ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN

UNIVERSITY
Semester Terminal Exam Autumn 2020

Program /level: B.Com/Associate Degree in Commerce Maximum Marks 100

Title /Course
Commercial Geography (1428) Pass marks 50
Code

Q.1 What do you know about Natural Resources of Pakistan? Explain the types of
mineral resources in different regions of Pakistan and their importance for enhancing
the Opportunities of commercial activities.

Answer:
Natural Resources of Pakistan
Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia and spans an area of 340,509 square miles, making
Pakistan the 33rd largest country in the world. Pakistan has a population of more than two 212
million people making the country the 6th most populous country in the world. In 2016, it had a
nominal GDP of $271 billion and GDP based on purchasing power parity $946, 667 million. In
the same year, the per capita GDP was $1,561.According to economic complexity index the
country was ranked the 67th largest country in export items.
Types of mineral resources in different regions of Pakistan
Arable Land

One of the main natural resources in Pakistan include arable land and the size of the arable land
in the country has been fluctuating for several years, and in 2015 it was approximately 39.5% of
the total land area. Agriculture in Pakistani plays a significant role and account for 20.9% of
GDP as of 2014-2015.

Livestock

The livestock sector in Pakistan plays a critical role and contributes almost half of the value
added in the agricultural sector, which is equivalent to almost 11% of the country’s GDP and it
slightly higher than the crop sector. It is believed that Pakistan has about 56.7 million goats, 26.3
million buffaloes, 24.2 million cattle, 24.9 million sheep, and 0.8 million camels. All these
animals produced about 29.4 72 million tons of milk, ranking the country the world’s fourth
largest producer of milk. 

Fishing

Fishing in Pakistan play a significant role in the country's economy, and the country has a
coastline with stretches for a distance of about 650 miles. Fish is a major export item in the
country, but fishing is still underdeveloped and still has the potential to develop and even more
money to the country..

Forests

Forests in Pakistan cover approximately 4% of the total land area in the country, and they serve
as the main source of paper, lumber, food, firewood, medicine, latex as well as serving as places
of conservation for wildlife and ecotourism.

Resources and power

Minerals

The exploration of Pakistan’s mineral wealth is far from complete, but some two dozen different
types of exploitable minerals have been located. Iron ore deposits are mostly of poor quality. The
most extensive known reserves are situated in the Kalabagh region, in western Punjab. Other
low-grade ore reserves have been found in Hazara, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Hydrocarbons and power

Pakistan has modest quantities of petroleum and some large natural gas fields. The first oil
discovery was made in 1915. Pakistan intensified the search for oil and natural gas in the 1980s
and was rewarded with the discovery of a number of new oil fields in the Potwar Plateau region
and in Sindh. A number of fields have been developed, particularly near Badin, in Sindh.
Great progress, however, has been made in the development of the hydroelectric potential of
Pakistan’s rivers. A giant hydroelectric plant is in operation at the Mangla Dam, on the Jhelum
River in Azad Kashmir (the part of Kashmir under Pakistani administration). Another such
source is the giant Tarbela Dam, on the Indus River.

Manufacturing

Mining and quarrying account for a small percentage of GDP and of total employment.
Manufacturing, however, constitutes a healthy proportion. The beginning of the main
industrialization effort dates to the cessation of trade between India and Pakistan in 1949, soon
after the two countries gained independence. Initially it was based on the processing of raw
agricultural materials for domestic consumption and for export. This led to the construction
of cotton textile mills—a development that now accounts for a large part of the total employment
in industry.

Finance of Pakistan

Finance contributes a relatively small value to GDP, though its growth rate in the late 20th and
early 21st centuries has been considerable. Pakistan has a variety of state banks, state-run banks
(though more-recent trends have been toward privatizing these), scheduled (i.e., commercial)
banks, private banks, and foreign banks. Noteworthy has been the spread of banks that operate
within the principles of Islamic law.

Trade

Trade has grown into one of the major sectors of the Pakistani economy and employs a
significant proportion of the workforce. Although there has been a trend toward increasing
exports, the country has had a chronic annual trade deficit, with imports often outstripping
exports. Over the years, important changes have taken place in the composition of foreign trade.

Services
The government has traditionally been a major employer, and, just as in other former colonial
countries with a well-developed civil service, government positions are coveted for the financial
security that they offer. Combined with public administration, defense, construction, and public
utilities, services account for roughly one-fourth of GDP and employ about one-fifth of the
workforce. 

Labor and taxation

The trade union movement dates to the late 19th century, but, because Pakistan’s industrial
sector (inherited at independence) was so small, organized labour as a proportion of total
employment is still in the minority.

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Q 2 . What are the causes of electricity shortage in Pakistan? Explain government

measures to cope with this problem.
Answer:
Electricity crisis and its solution
Load shedding is one of the serious problems of Pakistan. The PML-N had claimed in the 2013
elections that it will solve this problem only in a year. In spite of all claims and their rule of five
years, they failed completely in generating sufficient electricity. The former CM of Punjab
Shahbaz Sharif said, “Loadshedding is your problem now.” The long duration of loadshedding in
the sacred month of Ramadan exposed the performance of the ruling party. The circular debt of
Rs400 billion is a clear proof of the mismanagement in the energy sector. The auditor general of
Pakistan severely objected to the payment of 80 billion rupees in this regard previously. The
reasons for the fake energy crisis and its solution are given below.
According to estimation 22,000-24,000 megawatt electricity is needed in Pakistan. This demand
increases up to 5% each year. It means 1,000 or1,200 megawatt is added. Unfortunately, we have
never been able to produce more than 18,000 megawatt energy. The government claimed to
produce 24,000MW electricity. But even NTDC, which is an institution of the government, does
not confirm it.
Because this institution does not have the capacity for transmission and distribution of more than
18,000MW, several new institutions, including the wind power generating institutions, are not
being allowed to produce the electricity more than a certain level.
The difference between power generation and capacity for transmission is also the inability of
our governments. It means that there is a difference of 6,000MW between the production and the
transmission of power. It is expressed in the form of loadshedding in the whole country.
Definitely, the government has completed many power projects in its five years. But the
difference between demand and supply which was 5,000MW in 2013, has reached up to the level
of 6,000MW in 2018. The government of PML-N had started the energy projects that are based
on LNG and coal.
This government has completed only two hydro and atomic power projects that were inaugurated
by the previous governments and were on the stage of completion in 2013. Same is the case of
other wind and solar projects.
This important project was absolutely ready before 2013. But the government did not pay
attention to it. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi announced Rs474 billion for Ecnec in the last month of his
government.
This is the reason that this important project which was inaugurated by Yusuf Raza Gillani and
Pervez Musharraf many years before could not be carried on. Hydropower is the most
inexpensive source of producing the electricity in Pakistan. But the present government ignored
it completely. LNG and coal have remained its greatest priority. Such projects are useful for
short term only. These projects are not durable and dependable for long term due to their heavy
cost of production. According to Wapda, Pakistan has the capacity for producing 1000,00MW
electricity through hydropower projects. Almost 65,000MW projects have been designed and
studied. Same is the matter of solar and wind projects. The sources of fossil energy are reducing
all over the world. The environmental pollution is also a serious issue. All these factors have
changed the dynamics of the energy industry in the whole world. All developed countries,
including China, America and Germany (even our neighbour, India) are increasing the
production of hydroelectricity. China has the capacity of 114,000MW of wind energy. The
capacity of its solar energy plants is 28,000MW.
Germany has less than 50% of total area in comparison with Pakistan’s. It is producing
39,000MW wind energy. It has 50% sunshine hours than Pakistan but still producing 38,000MW
solar energy. Can’t we fulfill our needs of electricity by establishing the wind, solar and
hydropower plants? These projects are cheap, durable and environment friendly. According to an
American research institution, NREL, Pakistan has immense capacity for producing wind and
solar energy. The estimation of solar energy is almost 29,000MW. It is 100% more than our
needs. The capacity for generating wind energy in Pakistan is 346,000MW. Aren’t we thankless
to Allah Almighty and depending on foreign investment, loan and interest? It is the need of the
hour that we should learn to secure our interests as a nation.
We should stress the governments to change their priorities. They should establish cheap and
durable power projects instead of expensive projects. If we want to get rid of loadshedding and
provide electricity to industry and trade, we have to depend on hydro, solar and wind energy. We
should set our priorities honestly and sincerely. We should save money and produce investment
opportunities for foreign countries. We should attract the foreign investors to our energy projects
so that we can be able to produce energy according to our needs.

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Q.3 Do you agree that in Pakistan land is ploughed by wooden ploughs drawn by
cattle, threshing is done by animals, winnowing is done by hand and farm products
are consumed by the family? Explain in your words with practical example.
Answer:
Agricultural mechanization It is the process of using agricultural machinery to mechanize
agricultural work to increase the productivity of farm workers. Effective mechanization helps to
increase production by the timeliness of agricultural operations with good quality. The energy
requirements for seedbed preparation, cultivation and harvesting are so great that existing human
and animal power is inadequate. Therefore, agricultural operations are carried out partially or
sometimes completely neglected, resulting in a low yield due to poor growth or premature
harvesting or both.
There is a positive correlation between application of improved technologies and the land
productivity. The repair, maintenance and overhaul facilities for tractors and other machines are
expanding with the expansion of rural electrification in the country. Drudgery and physical
exertion are typical of much in agriculture today. The development of improved riding type
animal drawn machines can improve the present condition, but they cannot be a substitute for the
tractor-drawn machines. By using mechanical power, man will be able to control larger areas and
as such his family members will get more free time

Tractor manufacturing industry –

Tractor manufacturing industry in Pakistan started with the establishment of Rana tractors (now
Millat Tractors Limited in 1964 and an assembly plant was set up in 1967 to assemble tractors
imported in semi-knocked down condition. Local manufacturing of the tractors under
Government approved deletion program started in 1981 and five firms were licensed for the
purpose. The manufacturers of Belarus, Ford and IMT tractors went out of business and now
only two manufacturers are actively involved in local manufacturing of tractors. M/s Millat
Tractors Ltd. Lahore and M/s Al-Ghazi Tractors Ltd. Dera Ghazi Khan are producing 8 models
of tractors in the range of 50 to 85 hp. Both of the companies have well established
manufacturing/assembling plants and network of distribution and after sale service throughout
Punjab and Pakistan.
Agricultural implements and machinery manufacturing industry –
Agricultural implements and machinery manufacturing industry started with the establishment of
Esakhel Estate Farm, KotSamaba, District Rahim Yar Khan during early 50’s which played a
vital role in promotion and dissemination of farm mechanization in Punjab by importing first
tractor in the country during 1954 and establishing a manufacturing unit for production of
implements for mechanized farming with the collaboration of John Deere from USA. The
Esakhel Estate Farm provided training to farmers of the area and also provided repair and
maintenance services for the tractors and implements. During 1959, there were only 15 farm
machinery manufacturers in the country. The number increased to 500 in 1984.
Farm Mechanization Research and Development –
Farm Mechanization Research and Development in Punjab started with the establishment of
Agricultural Engineering Research Division at Faisalabad during 1964 which was later up-
graded to the level of full institute in 1976 and was named as Agricultural Mechanization
Research Institute (AMRI). Later in 1978, it established Agricultural Machinery Division
(AMD) during 1978 which was later up-graded to the level of fully fledged institute and named
as Farm machinery Institute (FMI) under the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council.
Subsequently, Farm Mechanization Institute (FMI) was renamed as Agricultural and Biological
Engineering Institute (ABEI). Both the institutes are actively involved in R&D for design and
development, testing and evaluation and promotion of low cost and appropriate farm
mechanization technologies.
Agricultural Engineering Education in Pakistan –
Agricultural Mechanization was set up initially in 1958 in the Engineering College Workshop,
University of Engineering & Technology (UET), Peshawar, NWFP, Pakistan and formal
education in agricultural engineering was introduced in 1962. The Faculty of Agricultural
Engineering & Technology was established in 1961 when the Punjab Agriculture College,
Lyallpur was given the status of University of Agriculture, Lyallpur. In Nov. 1961, a diploma
class of agricultural engineering was first started to support Thal Development Authority (TDA)
and agricultural engineering workshop which was substituted with a four years B.Sc.
Agricultural Engineering degree program in 1963.The faculty comprises of 1) Department of
Farm machinery & Power, 2) Department of Irrigation & Drainage, 3) Department of Structures
& Environmental Engineering, 4) Department of Food Engineering, 5) Department of Energy
Systems Engineering, 5) Department of Fibre and Textile Technology and 6) Water Management
Research Centre (WMRC)
Machinery standardization and quality control–
Pakistan Standards Institution (PSI) i.e. Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority
(PS&QCA) is the statuary body to formulate National Standards of Agricultural Machinery,
equipment and implements. PSI in collaboration with AMRI and ABEI has approved several
standards of Agricultural Machinery, Equipment and Implements and their components.
Unfortunately, in the absence of any market force which is generated by end-users / farmers, the
manufacturers have entered into negative competition to produce low quality machinery,
equipment and implements. As a result of this trend, the pace of PSI work has been slowed
down.
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