Islamabad:Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has instructed all federal ministries to expedite the necessary steps to ensure the timely availability of relevant data on the national digital platform.

According to Radio Pakistan, during a meeting on the Digital Nation Pakistan Programme in Islamabad, Prime Minister Sharif highlighted the significance of a central national data centre. This centre is expected to play a crucial role in delivering government services and facilitating citizens.

The Prime Minister stated that the Digital Nation Pakistan Programme aims to provide effective and convenient services at the national level. He emphasized that consolidating useful data from various sectors and government departments at a single location would contribute significantly to the country's economic progress.

Shehbaz Sharif noted the successful implementation of the fuel subsidy scheme for deserving segments of society, attributing part of its success to efficient data sharing among departments. He underscored the importance of digitizing ministries' performance and data to combat corruption and institutional mismanagement.

He commended the Ministry of Health for its efforts, in collaboration with provincial governments, to develop a universal medical record at the national level and implement QR codes to ensure the supply of quality medicines nationwide.

The meeting was informed that digitization efforts in key public service sectors, particularly health and agriculture, are being prioritized for the benefit of the populace. Several federal ministries provided updates on their public services and the status of their data provision to the central data centre.

Prime Minister Sharif reiterated his directive for all federal ministries to complete the digitization of relevant data within the specified timeframe, working in coordination with provincial governments and concerned departments.