IEEE Communication Society Karachi Chapter organizes Hands-On Workshop on MS IoT Kits V0.4

on 12/01/2023

IEEE Communication Society (ComSoc) Karachi Chapter in collaboration with IEEE Professional Activities Committee (PAC) Region 10 and IEEE ComSoc Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET) Jamshoro Student Chapter organized a one-day hands-on workshop on “MindStorm Internet of Things (IoT)Kits V0.4” at Video Conference Hall, MUET Jamshoro Pakistan.
This workshop was funded by IEEE Region 10 Professional Activities Committee and IEEE Karachi Section. The following were the key objectives of this hands-on workshop:
1 Provide basics of Internet of Things (IoT)
Exposure to various sub-fields and technology stacks of IoT
Various real-time product ideas which have been converted to IoT
Perform real-time experiments on IoT Kits V0.4
The total number of participants in this workshop were 61 of which 39 were IEEE members and 22 were non-IEEE members. The workshop was formally started with the recitation of the Holy Quran, followed by Naat-e-Rasool (SAW), and the national anthem of Pakistan. Afterward, Dr. Umair Ahmed Korai, Vice Chair IEEE ComSoc Karachi Chapter, welcomed the Chief Guest, Guest of Honor, Guest Speakers, Organizers, Participants, and Volunteers.
The Dean Faculty of Electrical, Electronics, and Computer Engineering MUET, Prof. Dr. Mukhtiar Ali Unar, attended the workshop as the Chief Guest and delivered his speech, and appreciated the Speakers for taking their time from their very busy schedules to deliver an important lecture on IoT. The Chairman, Department of Telecommunication Engineering MUET Prof. Dr. Aftab Ahmed Memon, Co-Chairman, Department of Telecommunication Engineering MUET, Dr. Fahim Aziz Umrani, and Treasurer, IEEE Karachi Section, Engr. Moiz Rahman Memon attended this workshop as a Guest of Honor.
The first session was delivered by Guest Speaker, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Khurram. He is head of Smart City Lab also serving as Professor at the Department of Computer and Information Systems Engineering, NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, and Director of the Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence. Prof. Dr. Khurram gave an important lecture on IoT and showed some important applications and projects they have developed at NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi.
The second session was the hands-on workshop conducted by the team from Mindstorm Engineering Company Karachi. Mindstorm Engineering provides smart industrial solutions to optimize industrial processes and industrial automation, robotics, and STEM training academy to provide hands-on skill-based training in our state-of-the-art lab. The team comprised of following members:
Mr. Ghufran Ul Islam
Ms. Khushbakht Jameel
Ms. Suhaana Younus
The team gave a hands-on session on Internet of Things kits. They divided the registered participants into groups and each group comprised 03 participants. A single MS IoT V0.4 kit was given to each group in which multiple experiments were performed. The participants learned all about the Internet of Things; Sensors, Microcontrollers, Gateways, Programming, Networking, and Securing IoT.
In the last session, the Worthy Guest of Honor, Prof. Dr. Aftab Ahmed Memon, gave the concluding remarks of the workshop. He acknowledged the efforts of guest speakers, organizers, and volunteers and encouraged the participants to explore in more depth IEEE and the importance of IoT. In the end, Dr. Umair Ahmed Korai gave the vote of thanks to the Chief Guest, Guest Of Honor, Speakers, Event Organizers, Collaborators, Volunteers, and Participants followed by shield and certificate distribution, and lunch.n

Compliance with Medical Device Regulations SIMAP Sialkot asked to take relevant bodies on board

on 12/01/2023

Minister for Industries and Production, Makhdoom Syed Murtaza Mahmood has assured full support of the government to address all challenges faced by the surgical instruments manufacturing industry of the country.
He visited the offices of the Surgical Instruments Manufacturers Association of Pakistan (SIMAP), Sialkot.
He advised taking on board all the relevant organizations which include the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Commerce, Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC), and more for an early resolution of medical device regulations (MDR) which will come in force in 2024 and may seriously affect the exports of this sector if compliance was not achieved by the industry.
He assured the association of seeking possibilities at the government level to negotiate with other international certification bodies for providing MDR solutions to the industry.
He advised the industry to identify two to three medical devices for reverse engineering and local manufacturing with the support of the Ministry of Industry attached department.
The minister also directed to review of the existing rules and regulations of the Export Processing Zones Authority(EPZA) and other Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for making them more industry-friendly to increase the ease of doing business in the country.
He stressed that all the provincial and federal organizations and departments need to collaborate to solve problems faced by the surgical industry to further increase exports of the surgical sector.
He was accompanied by the Chairman Engineering Development Board (EDB) and senior officials of the Ministry of Industries and Production and the Chairman Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA), Chief Executive Officers of EDB, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), National Productivity Organization (NPO), Pakistan Industrial Technical Assistance Center (PITAC) and Director Technology Upgradation and Skill Development Company (TUSDEC) were also presented on the occasion.
The provincial organizations including Punjab Small Indus­trial Corporation, Cluster De­velopment Institute, TEVTA and Customs Department also attended the meeting. — ERMD

Pakistan Cables wins 3rd consecutive Consumers’ Demand Award

on 11/01/2023

Pakistan Cables won the Consumers’ Demand award at the 16th Consumer Choice Award 2022 ceremony organized by the Consumer Association of Pakistan. The former CEO of the Trade and Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) SM Muneer presented the award to Sehrish Shah, Deputy Manager Marketing, Pakistan Cables Ltd. in presence of the Minister of Labour and Human Resources Sindh, Saeed Ghani. This was the Company’s third consecutive win of the Icon Award. – PR

NESPAK undertakes Gulpur Hydropower Project

on 11/01/2023

Gulpur Hydropower Project has formally been inaugurated by Advisor to Prime Minister on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan. Now, the Gulpur Hydropower Project is providing clean and cheap energy to the National Grid, it is stated by Managing Director Dr. Tahir Masood in a press communique on Monday. NESPAK along with MWH, USA has provided consultancy services as the owner’s engineer on this project.
The Project is sponsored by a consortium of South Korean companies led by Korea South-East Power Company which will operate the Project for a period of 30 years.
The plant is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric generation facility located on the Poonch River near Gulpur village in Kotli Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The Poonch river is one of the major tributaries of the Jhelum River and confluences in Mangla Dam Reservoir after 28KM. The site is about 167 km from Islamabad and can be accessed in all seasons.
The Project was financed by Multilateral Development Banks comprising the International Finance Corporation, Asian Development Bank, Export-Import Bank of Korea, and FMO Netherlands. Furthermore, the Project was supervised by NESPAK & MWH (USA) as owner engineer and Mott Macdonald (UK) served as the Lender’s technical advisor for the best quality of construction.
The Project is constructed by South Korean premier construction companies led by DL ENC Ltd. (Formerly Daelim Industrial Co., Ltd.) within the given timeframe despite facing challenges of flood in the Poonch River, highly security sensitive area and difficult accessible project site, etc. The Project was designed for an installed capacity of 102 MW.
The Project (started in 2015) was the first of its kind, which was developed in a national park having critically endangered species. The Plant has been generating electricity since February 2020 and providing clean and sustainable energy to the national grid with top-tier customized equipment.
High-quality materials have been used during the construction and supervised by world-class engineering experts. The Plant is earthquake-resistant, and its durability is meeting the maximum standard required for the hydropower Project.
Following to annual capacity test result conducted by CPPA-G, the plant generated 102.63MW exceeding the contractual requirement e.g 100.98MW.
Gulpur hydropower plant is a significant addition to the power sector of Pakistan from the investors of South Korea and provides an economical, renewable, clean, and secure source of energy to the country.n

No power generation company has a chief engineer! Senate committee summons, K-electric; Chiarman says power sector is completely destroyed

on 11/01/2023

None of the four power generation companies (Gencos) in Pakistan has any chief engineer! This shocking revelation came forth in a Senate Standing Committee on Power that met Senator Engr. Saifullah Abro in the chair in Islamabad.
The chairman said the power sector of the country has been destroyed; the transmission system is dead. There is not a single chief engineer in any of the four Gencos. ‘This is the funeral of Power Division.’
The condition of the power sector is that no technical employee working there, he maintained. “For God’s sake have mercy on the power sector,” Saifullah Abro remarked.
Not only that but also the committee was informed that SEPCO and HESCO do not have electricity.
Chairman Abro said that the power sector of the country has been completely destroyed besides a choked transmission system.
He was not pleased with K-Electric for its issues that are already the talk of the town. He remarked that K-electric is a black spot on the face of the entire power system.
He alleges there are big corrupt officers in the power sector and the power division is an accomplice in KE’s corruption. The government is unable to take any action against them. He said, “There is a dire need to bring NAB-like law in the power sector too.”
“Why don’t the high-level officials of KE come to the meeting” the chairman questioned. The committee was irked by the non-participation of CEO K-Electric.
The chairman said that the time of the KE has passed and the company has failed to reach the electricity purchase agreement from the national grid. Is K-Electric not under government control, Abro asked. He said that the power minister should come to the committee and give a briefing on the performance of KE.
The committee summoned CEO KE to the next meeting. Abro said that the committee has a lot of discretion in this regard. “If someone does not give importance to the committee, we have the power to order his arrest,” he warned.
The committee also took the issue of the constitution of BoDs of Distribution Companies (DISCOs). The committee was informed that under these rules, the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) recently reconstituted BoDs of four DISCOs (MEPCO, GEPCO, SEPCO, and HESCO) after approval from the federal cabinet.
The committee reviewed in detail appointment procedures and expenditures regarding BODs as well as minutely scrutinized resumes of BoD members. The committee showed severe concern regarding the appointment criteria of BoD members and constituted a sub-committee to review the matter in detail. Conflict of interest, in the case of many members, was observed. It was asserted that strict action against officers involved in the selection process must be taken. The committee directed the ministry that reconstitution of all BoDs must be pended until the inquiry is complete.