The federal cabinet on Tuesday gave the go-ahead to review the agreements with 14 independent power producers (IPPs) and approved the merger of the aviation division with the defense ministry and the drug control ministry with the interior ministry, as part of government cuts. .

The cabinet met here with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair. Addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Shehbaz hailed the process of renegotiation of the power purchase agreements with IPPs and said it would result in huge savings to the national exchequer.

The Cabinet approved the Power Division’s recommendation to revise the agreements – negotiated settlement – with 14 IPPs aimed at reducing electricity costs and saving Rs1.4 trillion for the national exchequer.

After discussion with the 14 IPPs, under the negotiated settlement agreements, the Cabinet approved the recommendation of reduction of Rs802 billion in terms of profit and costs for these IPPs. An amount of Rs 35 billion in profits from previous years would also be deducted from these IPPs.

The Cabinet was informed that out of these 14 IPPs, 10 operated under the 2002 Power Policy while four others were established under the 1994 Policy. In addition, an agreement with an IPP from the 1994 policy had been cancelled.

The meeting was informed that these revised agreements were expected to save the government Rs1.4 trillion over their current duration, with annual savings of Rs137 billion, which would benefit power consumers.

“The revised agreements with IPPs are a great success. Not only the circular debt will end but also the price of electricity will be reduced,” the Prime Minister told the meeting. He appreciated the performance of Power Minister Awais Leghari and others involved in the process.

The Cabinet also approved the reorganization of the Ministry of Narcotics Control on the recommendation of the Committee formed by the Federal Government on Decentralization of Government. Now the Ministry of Narcotics Control would function as an attached department of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Cabinet was informed that this reorganization of the Narcotics Control Ministry would save the national exchequer Rs183,250 million annually in administrative matters, salaries, office maintenance and other operational expenses.

Following another recommendation by the Rights Committee, the Cabinet approved the reorganization of the Aviation Department in the Defense Department. This scheme would save the national exchequer Rs145 million annually, besides improving airspace management.

Among other items on the agenda, the Cabinet, on the recommendation of the Cabinet Department, approved the insertion of a new section 45-A in the Public Procurement Authority Regulations (PPRA), which aims to allow a procurement agency to delegate the process to another procurement. agency.

The Cabinet approved the National Commission for Minorities Act 2024 for its presentation and passage by Parliament on the recommendation of the Human Rights Ministry. It also approved the extension of Dr. The tenure of Muhammad Bashir, member of the Technical Environment Tribunal, for two years.

Earlier, in his opening remarks, Prime Minister Shehbaz called for proactive steps to address the challenges in the education sector and directed the Education Minister to coordinate with the provinces in this regard.

The Prime Minister briefed the government about the international conference on girls’ education held in Islamabad recently. He noted that good discussions were taking place on the education of girls. He pointed out that the government had declared an education emergency in the country a few months ago.

The Prime Minister described the resumption of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights to Europe as a great achievement. He expressed confidence that the flights to UK would also resume soon to facilitate the Pakistani travellers.

Shehbaz informed the Cabinet about the opening of a new border crossing point between Pakistan and Iran at Panjgur. “This will promote legitimate trade and help check smuggling,” Shehbaz said. He thanked the Iranian cooperation for the opening of the new crossing point.

The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction over the normalization of the situation in Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). He also hailed the security forces for their efforts to eradicate terrorism from the country.

IT export

Later in the day, Prime Minister Shehbaz chaired a meeting on the Information Technology (IT) sector. He directed the relevant authorities to further simplify the current right-of-way rules to promote broadband services through fiber optics in the country.

Shehbaz expressed his satisfaction with the steps being taken to increase IT exports by up to $25 billion in the next five years. He directed the authorities to improve IT infrastructure, provide quality IT training to the youth and facilitate visa issuance for potential investors to achieve this goal.

The meeting was informed that consultation on a national artificial intelligence (AI) policy was underway and the final report would be presented for approval next month. The Prime Minister called for formulating a strategy for the marketing of Pakistan’s IT sector internationally.

Youth program

Shehbaz chaired another meeting on the youth program where he led the formulation of a strategy aligned with the market demands of friendly countries to provide employment to youth abroad, besides calling for action against fake and unlicensed companies offering jobs in abroad.

Shehbaz said it was important to equip the youth with vocational skills to increase job opportunities and assured that the government was actively pursuing a policy to reduce unemployment by promoting the private sector.

“NAVTTC [National Vocational & Technical Training Commission] and the Prime Minister’s Youth Skills Development Program should play their part in promoting technical and vocational skills. Pakistan’s future is linked to the development of the IT sector,” he said.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister was informed about the establishment of a platform named “Prime Minister Digital Youth Hub” to provide information about jobs and other services to the youth. He directed that the platform be introduced in multiple languages.

(WITH INPUT FROM RADIO PAKISTAN)