KARACHI: More than 25,000 students from different parts of Sindh participated in the Presidential Initiative for Artificial Intelligence and Computing (PIAIC) grand entrance test 2022 here at the National Stadium Karachi (NSK) on Sunday.

The initiative is launched to empower youth through training and providing them financial support to become entrepreneurs.

Organised by the Saylani Welfare International Trust (SWIT), the test was witnessed by President Dr Arif Alvi, who also addressed the participants and advised them to work hard and focus on information technology.

President Alvi asks youth to avail PTI govt’s loans scheme to become entrepreneur

“Once you complete your education and training, you would avail thousands of opportunities in this sector across the world,” he said in his address before the test.

“The government is extending all kinds of support to the IT sector and laws have been made to facilitate the growth of this sector,” he said.

He said that the government had initiated some programmes like the Digital Skill Programme, which was free and imparting IT education through online classes and thousands of students had got benefits from this programme and were earning in dollars.

“After the training, you can start entrepreneurship as the government has also launched Kamyab Jawan Program to extend interest-free financial support of up to Rs1,000,000 to youth.”

Highlighting achievements of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government, the president said that no polio case had been reported last year because the government had taken some initiatives to control it.

Talking on the issues being faced by refugees across the world, the president said that refugees had to suffer a lot because they were not allowed to enter different countries, but it was only Pakistan which allowed 4,000,000 Afghan refugees living there for the last 40 years.

Speaking on the occasion, SWIT chairman Maulana Bashir Ahmed Farooqui said that the main object of SWIT was to serve the people and they were trying to do their best.

“We are working to train the youth in the IT sector as it can help develop the country through promoting entrepreneurship in the country,” he said.

The representative of PIAIC Zia Ullah Khan also spoke.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2022