakistan will contribute $500 million in both private and public fi- nance. Scientists say the mining and burning of coal is one of the main drivers of climate change from human causes. The coal at Tharparkar is mainly lignite— one of the least energy-inten- sive and most polluting types of coal. Pa k i s t a n is thought to be one of the states most at risk from cli- mate change: in recent years it has endured a number of floods and droughts, and in the summer of 2015 more than 1,200 people died in a searing heatwave. Despite government dec- larations that it would priori- tise climate change, Pakistan has shown little interest for tackling the issue. The energy produced by the lignite deposits at Thar- parkar will be mainly direct- ed at helping alleviate serious power shortages in Karachi, a city of more than 20 million people which is Pakistan’s main industrial centre. STAFF REPORT KHI: Bahria University Karachi Campus has recently organ- ized a two-day workshop on “Pedagogical Innova- tion”. The workshop was conducted by team of in- structors from Valparaiso University. The Valparaiso Uni- versity is an institution in United States of America which offers professional training and graduate study, helps students find their own paths to life-long personal and professional growth. Dr. Saman Hakeem, HOD Prosthodontics &Asst Prof. and Dr. Syed Ahmed Omer, head of department Science of Dental Materials, were designated as partici- pants representing BUMDC in the workshop. The pedagogical Innova- tion is “a learning approach focused on the development of innovation competences, defining how knowledge is assimilated, produced and used in a manner that can create innovations” there- fore, reinforces intellectual skills, increases level of un- derstanding and interaction of students with their teach- ers. Various teaching strategies were discussed by Prof. Dr. Jim Nelson, Prof. Dr. Melissa Desjarlais and Prof. Dr. Polly Wainright, the Academic Ad- visors at Valparaiso Univer- sity. These strategies included Engaging Students as Critical Thinkers in Large Classes, Flipping the Classroom and Project Solving through Pro- ject-based Lab Courses. Valuable learning resourc- es such as power point pres- entations, e- books and arti- cles were shared to facilitate them in becoming proficient educators. Samsung wins CSR award Net metering still a distant dream in Pakistan ‘GreenPakistan’planbeing devisedtopromoteforestry Innovationwithout fearofcompetition vitalforsuccess PRISEbodymeeting pledgesfocuson semi-arideconomies STAFF REPORT LHR: The Corporate Social Re- sponsibility (CSR) initiatives of Samsung Electronics Pa- kistan have won prestigious award at the 8th Annual CSR Summit recently held by the National Forum for Environment and Health (NFEH) in Islamabad. Kyeong Hun Park, the Business Head of Samsung’s Consumer Electronics (CE) Division, received the award granted in the categories of Public Health & Safety, Community Development & Services and Technology Innovation. Samsung’s public health and safety initiatives include the donation of 2 hi-tech Echo-cardiography units and one Ultrasound Colour Doppler machine to Jin- nah Hospital Karachi and mobile health units for the Punjab and KPK. Further, incubator named – ‘The Nest I/O’ for nurturing talents and research. STAFF REPORT ISB: Despite severe energy short- age in the country and the need to have as much decen- tralised power generation as possible, none of the power distribution companies has stepped up to offer the net metering facility to its con- sumers which would enable the customers to help gener- ate their own energy through solar panels. Experts said this at a roundtable session titled “Net Metering: An Alternate Source of Power for Elec- tricity Consumers” at the Institute of Policy Studies in Islamabad. NEPRA Standard Depart- ment Director Mazhar Iqbal said if subsidies given by the government over fuel prices were rather given on renew- able energy technology and devices, the energy shortage could have been significantly alleviated as the net metering would allow the consumers to contribute energy back to the grid. STAFF REPORT ISB: Minister for Climate Change Zahid Hamid has said that a comprehensive plan ‘Green Pakistan’ was being devised to promote forestry across the country. “The ministry is preparing a comprehensive strategy for the Green Pakistan,” he ap- prised the National Assembly Standing Committee on Cli- mate Change. He said consultation process with concerned provincial secretaries had al- ready been initiated as “the national plan, which is at its advanced stage, has to be im- plemented at the provincial level.” Under the strategy, he said, trees of special species including juniper, Deodar, Sheesam and pine would be planted in different forest pockets to tackle adverse af- fects of climate change in the country. Zahid also informed the committee that he had float- ed an idea to the Prime Min- ister for setting up a Climate Change Inter-Ministerial Authority, aimed at provid- ing a national-level platform to discuss matters pertaining to environmental issues with different ministries and prov- inces. He expressed the hope that provinces would support this initiative in supreme na- tional interest. The minister briefed the committee mem- bers on the Climate Change Conference COP-21 recently held in Paris, which was par- ticipated by delegates from 195 countries and attended by 150 heads of states. He said the conference discussed all possible ways and means to mitigate negative impacts of climate change and global warming across the world. STAFF REPORT LHR: Young entrepreneur and provincial parliamentar- ian Hina Butt has said focusing on constant in- novation without any fear of competition besides understanding her poten- tial in life has helped her become a successful busi- nesswoman. “It is important for as- piring entrepreneurs in the country to identify their talents and create their own stories instead of following others on set pat- terns. Fear of failure, inad- equate system and lack of merit scare a young entre- preneur to take necessary risks and creates doubts in his/her mind,” she opined while talking to the media. She said that after com- pleting her MBA from LUMS, her focus towards entrepreneurship in- creased and her passion for the fashion industry helped her achieve her goal. STAFF REPORT ISB: The three-day (Pathways to Resil- ience in Semi-Arid Econo- mies), PRISE steering com- mittee meeting has recently concluded in Islamabad with a resolve to collaborative ef- forts to find a sustainable so- lution for building resilience in semi-arid economies. The delegates condemned Charssada attack and posed confidence in the resilience shown by Pakistani nation, in combating terrorism. PRISE is a five-year, multi- country research project that generates new knowledge about how economic devel- opment in semi-arid regions can be made more equita- ble and resilient to climate change. The PRISE consortium agreed on work plan for next 30 months, It would be un- dertaking policy research in Pakistan, Tajikistan, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, and Kenya on factors that may turn semi-arid economies resilient to Climate Change. Expertsuggestssafezones forvulturesforconservation STAFF REPORT KHI: Baanhn Beli and IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Na- ture, have recently organ- ized a workshop inviting stakeholders to put togeth- er a national vulture con- servation strategy to arrest the years of decline in the species population across Pakistan. “The government should declare safe zones for vulture conservations, as well as projects aimed at increasing the number of vultures in the country,” said Aban Marker Kabraji, Regional Director, IUCN Asia, in her address on the occasion. She cited examples of others countries where decline in species has been a result of numer- ous factors, but “in the case of vultures, we know it’s a certain chemical Di- clofenac fed to cattle that has resulted in the rapid decline in their (vulture) numbers,” she explained. “The population of vultures has crashed from millions to a few hundred thousand in South Asia,” she disclosed. “If the Di- clofenac is removed from the system the population can increase. In his remarks, Deputy Inspector General Forests Abdul Munaf Qaimkhani hoped that the National and Regional Recovery Committee would jointly work to save this essential bird that served a major purpose in the ecosystem.