Author: newsupdatetimes

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The 9th annual National Child Art Competition organized by The Little Art which transformed into an Online Competition due to Covid-19 outbreak concluded with thought provoking collection of art works created by brilliant young students across the country. As a response to Little Art’s call, nearly 3500 children and youth from age 3 to 24 submitted artworks, digital designs, photos and stories online. All the entries are published on social media, but 24 winners in all age groups are going to be announced through the Public Choice Award and Jury’s Choice Award. A curated exhibition of artworks…

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) BASF has signed an agreement of cooperation with the Muhammad Nawaz Shareef University of Agriculture, Multan (MNS-UAM) to support the development of the agricultural industry in Pakistan. Under this agreement, BASF and MNS-UAM will work on product testing as well as research and development. The two companies will also foster talent development for the sustainable future of the industry through internship programs at MNS-UAM. Prof. Dr. Asif Ali, Vice Chancellor, MNS-UAM, said, “We are keen to strengthen our connection with public and private sectors and to explore new opportunities for  academic excellence. We very much appreciate that a…

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) There has been a decline of Rs. 442 billion in FBR revenues due to the pandemic, which is less than half as compared to the loss of Rs. 900 billion that was mentioned in the Budget Speech 2020-21. The total shortfall in tax revenue exceeded Rs. 1.6 trillion, which also led to a massive decline in fiscal transfers to provinces. However, the pandemic has just exacerbated the poor performance of FBR since the shortfall would have been around Rs. 1,200 even in the absence of COVID-19. IBA Executive Director Dr. S Akbar Zaidi expressed his views at…

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) has partnered with Extreme Commerce to launch an online training program for women to acquire skills as Amazon Virtual Assistants. The program will enable women to earn and be self-employed, while working remotely, during the current pandemic.   The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented crisis, and Pakistan is no exception. The adverse economic impact of the pandemic has affected people worldwide, particularly women in underdeveloped and developing countries. While there are widespread layoffs and unemployment, PSDF has been trying to establish new avenues and opportunities for sustainable employment.  The Amazon Virtual Assistants…

The first of its kind smart school structure designed by the world-renowned architect Ms. Zaha Hadid (the late) will be set up in Islamabad to provide free education and life skills to out-of-school children. The structure is gifted to Pakistan by Education Above All (EAA), a Doha-based foundation, which in collaboration with Alight Pakistan is funding the largest primary education initiative in the country aimed at educating one million children. As a giant leap to revolutionize the educational infrastructure, Alight Pakistan and Future Development Holdings have collaborated to showcase the first innovative and energy-efficient school structure in the Capital Smart…

Robust global auditing and ethical standards are essential for business, investor and public trust, says ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) following publication of the Monitoring Group’s paper explaining the way ahead. Speaking about the Monitoring Group’s recommendations, Maggie McGhee, executive director – governance at ACCA says: ‘This is a much-anticipated announcement following an extensive consultation, and it presents a positive development for the future. Their advice brings certainty to the various standard setting Boards responsible for this important work, and it also provides clarity about the future roles of the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB), and the International…

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Young women in Pakistan are doing exceptional, ground breaking work which deserves all the recognition and acknowledgement. Despite momentous challenges, they are courageously fighting to create an impact in their lives and society and The Little Art have come forward to celebrate their success and extra ordinary determination with significant 25 Under 25 Award. 25 Under 25 Award is an initiative to recognize 25 exceptional young women under the age of 25 who have inspirational stories of determination, passion and resilience to encourage and inspire young girls with role models they can look up to in Pakistan.  …

New ways of working will accelerate a move towards digitisation and promote careers that are intellectually stretching and driven by a renewed sense of purpose. Future work for accountancy and finance professionals is set transform for the better through an increase in the adoption of digital technologies, according to Meaningful work for the digital professional, a report by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and EY based on a global survey of 4,281 respondents and 55 interviews between April and May 2020. Respondents to the survey were benchmarked against a group of survey respondents termed ‘Leaders’, who scored highly…

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  The Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi and Bank Alfalah Islamic have announced the Alfalah Islamic Scholarship Program to provide financial assistance for five fresh undergraduate students for their entire first year. The MoU for this initiative was signed by CEO and President of Bank Alfalah Mr. Atif Bajwa and Executive Director IBA Dr. S Akbar Zaidi at a ceremony held at the Bank Alfalah Head Office.   Under this agreement, Bank Alfalah Islamic will be contributing PKR 850,000 each for a total of PKR 4.25 million to seed the fund to support students on the basis of…

Global leaders emphasize need for conversations on reimagining the future of education and safer, more balanced futures Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Day three of the first, fully virtual Beaconhouse School of Tomorrow Conference: A World of Tomorrow: Negotiating a Better Future concluded the conference with all 22 sessions resonating with global audiences over the weekend. A key highlight of day one of the conference was the recognition of the Pakistan government’s comprehensive response to COVID-19 by Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. On day two, Mr Andreas Schleicher, Head of the OECD Directorate of Education &…