South Asia Investor Review

Dr. Mohsen Ali and Dr. Izza Aftab have won Google Research Scholar Award 2021, according to an announcement on Google AI Blog. Dr. Ali is an assistant professor of computer science at the Information Technology University (ITU) in Lahore, Pakistan while Dr. Aftab is an assistant professor of economics at the same university.  Google Research Award Recipients Professors Izza Aftab & Mohsen Ali. Source: Izza Aftab The Google Award is for a joint paper authored by the two  Pakistani professors . It is entitled "Is Economics From Afar Domain Generalizable?". This research deals with the challenges of assessing economic indicators through machine learning. The paper shows how such indicators for a region can be developed from satellite imagery and geo-spatial datasets as an alternative to the on-site collection of administrative data that is done annually or biennially. This data helps design policy interventions, and paints a geo-spatial picture of economic well-being in deve...

International Communications Union has ranked Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) among top 5 regulators in Asia Pacific region.  Pakistan's ICT regulations are 4th generation (G4), more advanced than India's and Bangladesh's 3rd generation (G3) regulations, according to the ITU report titled “Global ICT Regulatory Outlook 2020 (GIRO)”. Only 8% states have managed to achieve G4 status of the 38 economies ranked in Asia-Pacific region. G4 regulations address both economic and social goals.  Among the key policy goals are  financial inclusion  and  digital inclusion . Telecom Regulators Grouped in 4 Generations. Source: ITU Pakistan's ICT regulations are ranked 4th in Asia Pacific, ahead of Malaysia's ranked 5 but behind Singapore's ranked 1, Japan's ranked 2 and Australia's ranked 3.  Pakistan scores 88 and ranks 48th in the world among 193 countries. The report uses 50 indicators organized across four pillars: regulatory authority, regulat...