Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Digital Policy
2018-2023

Approved by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cabinet

on 22nd November, 2018
Acknowledgments
The Digital Policy of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa takes a deep dive into the regulatory, operational and financial challenges to the growth of IT Sector
in the province and presents a set of comprehensive recommendations from a provincial perspective to uplift this Sector. The working group
constituted to formulate the policy has made a conscious effort to ensure that the policy is inclusive and forward looking.

Information Technology has a cross cutting role and therefore we considered it paramount to conduct cross sectoral coordination during the
course of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s digital journey. While the entire provincial leadership has been exemplary in supporting the idea of digital
transformation, we are especially grateful to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mr. Mehmood Khan, Special Assistant to the Chief
Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on ST&IT Mr. Kamran Khan Bangash, Minister for Local Government Mr. Shahram Khan Tarakai and Minister for
Finance Mr. Taimur Saleem Jhagra for approving and considering this policy worthy of implementation in the province.

We would also like to express our gratitude to The World Bank and the Multi Donor Trust Fund for their utmost support and encouragement
throughout the process.

We deeply appreciate the time invested by the academia, the leading telecom operators, regulatory bodies and the IT Companies operating in
the country for their guidance and valuable input, without which this draft would not have been as meaningful.

Last but not the least; the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board is immensely grateful to Dr. Ali Mahumd, CIO-KPEZDMC, Mr. Kamran
Durrani, Strategy Adviser & Shadow Board Member- DFID and Mr. Sami Syed, CEO-SMSAMI Inc for their immeasurable efforts in championing the
draft and leading the core working group for formulating Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s first digital policy.

Dr. Shahbaz Khan,

Managing Director,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board
Table of Contents
Definitions 1
Context 5
Vision6
Policy Objective 6
Scope 6
Expected Outcomes  6
Digital Transformation Framework 7
Overarching Policies 7
Digital Access 8
Digital Governance 9
Digital Skills  10
Digital Economy 11
Policy Implementation 12
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Digital Strategy  12
- Coordination Committee  12
Performance Measurement 13
Annexure - A 14
Advisory Panel 17
Definitions
The policy document uses the following acronyms and are further defined to clarify the context. The order is not alphabetical but rather follows the
subsequent evolution of the terminology. It is important to understand how the terms have evolved and what technology spheres these terms represent:

Digital The term digital refers to a larger sphere of capability given to users and machines with the help of
internet, ubiquity, computing power, Big Data, the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence to transact
information.

Digital Access Providing access to the global digital space through the internet.

Digital Adoption Index DAI is a composite index developed by the World Bank that measures the depth and breadth of adoption
of digital technologies in 171 countries, spanning every region and income group. It is based on three
sectoral sub-indices covering businesses, people, and governments, with each sub-index assigned an
equal weight. DAI (Economy) = DAI (Businesses) + DAI (People) + DAI (Governments) The DAI uses separate
indicators under each sub-index for instance, it uses sixteen indicators for the Government and so on.

Digital economy An economy that is based on digital technologies. The term broadly refers to economic value derived
from the internet.

Digital Economy and Society Index The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) is a composite index defined and published by the European
Commission, measuring progress of EU countries towards a digital economy and society. DESI combines
34 indicators which are grouped into five principal policy areas i.e. (1) Connectivity, (2) Human capital, (3)
Use of internet service, (4) Integration of digital technology and (5) Digital public services.

Digital financial inclusion Counts individuals who have an account in their name with a full-service financial institution which also
offers digital services such as online account access, debit and ATM cards, credit cards and electronic
cash transfers. 1

Digital governance Adopting digital technologies to govern institutions, the economy, communities, states and countries
with the aim of improving productivity, efficiency and security.

Digital Opportunity Index (DOI) The Digital Opportunity Index (DOI) is a composite index defined by International Telecommunication

1 Financial Inclusion Insights (PAKISTAN). http://finclusion.org. June 2018

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Definitions
Union (ITU) that measures “digital opportunity” or the possibility for citizens of a particular country to
benefit from access to information that is “universal, ubiquitous, equitable and affordable”. It combines
11 indicators that are grouped into three areas i.e. (1) Opportunity (2) Infrastructure and (3) Utilization.

Digital skills The skills required to use digital devices, handle digital information, conduct digital transactions, find
solutions to problems using digital tools, and remain safe and legal online.

Ease of Doing Business Index This World Bank index measures aspects of business regulation and their implications for firm
establishment and operations. It does not include all the issues that are relevant for businesses’
decisions, but it does cover important areas that are under the control of policy makers. It uses 11
indicator sets to measure aspects of business regulation that matter for entrepreneurship.

E-Government Development Index The EGDI, which assesses e-government development at the national level, is a composite index based
(EGDI) on the weighted average of three normalized indices. One-third is derived from a Telecommunications
Infrastructure Index (TII) based on data provided by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU),
one-third from a Human Capital Index (HCI) based on data provided by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and one-third from the Online Service Index (OSI) based
on data collected from an independent survey questionnaire, conducted by UNDESA, which assesses the
national online presence of all 193 United Nations Member States. The survey questionnaire assesses
a number of features related to online service delivery, including whole-of-government approaches,
open government data, e-participation, multi-channel service delivery, mobile services, usage uptake,
digital divide as well as innovative partnerships through the use of ICTs. This data is collected by a
group of researchers under the supervision of UNDESA.

Financial inclusion Access to formal financial services by individuals and firms to use a range of quality payments, savings,
credit and insurance services which meet their needs with dignity and fairness2, commonly measured as
as the percentage of adults over 15 years of age who report having at least one account in their name.

G2B Government to Business

G2C Government to Citizen

2 State Bank of Pakistan

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Definitions
G2G Government to Government

Global Competitive Index (GCI) GCI is defined by the World Economic Forum. It is a set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine
the level of productivity of a country, conditions of public institutions and technical conditions GCI
presents a framework and a corresponding set of indicators in three principal categories (subindexes)
and twelve policy domains (pillars) for 137 economies.

Global Innovation Index (GII) GII provides detailed metrics about the innovation performance of 126 countries which represent
90.8% of the world’s population and 96.3% of global Gross Domestic Product. Its 80 indicators explore
a broad vision of innovation, including political environment, education, infrastructure and business
sophistication.

Human Capital Index (HCI) The World Economic Forum defines and publishes the HCI. It measures countries’ ability to maximize
and leverage their human capital endowment. The index assesses Learning and Employment outcomes
across five distinct age groups, on a scale from 0 (worst) to 100 (best), and assesses 130 economies. The
Human Capital Index combines 21 indicators grouped into four thematic dimensions i.e. (1) Capacity (2)
Development (3) Deployment (4) Know-how.

Information Technology (IT) IT refers to the use of computers to store, retrieve, transmit, and manipulate recorded data.

Information and Communications ICT stresses the role of unified communications, integrating computers, telecommunications and
Technology (ICT) software in a manner that enables users to access, store, transmit, and manipulate recorded as well
as real-time information.3

ICT Development Index (IDI) The International Telecommunication Union defines IDI as a composite index that combines 11 indicators
into one benchmark measure. It is used to monitor and compare developments in ICT between countries
and over time. The 11 indicators are grouped into three categories: access, use and skills.

Network Readiness Index (NRI) The Networked Readiness Index also referred as Technology Index is defined by the World Economic
Forum and published together in collaboration with INSEAD & Cornell University under the Global
Information Technology Report. The NRI is used to Benchmark exercise of technology readiness to guide
government’s’ ability to leverage ICT to drive economic progress. NRI combines total 53 indicators into

3 Another distinction between IT and ICT is that in IT, information was limited to textual and recorded audio, video or imaging data. In ICT, the term information also covered real-time audio, video and sensory data.

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Definitions
four categories i.e. (1) the overall environment for technology use and creation (political, regulatory,
business, and innovation); (2) networked readiness in terms of ICT infrastructure, affordability, and
skills; (3) technology adoption/usage by the three groups of stakeholders (government, the private
sector, and private individuals); and (4) the economic and social impact of the new technologies.

Online Service Index (OSI) OSI based on data collected from an independent survey questionnaire, conducted by UNDESA, which
measures a government’s capability and willingness to provide services and communicate with its
citizens electronically. The survey questionnaire assesses a number of features related to online
service delivery, including whole-of-government approaches, open government data, e-participation,
multi-channel service delivery, mobile services, usage uptake, digital divide as well as innovative
partnerships through the use of ICTs. The survey questionnaire is used to measures four stages of
the online availability of government development: Stage 1: Emerging information services, Stage 2:
Enhanced information services, Stage 3: Transactional services and Stage 4: Connected services.

Transformation Transformation refers to the adoption of new, innovative concepts and changes, rather than
simply enhancing traditional systems. For example, merely creating a web or social media presence
or introducing a new software is not digital transformation, but completely changing the way we do
financial transactions is.

4
Context
Pakistan has witnessed an annual growth of 27% in the number of internet users and 13% in the number of social media users since January
2017. But internet penetration stands at 29.92%, lower than the South Asian average of 36%. The following indicators provide an overview of the
state of digital transformation in Pakistan:
• E-Government Development Index (EGDI): Ranked 148 in the world based on a score of 0.3566, which is lower than the world average of
0.55 and the Asian average of 0.5779, but slightly higher than the African average of 0.3423.
• ICT Development Index (IDI): Ranked 143 based on a score of 3.34. Pakistan’s regional ranking in Asia and the Pacific is 31 out of 34
countries.
• Digital Skills: Ranked 151 in the world.
• Network Readiness Index (NRI): Ranked 110 out of 139 countries according to the Global Information Technology Report 2016.
• The Global Innovation Index (GII): Ranked 109 in the world.
• Global Competitiveness Index (GCI): Ranked 115 out of 137 countries.
• Ease of Doing Business Index: Ranked 147 out of 190 countries in 2018.
• Internet penetration: 29.92%, based on 62 million broadband subscribers where a majority 60 million access the internet using 3G/4G
• Teledensity: 73.23 % based on 152 million cellular subscribers

These indicators present the need for enabling policies and improvement strategies. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is focused on
improvement and mindful of the challenges.. In addition, the merger of former Tribal Areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, progress on the China-
Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and increasing political stability has created opportunities for progress. The provincial government aims to
capitalise on these opportunities and contribute towards making Pakistan more competitive. This can be achieved by harnessing the potential
of our youth.

A competitive workforce can be developed in the province through equitable digital inclusion. It is important to have a critical mass of skilled
digital entrepreneurs, a facilitative regulatory framework, and a nurturing ecosystem to improve the competitiveness of our local businesses.
Similarly, while we can introduce technology in government systems, we will not transition towards effective digital governance unless the
workforce in government departments is equipped with digital skills. On the other hand, the fundamental enabler for any digital transformation
is ubiquitous access of citizens to quality internet at an affordable price. Enabling policies, sound regulation and timely financial investments
by the government in these areas at this crucial stage will prepare the province for the future.

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Vision
A systematic digital transformation in Khyber Pakthunkhwa by leveraging Information and Communication Technologies for job creation,
connectivity, empowerment and inclusive economic growth.

Policy Objective
The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa aims to lead Pakistan’s digital transformation. KPITB’s strategic goal is to accelerate digitization in all
sectors and position the province as a national technology hub.

Scope
The scope of this policy shall encompass the powers and functions of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Establishment of Information Technology Board
Act 2011 and the subsequent amendments.

Expected Outcomes
The province must make major strides in the next five years to overcome its challenges and achieve its ambitions. If implemented well, this
policy is expected to achieve the following outcomes for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa:
Affordable internet with improved quality of connectivity and footprint
Reduced cost of deployment of optical fiber networks
Digital payments enable formal economy and increase financial inclusion to 50% (currently at 14%)
Enabling and expanding e-commerce/online marketplaces
Significantly reduced cash based transactions
All government departments demonstrate improved and measurable transparency, accountability and innovation
Improved privacy of citizens and government institutions operating in the cyberspace
Cyber security of government institutions and data
Government promotes a data-driven culture that enables evidence-informed decisions
Increased software standardization and replication across departments
Improved digital literacy and skills, especially through formal education and vocational training
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa produces successful technology innovators, startups and digital freelancers
Local small and medium ICT enterprises and startups grow in revenue and numbers, creating jobs and developing a digital workforce
Better opportunities, access and services for women, youth and marginalised groups.
Number of women in the technology sector increases by 50%
More effective and impactful public-private partnerships
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Digital Transformation Framework
Digital transformation is achieved through leveraging technology to deliver value for the government, people and businesses. A successful
transformation requires more than the introduction of technology. It requires a cultural, administrative and political shift. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s
digital transformation framework therefore has seven key components:

Component Responsibility

Identifying existing challenges in the province through reliable baseline KPITB along with a diverse range of stakeholders using existing data,
data statistics and global indices

Setting the direction through this Digital Policy Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cabinet and KPITB

Translating the policy into an actionable strategy, including innovative

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cabinet, KPITB, and a diverse range of stakeholders
projects and activities deliverable over the next five years (2018-23)

Aligning various departments of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to

Various departments of Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
the policy and strategy
Building the right skills, culture and capacity to delivery the
All public sector employees of Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
transformation

Using advanced ICTs to deliver the transformation KPITB and concerned line departments

Setting up a performance management system to measure progress and

KPITB
assess impact

Overarching Policies
The Digital Policy has four pillars: access, governance, economy and skills, but the following policies are overarching and cut across all pillars:

1. Financial inclusion and equitable digital dividends for women and marginalised communities.
2. An increase in public private partnerships to facilitate the province’s digital transformation.
3. Rapid implementation of the Digital Policy in the newly merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
4. Provision of the provincial share in ICT services from the federal government.

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Digital Access
Pakistan being one of the least digitally connected countries in the world lags on most of the fundamental indicators. The province of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa has a total population of 30.5 million (2017 Census) with nearly 50% of the population under 30 years of age. The growing number of
ICT graduates in the province presents a unique development opportunity. However, the poor ICT infrastructure in the province is a major hurdle
in deriving reasonable global digital dividends. On the Network Readiness Index, Pakistan currently ranks 110 out of the 139 countries (Global
Information Technology Report 2016 by World Economic Forum), which depicts the poor ICT infrastructure in the country. Pakistan in general
and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular has extremely low internet penetration. The current internet penetration in Pakistan is only 29.92%, with a
major chunk of the population relying on 3G/4G services for their connectivity needs. It is pertinent to mention that reliable and quality internet
services such as Fibre to the Home (FTTH) have not gained much traction in the country due to inadequate fiber footprint and limited market
players in the country. The policy recommendations focuses on the heavy taxation regime of this particular sector and exorbitant, unregulated
Right-of-Way (ROW) charges by various civic agencies, which prevents new market entrants as well as growth of the existing market players.

The government introduces the following policies for ubiquitous, reliable, affordable and accessible internet access in the province:

5. Provincial Sales Tax rationalization from 19.5% on mobile and fixed broadband services in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to facilitate service
providers to enhance their footprint and upgrade technology infrastructure.
6. Infrastructure works and projects shall have a provision for broadband conduit deployment to reduce the cost of fiber deployment.
7. Phase-wise transformation of broadband services from copper-based networks to optical fiber networks will be implemented to improve
the quality of service at an affordable price.
8. Purpose built facilities will be provided to enable technology startups, Small & Medium Enterprises and entrepreneurs to create
innovative digital products and services.
9. Use of technology in various sectors, especially health, education and agriculture; to connect remote areas and populations to
developed areas will be promoted.
10. Investment in digital access projects through public-private partnerships will be encouraged.

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Digital Governance
Digital governance focuses on improving institutional capability of the provincial government to deliver better public services, improve
accountability, productivity and efficiency with better citizen engagement. Citizen interaction and feedback will drive continuous service
improvement. We believe that this digital transformation will enable a true democratic culture in the province.

An effective digital governance framework constitutes various components including Government to Citizen (G2C), Citizen to Government
(C2G), Government to Business (G2B), Government to Government (G2G), and Intra-government interventions. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa requires a
whole new approach to transform its G2G and Intra-government systems. Effective transformation of G2G and Intra-government systems will
improve the other components of the digital governance framework.

Within government, digital transformation is not challenged by the technology component, but rather by change management, process
reengineering, digital literacy and the need to internalise the transformation. Outside government, there are new and bigger challenges
for the transformation such as low footprint of telecom operators, lack of digital literacy in availing C2G services, very low financial inclusion
(14%)4, huge gender gap in digital literacy, lack of open-data frameworks, and inadequate capability for ensuring cyber security and privacy
of citizens.

These two sets of challenges, within and outside the government, define the principles and priorities for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s digital
transformation. The following policies will be implement to overcome these challenges:

11. Digital technologies will be introduced into government services to improve efficiency, transparency and transaction costs.
12. Digital governance initiatives will receive an annual financial allocation.
13. Evidence-informed decision making will be promoted in government.
14. Cloud-based services will be adopted where possible to reduce IT infrastructure and maintenance costs.
15. Advanced technologies for distributed storage and retrieval will be adopted to ensure data integrity.
16. Privacy of citizens’ personal data will be ensured by the government through introduction of necessary regulations.
17. Appropriate cyber security protocols and systems will be implemented to protect government information, communications and citizen
data.
18. Open-source software will be used across government where feasible to reduce costs and encourage SMEs.
19. Software standardization and replication across government will be ensured to enable better integration and scalability.
20. An Open-Data Framework will be implemented across government to improve transparency and accountability.

4 Financial Inclusion Insight (Pakistan) Wave 5 Report 2017

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Digital Skills
The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has the ‘demographic gift’ of a young population presenting an opportunity for economic growth. There
are 6.4 million children* in schools and over six thousand ICT students graduate annually from universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. With
improvements in digital access, it is not necessary that digital dividends are equitably distributed. To promote and materialize equitable digital
inclusion, it is mandatory to focus on, and strengthen the user capabilities of those having access to the internet to benefit from the available
opportunities in the digital realm. For businesses to prosper, and governance to be more effective, the digital skills pillar is necessary to be
strengthened as it feeds the digital workforce into the digital governance and economy pillars. It is important that a talent pipeline is gradually
nurtured, made sustainable, and kept relevant by imparting skills that are market driven and which make the talent pipeline competitive.
Therefore the province has taken several initiatives to impart employable digital skills specifically targeting ICT graduates, marginalized
communities and women. Such initiatives have laid the foundations for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry and have created
employment opportunities for the youth. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is also the only province in Pakistan to have rolled out Digital Skills training at the
elementary & secondary level. The young population is now well positioned to derive the digital dividends from the global digital economy.

The pathway towards strengthening the digital skills pillar should start from the ground up. By increasing the basic literacy levels, those with
basic literacy can be made digitally literate, and then subsequently the digitally literate can be provided with basic to advanced digital skills.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa introduces the following policy guidelines:

21. A digital competency and literacy framework will be developed to assess and improve digital literacy levels.
22. The use of technology in primary, secondary and tertiary education; as well as technical and vocational education and training will be
increased to improve learning outcomes.
23. Demand-driven digital skills will be taught at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels to prepare our youth for the future.

5 Annual Statistical Report of Government Schools 2017-18 (Independent Monitoring Unit- Elementry and Secondary Education Department, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

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Digital Economy
The Digital Economy pillar has multiple objectives that include provision of a facilitative regulatory framework for ease of doing business,
discouraging anti-competitive behaviour, a thriving and conducive ecosystem for nascent digital startups and entrepreneurs, and increasing
financial inclusion through fintech and other innovative financial platforms and solutions, and leading towards growth and innovation. The
rest of the three pillars also enable and contribute towards a burgeoning digital economy and therefore the four pillars of this policy are
strongly connected and complementary to each other.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa introduces the following policy guidelines:

24. Mechanisms will be put in place for improving the ease of doing business for investors in the digital space.
25. Digital payments will be promoted to increase financial inclusion, improve efficiency of financial transactions, expand documented
economy and increase convenience.
26. Mechanisms to provide financial investments for digital startups and SMEs will be provided to encourage innovation and generate
employment.
27. Preferential procurement mechanisms will be adopted for digital services and products from suppliers based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to
promote the local ICT industry.
28. A supportive regulatory framework and level playing field will be provided to businesses. Uncompetitive behaviour will be discouraged.
29. The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry in the province will be supported to generate employment.

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Policy Implementation
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Digital Strategy
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Digital Policy holistically translates into the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Digital Strategy for implementation. The Digital Strategy
maps various projects and initiatives of the provincial government for the 2018-2023 period. A high level outline of the strategy is enclosed as
Annex 1.

Coordination Committee
To ensure effective implementation of this policy, a Coordination Committee chaired by the Chief Secretary, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who is also
Secretary to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cabinet will supervise the progress on various initiatives and monitor the key strategic indicators.

The implementation of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Digital Policy involves multiple stakeholders across the federal and provincial government, the
private and development sectors. Effective coordination at the highest level of the provincial government is therefore required. The following
shall constitute the Coordination Committee of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Digital Policy:
I. Chief Secretary, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chairman
II. Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Member
III. Secretary, Finance, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Member
IV. Secretary, ST&IT, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Member
V. Managing Director, KPITB, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Member and Secretary
VI. Not more than 6 persons from the Private, Public or Development Members
Sector relevant to the implementation of the Digital Policy as the
Secretary of the Committee may nominate.

The Coordination Committee shall perform the following functions:

A. Review and supervise the implementation progress of the Digital Policy.
B. Recommend the required financial resources for implementation of the Digital Policy to the Government.
C. Direct Provincial Government departments to ensure sector-based implementation of the Digital Policy.
D. Coo rdinate with private and development sector institutions for effective implementation of the Digital Policy.
E. Constitute sub-committees for specific tasks and recommendations.
F. Submit recommendations for revision of the Digital Policy to the Government.
G. Ensure that the progress review and recommendations of the Committee are placed before the Provincial Cabinet in a timely
manner.
H. The meetings of the committee will be called by the Chairman. Six members shall constitute the quorum for a meeting.
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Performance Measurement
Outcomes of the digital transformation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be measured and quantified. Key indicators will be included in the Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa Digital Strategy. Indicators may be grouped together to form a composite index which reflects the transformation achieved under
each pillar.

The composite indices used for measuring the digital transformation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be designed on the basis of global composite
indices, for instance: E-Government Development Index (EGDI), ICT Development Index (IDI), Network readiness index (NRI), Online Service
Index (OSI), Global Competitive Index (GCI), Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), Digital Adoption Index (DAI), Digital Opportunity Index (DOI),
Human Capital Index (HCI), and World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index.

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Annexure - A
A five-year plan derived from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Digital Policy.
Key Initiatives and plans 5 years targets and outputs Action Required Anticipated Outcome and Impact
1. Tax reduction on mobile and 1. Enhanced Broadband footprint 1. Affordable internet
Amendment in the Schedule-II of the
fixed broadband services in 2. Increased investments by the 2. Improved quality of connectivity
Finance Act
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CMOs 3. Enable digital transformation
2. Broadband-conduit All roads and infrastructure
1. Policy Formulation
deployment in all new and projects carried out between Reduced cost of deployment of
2. Allocation of funds for broadband-
existing road and infrastructure 2018-2023 have broadband- Optical Fiber in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
conduit
projects conduit
3. Announcing sunset on copper No copper-based networks by
Policy formulation High speed and reliable internet
based networks in the Province 2023
Fiber to the home (FTTH) and
Fiber to the premises (FTTP)
4. Investing through PPP mode deployment through PPP in 05 1. Feasibility for PPP
into Digital Access projects major urban clusters of KP 2. Budget allocation based on feasible High speed and reliable internet
(FTTH) targeting 0.5 million households equity by the KP government
of KP (11.4 percent of total), along
with businesses and government
1. Enabling all G2P, P2G financial
1. Formal economy
transactions through digital 1. Policy framework
2. Financial inclusion
5. Introducing, incentivizing and payments 2. Create demand side for the private
3. Enabling and expanding
enforcing digital payments 2. Increasing P2P payments sector service providers
e-commerce/online marketplaces
through digital payments to 70 3. Incentivising FinTech
4. Reduced cash based transaction
percent
6. Zero provincial sales tax policy Tax Holiday for five years on
Amendment in the Schedule-II of the
for software development, IT software development, IT Jobs and economic growth
Finance Act
services, call-centers/BPO services, call-centers/BPO
Jobs and economic growth
7. Prioritizing procurements Preferential procurements
1. Growth of local SMEs/Tech Startups
of digital services and goods of digital services and goods
Policy formulation under section 18 of KP- and service providers
from local service providers/ from local service providers/
PPRA, 2012 2. Improved balance of payment and
manufacturers especially SMEs manufacturers especially SMEs
reduction in trade deficit
and technology startups and technology startups
3. Jobs
8. Encouraging Innovation 1. Extending Durshal network of Community
Provision of support system for
through technology startups and Innovation Labs to every district of KP Jobs and economic growth
technology startups and SMEs
SMEs 2. Supporting 1500 (30x2x5x5) startups
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 1. Feasibility Study for
establishment of innovation fund through 1. Economic Growth
9. Establishment of innovation
Public Private Partnership (PPP) to support 2. Digital Transformation.
fund to support entrepreneurs / Establishment of Fund.
entrepreneurs / startups in the digital 3. Accelerated Employment
startups in the digital space
space. Generation
2. Establishment of Fund
1. Allocation of Funds for land acquisition,
1. Growth of local ICT industry
1. Pakistan Digital City at Haripur master-planning, designing, development
2. Improved balance of payment and
10. Establishment of SEZs/Digital 2. Technology City at the Rashakai and supervision
reduction in trade deficit
Cities/Technology Cities SEZ 2. Declaration of the Pakistan Digital City as
3. Jobs
an SEZ
3. Provision of ICT clusters in all SEZs
11. Provision of the provincial
Provincial share in the ICT Government to take up the issue with the
share in the ICT related services
related services Federal government
from the Federal government
1. Digital Transformation
2. Transparency, and citizen
12. Consistent annual financial Continued digital transformation Provision of required funds under one line
facilitation
allocation for digital governance of the government departments budget to KPITB as required.
3. Reduced transaction cost of the
government
1. Cost reduction
Prioritized adoption of 2. Standardization
Open-Source Software by 3. Growth of SMEs
13. Adoption of Open-Source Open-source Standard framework for
the government based on 4. Increased software
Software by the Government government departments by the KPITB
the standard open-source standardization and replication
framework given by the KPITB across government to enable better
integration and scalability
Standard APIs for integration Policy formulation for Data Privacy and Data Improved transparency,
14. Open-Data Framework
based on Open-Data framework Protection accountability and innovation
15. Data Analytics and Business Data driven decision making Systematic collection of data through IoT Evidence-informed decisions making
intelligence enabled at the government and other convenient technology platforms capability by the government
Prioritized adoption of Cloud 1. Cost reduction
based services and hosting by 2. Standardization
Standard framework and policy for cloud
16. Cloud Adoption the government based on the 3. Increased software
adoption given by the KPITB
standard framework given by standardization and replication
the KPITB across government departments

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 KPCERC of the KPITB launches GDPR Privacy of citizens and government
17. Adopt Global Data Protection KP Government becomes GDPR
awareness and ensures compliance institutions operating in the
Regulation compliant
through trainings, technical assistance Cyberspace
18. Implement standard cyber KP Government becomes
KPCERC of the KPITB ensures compliance Cyber security of government
security protocols across compliant to standard cyber
through trainings, technical assistance institutions and data
government departments security protocols
1. BPO Industry consultation
1. Growth of local ICT industry
19. Support the Business Process 2. BPO model
Upto 5000 BPO ready spaces in 2. Improved balance of payment and
Outsourcing (BPO) industry in 3. Allocation of Funds
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reduction in trade deficit
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 4. Establishment of BPO ready spaces
3. Jobs
5. Marketing the initiative
20. Facilitate the government Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ranks 1. Identify the common issues and barriers 1. Investments
in improving Ease-of-doing- equally on the index of EoDB 2. Coordinate with the KPBOIT to resolve the 2. Improved balance of payment and
business for investors in the for Pakistan and Pakistan ranks issues and recommend restructuring reduction in trade deficit
Digital Space under the 100 on the global index 3. Jobs
Establishment of a uniform baseline
21. Develop a digital competency
KPITB develops digital competency and of digital competence and literacy
and literacy framework to Digital Competency index for
literacy framework and enables ranking
assess and improve digital Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
through stakeholders Feedback to constantly improve the
literacy levels
talent pipeline
22. Maximize the use of Improved learning outcomes
technology in primary, secondary Technology assisted education at
KPITB to extend the ‘Early-age
and tertiary education; as well as primary, secondary and tertiary Improved digital competency
programming’ initiative across the province
technical, vocational education levels in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and literacy index of Khyber
and training Pakhtunkhwa
KPITB to extend and constantly improve the
1. Investments/ freelancing industry
23. Ensure that demand driven ‘Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Youth Employment
Youth equipped with market 2. Improved balance of payment and
digital skills are delivered at the Program’ of digital skills training’ across the
relevant and employable digital reduction in trade deficit
primary, secondary and tertiary province
skills 3. Digital Jobs
levels
Continued feedback of the industry
24. Provision of Gender-Inclusive Gender Inclusive co-working KPITB will extend Durshal across the Women and marginalized
coworking spaces spaces across the province province communities get digital dividends

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Advisory Panel
KPITB is grateful to the members of advisory panel for bringing in diversity and expertise

Kamran Durrani Dr. S. Ali Mahmud Anna O’Donnell Ahsan Mir

Strategy Adviser, Chief of Staff and Shadow Chief Information Officer Senior Social Development Specialist Chief Information Security Officer
Board Member Department of International Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economics Zones World Bank Group Autodesk
Development (DFID) Development and Management Company

Sami Syed Dr. Bushra Ahsan Dr. Shoaib Khan Mohtashim Khan
Associate Director Digital and Commercial
Cheif Executive Officer Silicon Architecture Engineer Chief Executive Officer
Transformation
SMSAMI Inc Intel Hudson Center for Advanced Research in
Ernst & Young, UK
Engineering

Abu Bakar Alvi (TI) Barkan Saeed Dr. Faqir Z. Yousaf Dr. Sadaqat Jan
Tamgha-e-Imtiaz Chief Executive Officer Senior Researcher Head of Department
Founder & Chief Executive Officer VizTeck Solutions NEC Laboratories Europe GmbH in Heidelberg, Computer Software Engineering -
RADEC Technologies Pvt Ltd Ex-Chairman P@SHA Germany UET Mardan

Asad Iqbal Amin Ahmad Muhammad Bilal Waqar Younas

Founder & Chief Executive Officer Executive Member Executive Member
Senior Software Engineer
Hiwaas SEAK SEAK
Google

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The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Digital Policy is inline with the current government’s vision for the digital transformation of the province
and is part of the Prime Minister of Pakistan’s first 100 days agenda.

The provincial political leadership played an instrumental role in getting the Digital Policy approved by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Cabinet on the 22nd of November, 2018. We are particularly grateful to the following members of the provincial assembly for their
unconditional support in prioritizing the digital transformation of the province:

Kamran K. Bangash Taimur S. Jhagra Shahram K. Tarakai Mehmood Khan

Special Assistant to the Chief Minister Finance Minister Minister for Local Government, Chief Minister
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on ST&IT Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Election and Rural Development Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

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