A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises was held in Islamabad today with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in the chair.

The Committee deliberated on the reconstitution of the Board of Directors of Karachi Tools, Dies, and Mould Centre under the Ministry of Industries and Production. It approved the appointment of five principal candidates from the private sector, along with ex-officio directors, for a term of three years. Abdur Razaaq Gauhar was appointed as the Chairman of the Board. This reconstitution aims to improve corporate governance and ensure effective decision-making for the entity.

The reconstitution of the Board of Directors of the Technology Upgradation and Skills Development Company was also approved. The Committee appointed six principal candidates from the private sector, along with ex-officio directors, for a term of three years. Muhammad Noor ud Din Daud was selected as the Chairman of the Board.

In addition to the reconstitutions, the Committee reviewed separate business plans submitted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for addressing key operational challenges and outlining roadmaps for sustainable development, including organizational growth, financial sustainability and improved services, for Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation and Pakistan Television Corporation.

The business plan submitted in respect of PBC mainly focused on a number of measures aimed at ensuring income generation through improved program content and better signal quality. The plan also include utilization of seven large unutilized concrete spaces and six large tracts of open lands located in different cities as well as installation of ATM booths and advertising billboards at appropriate sites of the Radio Pakistan. The Committee was told that the PBC would be able to achieve a break-even in two years after the execution of the proposed business plan.

For the PTV, a business plan was submitted, featuring measures and interventions targeting digital expansion, content licensing, profitable marketing partnerships, public private partnerships, and utilization of PTV properties for maximizing operational efficiency and overall revenue potential. The Committee was told that out of 5,442 sanctioned posts of PTV, 1,232 posts have also been abolished to save costs.

The forum deliberated on both the plans and approved them, emphasizing the importance of achieving operational excellence and the need for timely implementation of planned actions to achieve desired results. The committee also advised the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to work through administrative boards of both PBC and PTV to proactively make use of their unutilized spaces, assets and open lands, preferably selling them to private sector instead of engaging in a real estate activity at the cost of their core functions as state broadcasters.