The 4th meeting of CEO’s Committee was held on 19th September, 2022 at SIMAP office, Sialkot. Chaired by Syed Murtaza Mahmud, Federal Minister for Industries & Production, the meeting was attended by Chairman EDB, CEO EDB and senior officials of EDB, TEVTA, NAVTTC, TUSDEC, NPO and SIMAP.
During the meeting, the Federal Minister for I &P said that an export target of US$ 5 billion requires to be set for the industry which is only achievable if the industry would graduate from traditional instrument manufacturing to medical devices manufacturing and become a hub for global supply. For this purpose the industry needs to identify the bottlenecks so that the government can define future roadmap for bringing innovations and value addition in the product lines.
Chairman EDB informed that the industry must immediately start working for MDR compliance otherwise there will be a dip in the exports of surgical exports. The Minister assured full support of the government to address all challenges faced by the surgical instruments’ manufacturing industry of the country and advised the entire relevant department under the Ministry to coordinate with the companies so they can acquire technologies, certifications, infrastructure and experti
In a move to reduce usage of costlier fuel and protection of environment, Engineering Development Board under the supervision of Ministry of Industries & Production has devised an Electric Bike (E-Bike) Scheme, under which EDB has proposed subsidized and bank financing plans to promote the use of Two Wheelers (E-Bikes) in the country.For success of the program, three subsidy models for the scheme have been suggested.
Scheme-1 – Cash Purchase Model:
- Government sharing Rs.100, 000 through banks as processing agents.
- Consumer lump sum sharing of Rs. 70,000 from own source.
Scheme-2 – Price Sharing Model:
- Rs 100,000 on sharing basis by government and consumer
- 70,000 as loan from banks (24 months)
- 50% Credit Guarantee by government
Scheme-3 – Easy Loan Model:
- 30% Down Payment by Consumer
- 36 months loan tenure
- 19% Interest Rate, 50% Credit Guarantee by government
Students with salaried parents, female students and employees (20% quota), transgender people (1% quota), government employees, private sector salaried and self-employed individuals with NTNs and bank accounts, government and armed forces pensioners, and imams duly qualified from an institute recognized by the government of Pakistan (endorsed by M/o Religious Affairs) would be eligible for the subsidized program.
To promote locally assembled E-bikes and allied parts (Lithium-Ion, swappable batteries), EDB has proposed charging at home or work place using personal chargers at government offices and universities.
Electric Bike (E-Bike) Scheme was also presented in the meeting of the Federal Cabinet on 23rd Dec, 2022 in which a detailed briefing was given by officials of Engineering Development Board (EDB) and Ministry of Industries & Production regarding the generalization of the use of electric bikes across the country. The cabinet was told that the petrol-powered motorcycles in the country will be replaced by electric bikes in a phased manner.
CEO-EDB further informed that using electric bikes (E-Bikes) will not only save fuel, but these eco-friendly electric bikes (E-Bikes) will also reduce carbon emissions. It was highlighted that there are currently 90 companies which are manufacturing motorcycles and auto rickshaws in Pakistan and these companies have the capacity to manufacture 6 million motorcycles annually. Besides this, EDB has also issued 22 licenses to companies to manufacture electric bikes (E-Bikes) in Pakistan.
Prime Minister appreciated the efforts of EDB and MoIP and directed to submit a detailed plan regarding electric bikes (E-Bikes) to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), for further consideration and work on the financial model.
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The Minister for I&P appreciated EDB for organizing the meeting and coordinating with the concerned departments from MoIP and provinces. Later, Minister for I&P along with the EDB team members visited EPZA – Sialkot, to discuss their issues. He assured his Ministry’s full support for resolving their problems.