Could a poorly-crafted budget be the end of the IT boom?

The sombre policies of the poorly-crafted federal budget for 2024-2025 could hinder digital prosperity and significantly impact the IT sector, which had recently begun gaining momentum after Covid-19. This situation might lead to a potential fiasco, exacerbating the brain drain of highly-skilled IT professionals. Policy makers and the elite are seen as neglecting the country’s foundations while enjoying increasing privileges funded by the hard-earned income of the salaried class. It appears that the budget, seemingly prepared without benefiting any industry, is strangling the IT sector. Although the government allocated a budget of Rs79 billion for the IT sector, IT professionals have raised grave concerns, deeming the allocation a dead loss. Professor Tahir Mehmood Chaudhry, Chairman of the Computer Society of Pakistan (CSP), a prominent IT think tank, criticised the establishment of IT parks or software technology parks as merely attempts to make abandoned places commercially viable, benefiting landlords without providing necessary infrastructure or cost-effective facilities.