Govt launches operations for 7th digital agricultural census - Pakistan - DAWN.COM

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ISLAMABAD: The Pak­­istan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Wednesday initiated field operations for the country’s 7th Agricul­tural Census, employing digital tools to collect vital data for evidence-based policies aimed at sustainable farming and food security.

At a launch event in Islamabad, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal distributed tablets to trained enumerators, emphasising the role of technology in ensuring accurate and efficient data collection.

Ceremonies were also held in several other cities, including Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar.

The PBS has trained 7,686 enumerators and supervisors nationwide for this purpose. Data collection will take place over 40 days, from Jan 1 to Feb 10, 2025, which will be pivotal in shaping policies to address food insecurity and enhance agricultural resilience. The results are expected to be compiled by August.

This census, to be conducted in collaboration with federal and provincial governments, academia and related departments, aims to provide comprehensive insights into the country’s agrarian landscape.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal described agriculture as the backbone of the economy, significantly contributing to GDP, exports and employment.

He noted that the data gathered from this census would play a vital role in shaping policies that tackle key challenges like resource management, crop patterns and food security. He further emphasised that the data would enable targeted support for the agricultural community, encouraging initiatives to increase productivity and enhance the welfare of farmers.

He reiterated the federal government’s commitment to ensuring that farmers across the country receive the resources and support they need for sustainable growth. He stressed that the 7th Agricultural Census was a historic step towards economic reforms and data-driven policymaking.

The minister also appreciated the modernised app­roach and centralised GIS technology for real-time monitoring. This will streamline data collection and analysis, enabling targeted interventions and effective resource allocation.

The initiative aligns Pakistan’s agricultural practices with global standards and seeks to enhance productivity and food security.

PBS’s focal person for the agriculture census, Sarwar Gondal, said that a decade overdue activity had been initiated by the bureau with its extensive network of 34 regional and 125 district offices.

Pakistan Welcomes Starlink. But Can It Deliver on Its Promise? – The Diplomat

https://thediplomat.com/2025/03/pakistan-welcomes-starlink-but-can-...

Starlink could help close the urban-rural internet access gap — if the rollout is inclusive, affordable, and thoughtfully managed.
In Pakistan, the digital divide is not merely a technological issue; it is an economic and social barrier. While the country has over 142 million broadband subscriptions, nearly 99 percent are mobile-based, and fixed broadband penetration remains under 1 percent. Still, the economic potential is hard to ignore. Pakistan’s digital economy is steadily expanding – IT exports hit $3.2 billion in fiscal year 2024 – and more than 1.5 million freelancers are already contributing to global platforms from across the country. But most of that growth is happening in big cities.

In rural Pakistan, untapped talent remains offline, not by choice, but because the infrastructure simply isn’t there. Starlink could help close that gap – if the rollout is inclusive and thoughtfully managed. Starlink could empower a new generation of freelancers, online entrepreneurs, and remote workers in smaller towns and villages, provided access is widespread and affordable. The small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, which contributes nearly 40 percent of GDP and employs over 80 percent of Pakistan’s non-agricultural workforce, could benefit from stable, high-speed internet to adopt digital tools, cloud platforms, and e-commerce models.

Education stands to gain even more. Pakistan has over 22 millionout-of-school children, with the highest concentrations in regions that also suffer from poor internet access. Less than 15 percent of public schools nationwide are connected to the internet – and in rural areas, that number drops below 10 percent. In Balochistan, for instance, 65 percent of school-age children are out of school. During the COVID-19 pandemic, only a small percentage of rural households could access any form of digital learning. Starlink can change this equation by enabling digital classrooms, national curriculum portals, and virtual teacher training in regions where qualified educators are scarce or security risks prevent regular school attendance. Especially for girls in conservative areas, home-based online education could offer a culturally acceptable and practical solution to improve literacy and life outcomes.

The healthcare sector, too, is poised for transformation. Telemedicine has long been touted as a solution for Pakistan’s rural health deserts, but without broadband, its reach has remained limited. With Starlink, remote clinics in places like Chitral, Dera Bugti, or Tharparkar could finally access diagnostic platforms, connect with specialists in urban hospitals, and digitize patient records. This could reduce maternal mortality, improve early disease detection, and allow real-time responses to outbreaks – all without the need for new brick-and-mortar hospitals.

Yet the promise of Starlink is constrained by its cost. At present, Starlink’s projected pricing in Pakistan is approximately 35,000 Pakistani rupees per month (around $120), plus 110,000 rupees (around $375) in equipment costs. For perspective, the average rural household in Pakistan earns between 20,000–30,000 rupees per month. A typical 10 Mbps unlimited home broadband package costs around 1,500–2,000 rupees ($5-7) – affordable to urban middle-class households but often out of reach for rural families.

UNDP highlights inclusive growth potential of Pakistan’s AI, digital identity strategy | Biometric Update

https://www.biometricupdate.com/202504/undp-highlights-inclusive-gr...

Pakistan is integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its digital identity infrastructure to improve service delivery and security. According to UNDP’s Development Advocate Pakistan 2025, NADRA utilizes AI to improve identity verification processes, prevent fraud, decrease manual errors, and boost trust in digital systems. These activities contribute to broader objectives such as digital inclusion and secure access to financial and governmental services. The application of artificial intelligence in identity systems emphasizes Pakistan’s commitment to creating a more efficient and inclusive digital landscape.

The publication from UNDP highlights that Pakistan’s digital transformation strategy relies on artificial intelligence to modernize governmental services and infrastructure. AI is being used to streamline government processes, enable data-driven policymaking, and improve citizen-centric services, particularly in Punjab’s urban governance and public safety programs. AI helps to improve transparency, responsiveness, and inclusive governance by automating routine processes and increasing real-time decision-making. This aligns with Pakistan’s broader vision of being a digitally empowered nation.

The UNDP report explains how Pakistan is utilizing AI to expand e-governance by digitizing public documents and automating administrative activities. AI tools are being tested to improve transparency, efficiency, and service responsiveness. While the report emphasizes AI’s role in smart governance and public service delivery, it does not explicitly relate AI-powered platforms to digital ID-based ecommerce payments. However, one of the essays does cite statistics about the growth that can be unlocked with digital ID-linked digital payment services.

Pakistan is increasing investments in AI research and development to foster new industries, encourage entrepreneurs, and boost public-sector innovation. The government is pursuing AI integration with education, healthcare, agriculture, and governance systems to accelerate economic growth and boost digital competitiveness. Strategic relationships with universities and technology businesses are also being pursued to increase local AI capacity.

AI is being leveraged in Pakistan to promote digital financial inclusion, especially among the underprivileged population. AI technologies facilitate alternative credit scoring models, enabling financial institutions to evaluate creditworthiness without traditional credit histories. These technologies make loans, insurance, and customized financial services more accessible.

The UNDP report includes an interview with the Punjab Safe City Authority, which explores how AI is transforming public safety and citizen services. Artificial intelligence is being utilized to improve facial recognition, surveillance systems, traffic management, and emergency response. The Authority aims to create a secure and more efficient urban environment by analyzing real-time data while also strengthening government and public services.

In his article “AI for Development,” UNDP’s Robert Opp underlines the significance of AI in improving digital governance. He promotes the development of inclusive digital identity systems that can improve public service delivery and accessibility. The emphasis is on ensuring that AI-powered technologies advantage underprivileged communities, encouraging equitable development while protecting privacy and security.