July 2020

What is DNA?   Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid (DNA) is a chemical found in the nucleus of cells and carries the ‘instructions’ for the development and functioning of living organisms. It is often compared to a set of blueprints since it contains the instructions needed to build cells. These instructions are divided into segments along a strand of DNA and are …

The Nervous System and the Brain The nervous system is a complex collection of nerves and specialized cells known as neurons that transmit signals between different parts of the body. It is essentially the body’s electrical wiring. Structurally, the nervous system has two components: the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system which includes the nerves that extend from …

New Public Management New Public Management is the development of the eighties in the last century. It primarily emerged as a critic of traditional approach of Public Administration which was ‘Weberian’ ‘Bureaucratic’. The guiding philosophy of traditional approach is the management of public interest and the separation of politics from administration.

Future of Great-Power Rivalry For scholars and observers, the return of the great-power rivalry is the new normal in international relations. The competition and rivalry between the United States and China are being closely watched by the international community as the relations between these two major powers will determine the future of world politics. The nature of their conduct can …

Virtual Courts in Pakistan Prospects and challenges Zafrullah Saroya Advocate As they say ‘in every crisis, lies an opportunity’, the spread of coronavirus as well as the lockdown to curb it has offered us an opportunity to revamp our system in various sectors. However, the most important institution that can be revamped and reoriented is the judiciary. Since the lockdown …

Pakistan’s Tax policy Response to Covid-19 pandemic Bilal Hassan Pakistan is a middle income country with GDP per capita of USD 1,497 during 2018-19. Revenue mobilization is almost 50% of its potential with tax revenue-GDP ratio of 13.9% and non-tax revenue-GDP ratio of 2.4% during 2018/19. With limited resources like other developing countries, Pakistan will be facing serious challenges in …

Economic Survey of Pakistan 2019-20 No hits, many misses! On June 11, Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh launched Economic Survey of Pakistan 2019-20, according to which the country missed all major economic targets due to the coronavirus outbreak, which resulted in a negative 0.4 percent economic growth rate for the outgoing year. This …

Economic Crunch and Sinking SOEs M.H. Rehman Significance of economic stability for any country cannot be overemphasized, and in the presence of a constant drain on an economy, no matter how strong, economic stability will always remain a dream. Systemic fault lines in an economy—and that too formed and forged on political considerations—can tumble the whole economy if not addressed …

Constitutional Basis of Local Government in Pakistan Kamran Adil Introduction There is growing evidence to show the link between development and local government. Once again, the Covid crisis underlined the need for local government; it showed that non-traditional security threats had to be addressed by strengthening the governance and institutional structures. Almost whole of Pakistan witnessed orders of executive civilian …

Federal Budget 2020-21 On June 12, Federal Minister for Industries and Production, Hammad Azhar, presented in National Assembly the federal budget for the financial year 2020-21, having a total outlay of Rs7.137 trillion as against Rs3.70 trillion worth of net federal revenue, leaving a deficit of Rs3.43 trillion which comes to something around 7% of the GDP. That the net …