Hukoomat Ka IT Industry Mein Growth Ka Dawa Asal Haqeeqat Hai Kya ?
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00:00Mr. Raheel, let's come to the business side first.
00:03We were told that if the internet is shut down for an hour,
00:06there is a loss of $1 million.
00:08Some estimates call it $2.2 billion.
00:12Then we read reports that in 2023,
00:14there was a loss of more than Rs 65 billion.
00:16People said that Fortune 500 companies
00:19are leaving their clients here,
00:21they are not working with them.
00:22The government says that year-to-year,
00:24there has been a 25% growth.
00:26First explain to me that there is growth in the business
00:28in spite of all these things,
00:30that there has been destruction.
00:32As Mr. Patel was saying,
00:34we cannot link or download photos.
00:37My program has been cut in half
00:39because my connection has been cut from Sheikh Waqas.
00:41I could not reconnect to him.
00:43Tell me, what is this reality?
00:45If there is destruction of the internet,
00:47then how is the business growing?
00:50First of all, you will see that
00:53our IT industry,
00:55overall,
00:57our IT industry is worth $3 billion.
01:02It is on a 40% growth.
01:06If you look at the global landscape,
01:09IT businesses are growing in the world.
01:13If you look at the countries of our neighboring countries,
01:16Bangladesh, Vietnam,
01:18they have grown exponentially in IT.
01:20Pakistan is also on the same exponential growth
01:22because overall, IT is booming in the world.
01:25If we stay on a 40% growth,
01:28in the next 4 to 5 years,
01:30we will reach $14 to $15 billion,
01:32which is a very big benchmark in history,
01:34which our IT industry will achieve.
01:36As far as losses are concerned,
01:41whenever there are hindrances and problems on the internet,
01:46obviously, companies face losses
01:48because the internet is like oxygen for the IT companies.
01:52So, one of the losses is that
01:54obviously, contracts are over,
01:56or new business has not come,
01:57or the business is made,
01:58and other countries take it.
02:00These are separate losses.
02:02Apart from that, there are also reputation losses.
02:04Basically, the foreign media does not leave.
02:09They spread news and rumors
02:12that our foreign clients ask
02:14what is happening in Pakistan,
02:15and we have to give justification
02:17that there is no problem, we are working,
02:19we are live, you tell us,
02:20your work is going on, our work is going on,
02:22there is no such issue.
02:23So, these two things need to be kept in mind.
02:25And if you look at the government itself,
02:27the government has invested a lot in IT.
02:30The government has won the Tech Destination Pakistan
02:33and the Tech Destination of the Year award.
02:37P Sahib and Shah Sayyaf
02:39are focusing on IT growth with combined efforts.
02:45The government itself has focused a lot.
02:47When they are investing a lot in the IT sector growth,
02:51when these problems arise,
02:52it is a loss for everyone.
02:54IT companies have losses,
02:55the government has losses,
02:56we all bear losses.
02:57And if you talk about freelancers,
02:59the number is big.
03:01We have around 3 million freelancers in Pakistan.
03:05They are bringing like 500-600 million US dollars.
03:08Their revenue hurts.
03:10So, overall, there are losses,
03:12but there is growth in the industry.
03:15So, if you are saying that,
03:16on an average,
03:17these digital economies are growing at 40%
03:20and ours is growing at 27%,
03:22it means that there are 13-14% loss opportunities.
03:26We are not growing at that speed.
03:29Sir, we were growing.
03:32If you see, we are still growing.
03:33But the thing is that
03:34there are growth hindrances due to these issues.
03:37And if you see,
03:39there is more potential for growth in Pakistan.
03:42Because the government is working on every sector.
03:44What are our problems?
03:46The web management system,
03:48firewalls,
03:50the things happening in the name of national security,
03:53they are causing destruction.
03:55See, like there is a firewall, VPN.
03:58The thing is that
03:59the companies that provide work to the IT companies in Pakistan,
04:04they have a requirement
04:06that whatever data is accessed through VPN,
04:09it should be safe and secure.
04:12Data security is number one for everyone at the moment.
04:15So, without VPN,
04:17it becomes very difficult for the IT industry to function.
04:20A client has written in a contract
04:23that this VPN will be used
04:25to access our system software,
04:28to access our live data.
04:30So, when the government has asked you to register a VPN
04:34and that VPN will be used,
04:36is that a hindrance or a facilitation?
04:39Sir,
04:40VPN whitelisting is not practically possible at the moment.
04:46It is not even possible.
04:48Basically, in the world,
04:50instead of whitelisting,
04:52they go for VPN service providers,
04:54like ExpressVPN and NordVPN.
04:58These are the service providers in the world.
05:00You come to the service providers
05:02and you cover all angles,
05:04national security and industry,
05:07those are the better solutions.
05:10We should move towards.
05:12So, they have started
05:14that you can register a VPN
05:16and then you can use it.
05:18This is absolutely wrong.
05:20No, sir.
05:21Basically, when the government and PASHA,
05:24our chairman,
05:26have made a lot of dialogues.
05:28Our entire PASHA cabinet,
05:30we are in touch.
05:33Whatever is our opinion,
05:35whatever is our proper working,
05:37we are giving it to the government.
05:39We are professionals.
05:40We give them the solutions.
05:42The government listens and understands
05:44that this is an industry problem.
05:46But we should take a proactive approach.
05:48Before hopping on to IPC
05:50and the government.
05:52You are clearly a very polite man.
05:55You are also a businessman.
05:57I can understand your constraints while talking.
05:59What I understood is that
06:01their VPN decision
06:03that if you register a VPN,
06:05you will use it.
06:06It's a bad decision.
06:07This is absolutely wrong.
06:09And there is no benefit to it.
06:10It's only a loss.
06:11Yes, obviously.
06:13That's why the alternative is the service providers.
06:15You can go through the service providers
06:17and that is a better solution.
06:19Here, they were making so much noise.
06:21They were clapping.
06:22The PTA was also saying,
06:23Oh, we did it.
06:24You register a VPN.
06:26The business will be great.
06:27They don't know what they are talking about.
06:29The world is working differently.
06:32Yes, it is like that.
06:34That's why we always say,
06:35Pasha is sitting here.
06:36We, the IT companies are sitting here.
06:38Come to us.
06:39Talk to us.
06:40Dialogue with us.
06:41We will provide you a better solution.
06:43Before you actually move on to any decisions.
06:46We are here to guide.
06:48And it has always been like this.
06:50All the government officials,
06:51Pasha,
06:52together with them,
06:53Liaison always works.
06:55And in this,
06:56the overall growth of the industry
06:58is possible.