Historically SCCI was registered in 1992 at Pir Bahar Shah Chowk (Ref: Board of Investment, Pakistan) and later transferred to Kot Abdul Malik. Finally, it is operating at 23 KM, Lahore-Sheikhupura Road, Qila Sattar Shah, Sheikhupura, Punjab, Pakistan. Throughout the years, SCCI performance questioned at national and international levels, debated, and published by PPI (Pakistan Press International) and other news agencies.
Despite criticizing that what happened in past, the current elected body under the leadership of Mr. Manzoor Ul Haq Malik, gives tremendous peace of mind.
Under his leadership SCCI membership has grown to 180 eligible members and rapid reforms and development works are undergone. Mr. Malik believes that "Developing countries have long argued the importance of growth for lifting their people out of poverty. And we at SCCI should not forget that, ultimately, we exist to work ourselves out of business - and the best way to do that will be to encourage growth and trade based on industrial output of Pakistan".
Pushing growth up the development agenda
Achieving economic growth is essential for securing long-term development and poverty reduction: no country has succeeded in sustainably reducing poverty in the absence of growth.
Recent volatility in global markets has focused our attention on growth prospects in the world’s richest countries. But it also serves to emphasise the importance of putting in place the right conditions to facilitate long-term, sustainable growth in the developing world, which is needed to pull millions of people out of poverty.
Growth is however, a complex and multi-dimensional subject, which encompasses a huge range of issues, and while some aspects of the growth agenda are well understood, others are more contested.
The Economic Outlook of Pakistan
In Pakistan, Pre-existing macroeconomic imbalances and deep-seated structural problems have played a large part in producing the current economic downturn. Short term and long term issues therefore need to be addressed, but they must not be seen as independent - the best short term policies are also good long term policies.
Role of Education in Economic Growth
Education has been recognized as the most important source of competitive advantage for a nation. It is the key determinant of firm level productivity which in turn drives business growth and profitability. Technical knowledge, in particular, is required both for industrial as well as service development. Technical institutions contribute to the growth of business and industry in a variety of ways. The most influential and direct impact is through their graduates who bring in new skills and perspectives to firms. Industries also seek advanced training on specific topics as well as consultancy from technical institutions. Often these institutions collaborate with academics to design and develop new technologies. In this paper we have argued that technical education plays a crucial role in building these capabilities and consequently in the growth of industry.
