National Institute of Electronics Ordinance, 1979

This 1979 Ordinance establishes the National Institute of Electronics (NIE), a government research and development body based in Islamabad, created to build up Pakistan's capacity in electronics design, development and production at a time when the sector was still emerging nationally.

Section 3 sets up the Institute as a body corporate with perpetual succession, able to acquire and hold property and to sue and be sued. Section 4 gives a long list of functions: carrying out design and development work in areas of electronics not covered by existing centres; designing items of common utility to help local production and increase local content; developing and exchanging advanced electronic know-how with other research centres; coordinating national research and development projects; providing advanced training in electronics; developing electronic components, particularly integrated circuits; developing measuring instruments, industrial control equipment, computing devices and medical electronic equipment; developing radio and television sets (including colour television); developing digital electronics for control systems and data processing; maintaining liaison with universities and industry; undertaking contract research for user organisations; running seminars; publishing an electronics journal; undertaking small-scale production of specialised components and equipment; and assisting national standardisation of components and techniques.

Section 5 vests general administration and policy-making in a Governing Body appointed by the Federal Government, made up of full-time members (the Director General, who chairs it, and the Directors of the Institute's Divisions) and ex-officio members (five representatives of concerned ministries and organisations, including the Ministry of Science and Technology, plus a representative of the universities); the Governing Body can also co-opt representatives from the electronics industry. Section 6 provides that the Director General is the Institute's chief executive, appointed by the Federal Government and required to be an eminent technologist in electronic engineering, serving renewable terms of up to three years; Directors of Divisions are similarly appointed from eminent technologists in their field. Section 7 creates an Executive Committee (the Director General and Directors) responsible for day-to-day running of the Institute, and Section 8 requires at least four Governing Body meetings a year, with a quorum of five members including the Director General.

Section 10 lists the Institute's funding sources: federal and provincial government grants, donations and endowments, income from investments and royalties, income from development contracts, and foreign aid or loans approved by the Federal Government. Section 11 requires an annual statement of receipts and expenditure, with funds kept in an account with the State Bank of Pakistan (or the National Bank of Pakistan acting as its agent) and accounts audited by the Auditor-General of Pakistan or appointed chartered accountants. Section 16 specifically excludes the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969 from applying to the Institute's staff. Section 17 provides that rights to any discoveries, inventions or design improvements made by Institute staff in the course of their employment belong to the Institute, though the Institute may reward the inventor with an award or honorarium. Section 19 gives the Federal Government power to make rules, and the Institute power to make regulations with government approval.

This is now a more than forty-year-old law (1979), and the extract does not indicate substantial amendments, so the description above should broadly reflect the Ordinance as currently structured; readers should still confirm against the current official text for any later changes, particularly given how much electronics technology and Pakistan's research institutions have evolved since 1979.