KE’s ‘Hara bill’ initiative to save over 265m litres of water annually

K-Electric has taken another pioneering step within Pakistan’s power sector to address climate change by introducing its new “Hara bill,” an effective, smarter, and environmentally friendlier way of communicating vital billing information with its customers from November.

We are committed to adding cleaner, greener, and more efficient energy into our generation mix as we look to the next decade. Innovation and digitisation of services are shifting the company towards an increasingly paperless environment.

The next opportunity was to integrate this sustainable mindset towards our customer base of over 3.4m, many of whom are receiving paper bills.

The breakthrough is in introducing a new, environmentally friendly bill which immediately inducts KE’s entire customer base as protectors of the environment. The simple move with a big impact prevents over 92 tonnes of paper-based waste from entering Karachi’s landfills, preserving over 4,200 trees and over 265m litres of water on an annual basis.

At a time when the world prepares for COP27 and reevaluates its alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this new bill provides an opportunity for responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), takes urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (SDG 13), and protects terrestrial ecosystems (SDG 15).

Pakistanis selected for US scholarships

For the academic year FY23, a record number of 217 Pakistanis have been selected to receive the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to pursue Masters and PhD degrees in the United States.

The US Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP) recently completed the selection process and is pleased to announce that this is the largest cohort ever representing Pakistan.

The Fulbright Programme is a scholarship from the US Department of State, offered in 160 countries. Since FY05, Pakistan’s Fulbright Programme has been the world’s largest in terms of financial contribution from the US Government.

This year, USEFP received 1,157 applications. After a rigorous selection process, 217 grantees (152 Master’s and 65 PhDs) from 44 public and private universities have been nominated for the awards. Of these candidates, 60pc are women.

The Fulbright is a merit-based, competitive scholarship that fully funds graduate degree study at leading US universities, including tuition, maintenance, insurance and air travel.

After completing their studies, the Fulbrighters return to Pakistan and play a leading role in the country’s continuing development.

SSGC-LPG imports its largest LPG vessel ever

SSGC-LPG (Pvt) Limited (SLL), SSGC’s wholly-owned subsidiary company, has taken the initiative of bringing its largest-ever LPG import vessel of 8,500 MT at its terminal at Port Qasim, Karachi.

This import is aimed at countering the energy crisis in the country, especially during winter, as per the directions of MOS energy, government of Pakistan.

SLL is committed to providing LPG more affordable and playing a pivotal role in ensuring an uninterrupted supply for the masses. With the largest LPG import vessel, SLL will not only help bridge the demand and supply gap of natural gas prevailing in the country but will also contribute positively towards the country’s economy.

SBP designates Sindh Bank as agent

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has designated Sindh Bank Ltd as the agent for the collection of Sindh’s stamp duty under the Board of Revenue Sindh’s E-Stamping project in the province.

The signing ceremony of the agency agreement between SBP and Sindh Bank Ltd was held on October 24, 2022, at SBP Karachi. The agreement was signed on behalf of Sindh Bank by Syed Assad Ali Shah, SEVP-Group Business Head-Sindh and by Mr Qader Bakhsh, Director of Finance, on behalf of the SBP.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr Saleemullah, Executive Director SBP, hoped that Sindh Bank Ltd would facilitate the taxpayers by providing quality services through its branch network and help the provincial government in mobilising stamp duty receipts across the province.

SAP Pakistan awarded ‘Great Place to Work’ certificate

Coinciding with its 50th anniversary since its establishment, the leading technology enabler SAP has been awarded the ‘Great Place to Work’ certification for SAP Pakistan.

The prestigious certificate was awarded after completing the Trust Index employee survey and Culture Audit workplace analysis.

Great Place to Work (GPTW) Institute is an organisation with authority in constructing high-performance and high-trust culture companies in more than 60 countries for the last three decades.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, November 14th, 2022