Govt plans AI Centre to modernise industry
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan visited the Pakistan Industrial Technical Assistance Centre (Pitac) in Lahore on Saturday, where he announced the establishment of a state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence (AI) Centre to modernise Pakistan's industrial landscape.
He stated that the AI Centre at Pitac would later be expanded to all provinces, in line with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's vision to promote industrial growth through advanced AI skills and innovation.
He said that the prime minister had already directed the launch of AI skills programmes and AI centres for youth across the country to prepare them for demands of the modern industrial era.
Haroon Akhtar declared that for AI development and machinery upgrade, Pitac, the Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) and the Technology Upgradation and Skill Development Company (Tusdec) would jointly establish a dedicated funding mechanism to support modernisation across sectors.
He noted that the machinery upgrade at Pitac would strengthen skills development for SMEs, enabling them to meet global industrial standards. Pitac has also formally requested an increase in grant to address its upgrading challenges.
The PM aide added that under the upcoming National Industrial Policy, both PIDC and Pitac would be further empowered to support innovation, local manufacturing and technical advancement. Pitac currently manufactures industrial machinery and tools at the local level, playing a vital role in import substitution.
He appreciated Pitac's achievements, noting that its students had secured admissions in Scotland, China and other countries, reflecting the quality of technical education offered.
Haroon Akhtar instructed Smeda and Pitac to prepare a comprehensive business plan in collaboration with chambers of commerce for AI centres, machinery upgrading and skill development programmes.
During his visit, he inspected various Pitac laboratories and praised their performances. He appreciated Pitac's potential for industrial automation, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), dies & moulds, gauges, fixtures and related domains, and announced the establishment of an AI Centre with financing support from PIDC.
He also endorsed the upgrading of key machines and facilities, emphasising that these interventions would strengthen emerging technologies, deepen industry-academia linkages and enhance export-oriented and import-substitution technical capacity. He also awarded a cash prize to a student who demonstrated outstanding performance.
The special assistant emphasised that Pakistan's skilled youth were the true asset of the country and would lead the next industrial revolution.