Development of Industries (Government Control) Act, 1949

The Development of Industries (Government Control) Act, 1949 declares that developing certain strategically important industries under government oversight is in the public interest, and gives the government tools to plan and steer that development. Section 3 makes this declaration formally, covering the industries specifically listed in the Act's Schedule.

Section 3A (added later) gives the "appropriate Government" — the Federal Government for industries connected with subjects on the Federal Legislative List (or which Federal law declares should be developed under Federal control), and the Provincial Government for other industries — the power to plan and regulate the setting up of any new industrial undertaking, or the development of any new or existing one, within the controlled industries.

The Schedule lists 27 controlled industries, spanning arms and munitions, cement, edible oils, electrical/broadcasting equipment, electricity (including hydro-electric power), glass and ceramics, heavy chemicals, iron and steel, machine tools and precision tools, heavy engineering products, minerals (including salt and coal), non-ferrous metals, paper and pulp, petroleum and mineral oils, pharmaceuticals and light chemicals, power and industrial alcohol, preserved foods, carbonisation-industry products, rubber goods, scientific and mathematical instruments, sea fish products, ships and boats, sugar, tanned leather, textiles (cotton, woollen, jute, silk, rayon), and tobacco.

Sections 4 and 5 give the appropriate Government rule-making power to implement the Act, subject to a previous-publication requirement — draft rules must be published at least one month before taking effect. This is an industrial-policy framework law from Pakistan's early planned-development era; its practical significance today depends on whether specific industries are still actively regulated under it or have since moved to newer industrial and investment laws.