National Bank of Pakistan’s President Arif Usmani has said his bank will provide all possible support for the uplift of the general public including the provision of very soft loans to make them able to easily own residence under the Prime Minister’s Housing Scheme. The PM Housing initiative was a very revolutionary program as it would improve the living standard of the common man and generate big economic activity in the country. The construction industry has great potential to grow and more than 40 other industries directly linked to it, he said while speaking at a ceremony held here at NBP Head Office to mark 73rd independence day of Pakistan. He said PM Housing Programme would help revive the economy affected by COVID-19, which had posed serious economic challenges to many countries.
Prime Minister Imran Khan was personally monitoring the progress in this housing program and was regularly getting feedback from the concerned organizations /agencies including NBP. NBP President said this premier government commercial bank had recently gone through various policy, structural, and technology upgrades which would start yielding within six months

The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) would gasify the localities and villages falling within a five-kilometre radius of gas-producing fields, being operated by Exploration and Production (E&P) companies in different parts of Sindh and Balochistan, under a multi-billion rupees project.
“Accordingly, the company is in the process of preparing PC-I to undertake the first phase of the project which will be submitted to DDWP (Departmental Development Working Party) for its approval,” a senior official privy to the petroleum sector developments said.
He said the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has recently allowed the Finance Division, on a summary submitted by the Petroleum Division, to release Rs1 billion to the company for undertaking the gas supply project in the localities situated within a 5-KM radius of gas fields.“It is in compliance with the Supreme Court and High Court decisions.” The total estimated cost of the project is Rs4.912, out of which SSGC would get Rs1 billion during the year 2020-21, while the remaining amount in subsequent fiscal years. Meanwhile, according to an official document available with APP, the company would provide around 144,371 new gas connections including 143,023 domestic, 1,164 commercial and 184 industrial during the current fiscal year as per its annual network expansion plan. The SSGC has also planned to lay 1,418 KMs additional distribution and transmission lines in the year 2020-21

Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chairman Lt Gen (r) Muzammil Hussain visited the Nai Gaj Dam project area located in Dadu District of Sindh province to assess the situation on the ground and damages to the project caused by the flood. During the visit, the chairman had a detailed round of various components of the project.
WAPDA General Manager (Projects) South and Project Director Nai Gaj Dam were also present on the occasion. WAPDA chairman, on the occasion, assured his full support to the civil administration of Dadu and Sindh to tackle the situation that has arisen out of the recent floods. He also appreciated WAPDA engineers and officials for their efforts to protect the structures of the Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD) Project during the flood. Earlier, the chairman was briefed by the General Manager (Projects) South about the water flows in the project area during the floods, along with status and the loss done to the project components. The chairman was apprised that the upstream protection dyke (Coffer Dam) to secure the construction area of the Main Dam affected due to the floods, however, part of the Main Dam built so far remained safe. The chairman directed the project management to conduct a detailed study and submit a report about damages to the project. He also asked them to recommend measures to cope with such a situation in the future. Nai Gaj Dam Project is being constructed on Gaj River, 65-Kilometer North-West of Dadu. On completion, the dam will have a gross storage capacity of 300,000 acre feet, while the command area of the project comprises of 28,800 acres. The progress on the approved components stands at 51 percent. If the funding is approved by the ECNEC, Nai Gaj Dam can be completed in two years

A Canadian-Finnish collaboration has led to the discovery of a novel magnetic compound in which two magnetic dysprosium metal ions are bridged by two aromatic organic radicals forming a pancake bond.
The results of this study can be utilized to improve the magnetic properties of similar compounds.
The theoretical investigation of the study was carried out by the Academy Research Fellow Jani O. Moilanen at the University of Jyväskylä, whereas the experimental work was performed at the University of Ottawa in the groups of Profs. Muralee Murugesu and Jaclyn L. Brusso.
The research results were published in the well-recognized chemistry journal — Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers in July 2020 — with the cover art.
Magnets are used in many modern electronic devices ranging from mobile phones and computers to medical imaging devices. Besides the traditional metal-based magnets, one of the current research interests in the field of magnetism has been the study of single-molecule magnets consisting of metal ions and organic ligands.
The magnetic properties of single-molecule magnets are purely molecular in origin, and it has been proposed that in the future, single-molecule magnets could be utilized in high-density information storage, spin-based electronics (spintronics), and quantum computers.
Unfortunately, most of the currently known single-molecule magnets only exhibit their magnetic properties at low temperatures near absolute zero (-273°C), which prevents their utilization in electronic devices.
The first single-molecule magnet that retained its magnetization over the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (-196 °C) was reported in 2018.
This study was a considerable breakthrough in the field of magnetic materials as it demonstrated that single-molecule magnets functioning at higher temperatures can be also realized.
Excellent magnetic properties of the reported compound at the elevated temperatures originated from the optimal three-dimensional structure of the compound.
In theory, similar design principles could be used for single-molecule magnets containing more than one metal ion but controlling the three-dimensional structure of multinuclear compounds is much more challenging.
Bridging organic radicals were utilized in the novel compound
Instead of fully controlling the three-dimensional structure of the reported compound, a different design strategy was utilized in this study.
“Like dysprosium ions, organic radicals also have unpaired electrons that can interact with unpaired electrons of metal ions. Thus, organic radicals can be used to control the magnetic properties of a system along with metal ions. Particularly interesting organic radicals are bridging ones as they can interact with multiple metal ions. We employed this design strategy in our study, and surprisingly, we synthesized a compound where not only one but two organic radicals bridged two dysprosium ions as well as formed a pancake bond through their unpaired electrons,” Prof. Muralee Murugesu from the University of Ottawa clarifies.
“Even though the formation of the pancake bond between two radicals is well known, this was the first time that the pancake bond was observed between two metal ions. The interaction between organic radicals is often referred to as pancake bonding because the three-dimensional structure of interacting organic radicals resembles a stack of pancakes,” Prof. Jaclyn L. Brusso from the University of Ottawa tells.
The pancake bond in the novel compound was very strong. Therefore, the unpaired electrons of the organic radicals did not interact strongly with the unpaired electrons of the dysprosium ions and the compound functioned as a single-molecule magnet only at low temperatures. However, the study paves the way for the new design strategy for novel multinuclear single-molecule magnets and has initiated further research.
“Computational chemistry methods provided important insights into the electronic structure and magnetic properties of the compound that can be utilized in future studies. By choosing the right kind of organic radicals we can not only control the nature of the pancake bond between the radicals but also enhance the magnetic properties of the compound overall,” Academy Research Fellow Jani O. Moilanen from the University of Jyväskylä comments

Digitization and technology hold the promise of progress and prosperity for almost every country including Pakistan. Information Technology has become a fundamental part of industry and manufacturing.
The technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, robotics, automation, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, mobility, and others continue to have a growing effect on society, economy, and environment.
Moreover, the process of rapid digitization has transformed almost everything on the face of the earth from physical to software-controlled – economy to education, healthcare to market-customer relations, and government-citizen interaction to banking.
The incumbent government has taken the initiative to upgrade digital banking infrastructure and ease the conditions and exhausting paperwork for digital services such as e-payments, online transactions and the issuance of credit cards, and their use in online stores or in-store shopping, at petrol pumps, online utility bill payments, and university fee payment gateways, etc.
The process of digitization can help grow the economy more quickly, fuel innovations, as well as the business environment. This in return could alleviate poverty by creating new jobs for the fresh graduates and young entrepreneurs of the country.
The Digital Pakistan Initiative has created hope that the government is making serious efforts to promote digital technology in the country. However, Pakistan needs to organize and enhance the skills, expertise, and knowledge for digital transformation in all walks of life.
The digital landscape has grown tremendously in Pakistan with a population of over 200 million people.
The country has over 165 million mobile subscribers, 70 million active internet users, and 60 million smartphone users.
According to statistical data of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s telecom indicators, the number of mobile phone users in Pakistan has crossed 165 million while the provision of 4G/LTE services in remote areas of Pakistan has also made a significant increase in overall 3G/4G subscribers, as the number of 3G and 4G users in Pakistan crossed 70 million.
With an increase of 0.173 million users in just a month, it has become evident that 4G users in Pakistan are increasing at a rapid pace and will soon take over the 3G market after the launch of 5G services. In an increasingly digital world, connecting people to the world can open up new vistas and bridge the gap of inequality both on social and economic fronts.
As internet penetration has gone up to 70 percent in the country, several case studies emerge that people successfully achieve their ambitions and turn their dreams into a reality.
Similarly, the digital medium is considered cost-effective with a wider reach which comes with many benefits — people around the globe get easy access to information anytime and anywhere through multiple digital devices.
Likewise, the digital means of marketing and communication are also considered quicker, result driven, and adaptable. Deputy Coordinator, E-Governance, Performance Management & Reforms Unit (PMRU), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dr. Akif Khan said that Pakistan’s first initiative was the launch of Pakistan Citizen Portal where citizens can make access to eight thousand officials. “As far as the digital transformation of Pakistan is concerned; it is one of the biggest case studies with a 94% resolution rate of the cases,” he added. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ‘App Desk,’ Muhammad Tanveer Khan said that digitization makes public service delivery more efficient and speedy by ensuring ‘one window operations’ of different official tasks — taking less time and effort. It also decreases the chances of deliberate/un-deliberate human errors and the online record could be easily authenticated from any part of the world, he added.
Majid Khan, an Islamabad based IT expert said that due to the pandemic, a spike was witnessed in the sale and purchase of smartphones and laptops for online teaching and learning in the country. He said that people in general and students, in particular, had learned a great deal about new software and productive use of android phones and computer technology.
During the coronavirus, when people were confined to their homes, the internet has given relief to continue working from home by connecting them online with a large number of people across the globe