Pakistan deserves better, Call for responsible gov…

The recently published PRIME Plus report, An Assessment of the FY2026–27 Federal Budget Through the Lens of Economic Freedom, deserves appreciation for shifting the debate beyond conventional budget arithmetic. Rather than asking merely whether taxes have increased or decreased, it examines whether the budget enlarges or restricts the freedom of individuals and businesses to produce, invest, trade and innovate. That alone makes it a valuable contribution to Pakistan’s policy discourse. The report of Policy Research Institute of Market Economy (PRIME) correctly observes that Pakistan’s formal economy bears a disproportionate tax burden while much of the informal sector remains outside the effective tax net. It questions tax expenditures exceeding Rs 2.35 trillion, highlights the crowding out of private investment by government borrowing, welcomes tariff rationalisation and criticises regulatory uncertainty. These issues deserve much wider public attention. PRIME’s analysis also points towards a deeper weakness in Pakistan’s reform discourse: we discuss economic freedom without first securing constitutional governance. The distinction is fundamental. International indices commonly measure economic freedom through taxation, trade openness, government spending, financial markets and regulatory efficiency. These indicators matter. Lower barriers to enterprise can promote investment, innovation and competition. They answer only part of the question. Why do countries with similar tax rates produce very different economic outcomes? Why do investors accept higher taxation in some jurisdictions while avoiding countries with lighter tax burdens? Why do some economies flourish with relatively large governments while others stagnate despite repeated concessions? The answer lies primarily in institutions. James Buchanan argued that public finance cannot be analysed independently of the constitutional rules under which governments operate. Douglass North demonstrated that long-term development depends upon institutions that reduce uncertainty, enforce contracts and create predictable incentives. Centuries earlier, Ibn Khaldun linked prosperity with justice, moderation in taxation and restraint upon arbitrary power. Excessive intervention, unpredictable fiscal demands and rent-seeking, he observed, ultimately weaken both economic activity and state revenues. These intellectual traditions converge on one central proposition: economic freedom is not created simply by lowering tax rates. It emerges from constitutional governance. Pakistan’s experience illustrates this clearly. Successive governments have offered tax holidays, created special economic zones, reduced customs duties and announced investment facilitation mechanisms. Investment nevertheless remains subdued. Investors do not merely compare tax rates; they compare legal systems. They ask whether contracts will be enforced within a reasonable time, whether regulations will survive political transitions, whether tax liabilities can be altered retrospectively and whether executive discretion outweighs parliamentary certainty. These are questions of constitutional governance rather than fiscal engineering. The same principle applies to taxation. Pakistan’s problem is frequently described as one of high taxation. That diagnosis is incomplete. The deeper problem is unequal taxation. The salaried class in formal sector is fully documented, its tax is deducted before income reaches employees, and its compliance burden continues to rise. Large segments of commerce, services and agriculture operate under very different fiscal realities. The issue is not merely how much tax is collected, but whether equal citizens are governed by equal fiscal rules. A system built around withholding taxes, presumptive taxes, minimum taxes and sector-specific exemptions creates unequal citizenship before the law. It also encourages informality. Businesses do not remain undocumented only because rates are high. Formal participation imposes greater compliance costs while offering few institutional benefits. Documentation without trust becomes compulsion rather than reform. The PRIME report also notes that government borrowing crowds out private investment because banks prefer sovereign lending over commercial risk. This is not simply a banking failure. When governments repeatedly finance deficits through domestic borrowing, banks act rationally by purchasing government securities. Financial markets are responding to distorted fiscal incentives created by public policy. Interest payments and defence together consume nearly 94 percent of net federal revenue, leaving little fiscal space for education, healthcare, scientific research, digital infrastructure, justice administration and productive public investment. The challenge is not merely that government spends too much; it is that public priorities have become distorted. Expenditure that strengthens courts, education, digital infrastructure, research, public health and efficient regulation expands future economic freedom because it reduces uncertainty and lowers transaction costs. Spending absorbed by debt servicing and institutional inefficiency does not. Constitutional Political Economy therefore distinguishes between the size of government and the quality of government. Fiscal federalism is another neglected dimension. The Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010 reshaped the distribution of fiscal powers. Provincial sales taxes, fragmented administrations and overlapping jurisdictions now influence business decisions daily. Economic freedom cannot be assessed through the federal budget alone. The constitutional structure governing taxation matters as much as the annual Finance Act itself. Pakistan’s economic challenge is consequently larger than budget reform. Markets flourish where laws are predictable, taxation is neutral, contracts are enforceable, property rights are secure and governments remain subject to constitutional restraints. These conditions cannot be created through a single Finance Act. They require a durable commitment to constitutional governance. The value of the PRIME report lies in encouraging this broader conversation. The next step is to recognise that economic freedom rests upon a stronger constitutional foundation. Where constitutional governance is weak, economic reforms remain temporary. Where it is strong, markets can generate prosperity without constant discretionary intervention. Pakistan’s recurring fiscal crises are symptoms rather than the disease. The underlying ailment is institutional. Budgets can redistribute resources, but only constitutional governance can establish equality before law, predictable taxation, secure property rights and meaningful limits on arbitrary state power. Economic freedom, therefore, is neither the starting point of development nor a concession to be distributed through annual Finance Acts. It is the outcome of a constitutional order in which taxation rests on representation, public borrowing is subject to accountability, contracts and property are protected, and executive power remains bounded by law. In a rent-distributing state, freedom is rationed through exemptions, influence and discretion; in a constitutional state, it is secured for all through equal rules. Unless Pakistan reforms the institutions that determine who is taxed, how public money is spent, who bears the cost of debt and how state power is

Every August, right on schedule, my phone starts buzzing. Friends send me lists. WhatsApp group start heated debates. Neighbours stop me at the corner shop. Someone always has an opinion about who made it onto Pakistan’s civil awards list this year, and someone always has an even louder opinion about who got left off. I have seen this happen so many times now that I could almost set my watch by it. The list comes out, the arguments start, and by the time the dust settles, nobody remembers what the fuss was even about. The award list carries the names which we like the most, and unfortunately, it carries those names, which do not like. I want to tell you something I have come to believe after watching this cycle play out year after year. This debate we keep having, about who deserved a medal and who did not, is about as useful as arguing over which cloud looks more like a rabbit. It never ends, and it never really goes anywhere either. People pick their favourites, defend them like family, and forget the whole point of what an award is supposed to mean in the first place. Here is the real point, plain and simple. An award is not a popularity contest. It is not a reward for showing up. It is meant for something extraordinary. Something exceptional. A person who did work so far above the ordinary that the state felt it had to stand up and say thank you in front of everybody. Now here is where the story gets interesting, and honestly, a little strange. An economist named Zehra Farooq sat down and did something most of us never bother to do. She pulled together every single civil award given out over nine years, all 2,209 of them, and looked at the pattern. What she found should stop us all in our tracks. Back in 2018, only 73 people received awards. By 2026, that number had climbed to 372. That is five times as many people being called extraordinary in less than a decade. Think about what that actually means. If we are handing out that many more awards for exceptional service, it should follow that we have more and more exceptional people walking among us. Teachers going beyond the call. Officers solving problems nobody else could touch. Scientists, engineers, public servants, all rising to meet the moment. That is what a growing list of honourees is supposed to tell us. But here is the part that keeps me up at night. If we truly have this many extraordinary minds working for the good of the country, why does the country not feel more extraordinary? Why do our institutions still creak and groan the way they always have? Why does public service still feel, for so many ordinary citizens, like an uphill climb rather than a smooth road paved by all this supposed excellence? Something does not add up. Either the definition of extraordinary has quietly loosened over the years, or the excellence being honoured is not translating into the everyday experience of the people it is meant to serve. Farooq’s numbers also show something else worth sitting with. Women still make up only around ten to sixteen percent of recipients, a share that has barely moved in nine years, and their share shrinks even further at the highest levels of honour. So the next time the list comes out and the arguments start flying, I hope we can steer the conversation somewhere more useful. Instead of fighting over names, let us ask why the growth in awards has not translated into a more exemplary, more ideal society. That is the debate worth having. That is the one that might actually change something.

The moment started with a comment of a supreme court judge calling the unemployed Genz’s as “cockroach” when they were demanding to address the weakness of the system where there were almost 2 million students who are going to make an attempt to pass through the examination to prequalify, as the doctors. but the worst is what happened. Finally, despite that the Indians government paid an attention on their education system, they simply call that Genz’s as a cockroach. Historically, they need to understand that a cockroach can survive in the worst environment. Coming back to the topic, what happened in Indian education system, was a leakage of the NEET exam in the shape of a guess paper. Which was based on the fake pillars where for 2024 all that important papers were leaking with the advanced version of so-called guesses paper. 135 questions out of total 185 questions were exactly based on the same guess paper which was drafted by the person who exactly formatted the questionnaire of this NEET exam. Vice President Pakistan- China Joint Chamber Total democratic system of India which is ruthlessly dealing with the sentiments of Genz’s who lost their lives by committing suicide. India so-called, the largest democracy of the world, is even not being able to control its most acknowledgeable area, the medical studies. India claims that they are producing the most doctors globally. But how not we supposed to check their systems? Is that they are coming through the proper channels? Out of 2 million students who attempt this NEET exam every year, almost 120000 students can be qualified as doctor. But the leakage of this questionnaire globally, who will rely at the doctor degree of this community? It has come to our attention that their entire educational structure has already collapsed and been terminated internally. The matter cannot be settled with the resignation of their Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan who is only a part of that culprit syndicate which was operating among the Indian society form decades. The matter not only for the medical students, is that their system like the engineers, lawyers and other technical areas that have already been destroyed but the system. How India can claim that they are the global technical man power supplier? This have exposed India with its education system globally, who is going to trust that the fake degrees to the favorable students have been provided, is that the degrees really have the global value where every one sure that the leaders of BJP were also directly involved in this scam. Even the local media of India have identified that who are the culprits and beneficiaries for this scam. What I want to emphasize, the weakness of the system where everything is being unjustified and the privilege class at the basis of castism are the biggest beneficiaries. This have exposed a so-called system who is the beneficiary of this castism, and keeping that majority suppressed for the centuries. Even the democratic system of India is based on hollow cast. Where there is no space for the lower cast but still their claim to be the biggest democracy in the world is questionable. Where the majority is being ruled but the minority from centuries. Dalits under the savage rule of Indian castism are suffering with the disaster. They are Still being called untouchable with the dominance of the castism which is consistently trying to to promote its so-called elite class. Is that the India is willing to release the data for its sectorial, religious, a. nd scheduled cast who are under a constant pressure in all his century as a lower-class citizens? How this Modi government is going to make denial for that paper which was leaked on the first week of May? and was going to be as a facilitating tool for the students, with a money in their pocket. It have also been published that how his paper was properly scanned and was sent against money to the people who were already in a position to manipulate the system. That means the so-called upper class, the privilege class have their ways to dominate the system. But i will come back to my topic is that all that education system of India was already manipulated from decades, this is something have shown up recently? But how about the past? India who was claiming to produce most CEOs in the worl, have totally been failed. How about the Sundar Pachai degree, is there any certification that his degree was not formulated? It is not only a question mark on an education system rather than a system which was manipulating globally. This paper leak have a very viable question to the world. Not only for the doctors, engineers, pilots, IT experts under this system got a very big question mark. The level of corruption where these students were demonstrating was not only on a partial side to be an anti-BJP. But they were accusing a system adopted but the Phanatic ideology of RSS, where there is no space for the minorities and schedule cast. The acceptance of the resignation of India’s Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being viewed by many as holding him accountable not only for jeopardizing the future of countless students but also for the student suicides allegedly linked to the examination controversy. Is that Indian judicial system is enough powerful to go for a revenge? By confirming the resignation of their education minister, Indian Prime Minister have clearly shown his weakness. this is a crack in an ideology created by the Indian elite in last one and a half decade.

By Mudassar Javed Baryar Avni Doshi, the Booker Prize-shortlisted author of Burnt Sugar, returns with her second novel, The First House, a work that solidifies her reputation as one of the most compelling literary voices of her generation. Doshi, born in New Jersey in 1982, has established herself as a writer who fearlessly dissects the complexities of human relationships, particularly those between mothers and daughters, husbands and wives. Her debut was lauded for its unflinching honesty and lyrical prose, and The First House continues this tradition, offering readers a psychologically penetrating exploration of marriage, identity, and the slow, agonizing process of self-reclamation. The novel centres on an unnamed narrator whose thirteen-year marriage unexpectedly collapses, forcing her to confront not only the immediate devastation of her husband’s departure but also the deeper, more unsettling questions about her past, her family, and the very nature of love and sacrifice. It is a story that is as mythologically rich as it is emotionally devastating, weaving together ancient goddesses, astrological charts, and the relentless cycle of nature to create a profound meditation on what it means to lose everything and find oneself in the process. The First House is a domestic drama steeped in psychological intensity and mythological symbolism, unfolding through the intimate, raw perspective of its unnamed narrator. The story begins with a moment of shattering clarity: her husband enters their bedroom and calmly announces he no longer wishes to be married. From this single, devastating event, the narrative spirals outward, exploring the aftermath of abandonment and the slow, painful process of learning to exist without the structures that once defined her. The plot is not driven by a series of dramatic external events but rather by the protagonist’s internal journey as she grapples with her grief, anger, and profound disorientation. As the narrator struggles to maintain her composure for the sake of her two young daughters, she retreats into the world of astrology, studying birth charts in search of answers or perhaps just patterns that might explain the chaos of her life. She becomes fixated on the figure of Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt, whose statue stands in her neighbour’s yard—a constant, silent observer of her unravelling. The statue, originally commissioned as a weathervane, becomes a powerful symbol of her own perceived powerlessness and the indignity of being turned by forces beyond one’s control. The novel also weaves in the emergence of periodical cicadas, whose seventeen-year life cycles of subterranean dormancy and explosive, noisy mating serve as a metaphor for hidden growth, suppressed desire, and the inevitable transformations that drive all living things. The setting, a seemingly placid suburban landscape, contrasts sharply with the internal turmoil of the protagonist. Her world shrinks to the confines of her home, her fraught relationships with her parents, and her complicated, long-estranged relationship with her sister, Didi. The central conflict is her struggle to maintain a sense of self—to keep her head, as it were, while her life is dismantled piece by piece. As she navigates financial instability, the practical challenges of single parenthood, and the humiliation of being left, she is forced to confront uncomfortable truths about her marriage and herself. The novel is ultimately a story about the stories we tell ourselves to survive, and what happens when those narratives collapse. Doshi uses the themes of loss, betrayal, and self-reclamation to explore how we construct our identities through relationships and what remains when those structures are removed. The true power of The First House lies in Doshi’s extraordinary prose and the depth of her protagonist’s consciousness. The author crafts a narrative that is brutally honest, often uncomfortable, and deeply insightful into the psychology of a woman in crisis. The writing itself is a masterclass in showing, not telling; the reader feels the protagonist’s disorientation, her rising panic, and her eventual, hard-won clarity through the rhythm of the language and the accumulation of powerful, visceral details. Doshi has a remarkable ability to render complex emotional states with precision and economy, making the reader feel as though they are living inside the narrator’s mind. The novel’s structure, which moves between present-day events and memories of the past, creates a rich, layered portrait of a life that feels both specific and universal. One of the most compelling characters is the narrator herself. Her voice is raw, intelligent, and often unflattering, yet it is this very honesty that makes her so resonant. She is not a passive victim; she is a woman capable of sharp observation and deep self-criticism, which makes her journey of self-discovery all the more moving. For instance, her admission that she sometimes resented the intrusion of her family on her writing time, or her complex feelings of love and resentment towards her children, are depicted with a startling authenticity that challenges romanticized notions of motherhood. A specific example of her compelling development is her relationship with the act of writing itself. Initially a source of guilt and a symbol of what she has lost, writing gradually becomes a tool for her reclamation, a way for her to”re-collect”herself and her story. Her growing awareness of her own complicity in the failure of her marriage, and her willingness to examine her own flaws, makes her a deeply sympathetic and profoundly human character. Another exceptionally compelling aspect of the novel is the storyline involving the Diana statue and the cicadas. Doshi masterfully uses these elements not as mere decorative motifs, but as integral parts of the narrative’s thematic architecture. The statue of Diana, a representation of a powerful, self-possessed female deity, becomes a haunting presence throughout the novel, a mirror for the narrator’s own lost power and a link to her past self. The story of Diana’s commissioning as a weathervane, a great goddess forced to turn at the whim of the wind, becomes a potent symbol for the diminishment the protagonist feels in her marriage and society at large. The revelation of the architect’s violent death at the foot of the statue adds

Since 1949, China has been developing a model of the Socialist Market Economy with Chinese Characteristics (SMECC). These efforts accelerated after the introduction of the 1978 reforms. President Xi’s rise to leadership of the CPC has added new dimensions and dynamics to the process of creating the SMECC model. President Xi believes that the Socialist Market Economy with Chinese Characteristics (SMECC) is an integral part of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and a Community with a Shared Future. The SMECC model promotes the market by acknowledging its role in allocating resources and driving market volatility. At the same time, the SMECC model gives due weight to the state’s role. Rather than placing the leading role on the market, it places it on the state and institutions to ensure fair markets, equal opportunities, and fair competition among market participants, so the market functions smoothly. In a nutshell, market forces drive volatility to unlock the full potential of resources and markets; the state protects people’s interests, especially those of marginalized segments of society, the state, and the private sector. However, China believes it cannot build an SMECC model without establishing mutually beneficial economic linkages with other countries. To achieve this goal, China adopted opening up as a core objective of its reforms and has pursued it with sincere dedication since 1978. President Xi refined the concept and introduced the slogan of high-quality opening up, meaning that opening up must benefit people, not only businessmen or the state. He has made high-quality opening up an integral part of the Chinese economy in the New Era. Moreover, President Xi Jinping envisioned that China must open up to play a positive and leading role on the global stage. China adopted a comprehensive policy and plan to ensure high-quality opening up. First, to strengthen opening up, China deemed it necessary to invite the global business community to invest in the Chinese market. Thus, China began engaging foreign investors by expanding the catalog of encouraged industries for foreign investment, including new areas. Over the last decade, the catalog has changed significantly. In 2017, the catalog had 987 items. Of those, 348 were national, and 639 were regional and area-specific. The list has seen a major turnaround since then, and the 2025 catalog has 1678 items. It includes 619 national-level items, and 1060 are region-specific. The major objectives of expanding the catalog are 1) to encourage investment in manufacturing and supply chains, 2) to encourage investment in the Western region, and 3) to integrate the development of services, manufacturing sectors, and investment in the untapped Northern region. In the 2025 catalog, China focuses on: 10) Development and production of nucleic acid pharmaceuticals; 2) R&D and manufacturing of zero‑magnetic medical devices; 3)Smart testing and inspection instruments; 4) High-speed cameras and precision imaging equipment; 5) Intelligent energy management systems and related monitoring devices; 6) Design and production of deep-sea robots and specialized marine equipment; 7) Key technologies for gas-fired power equipment; and 8) R&D and production of core components for industrial robots. Simultaneously, China offers incentives such as tax exemptions on imported equipment, preferential land access, and lower corporate income tax. For example, China has introduced special incentives for investment in the Western region, including a 15% corporate income tax rate if the investor meets certain criteria. The government will also offer a special tax exemption for reinvestment in the country. Industrial land will be provided on a priority basis, and the base price for land transfer has been reduced by up to 70% to support industry setup. Moreover, equipment for self-use will receive a customs duty exemption. Second, President Xi has taken many innovative steps to accelerate and deepen opening up, with the China International Import Expo (CIIE) standing out above all. CIIE is a unique initiative in human history, as no other country has ever launched an import expo. This demonstrates the Chinese leadership’s determination to foster mutually beneficial economic linkages. It counters the liberal economic philosophy, which focuses on maximizing profit without giving due regard to others’ interests. CIIE is changing this traditional concept and trying to present a mutually beneficial model for global trade. Third, the launch of island-wide independent customs operations in the Hainan Free Port is another initiative that demonstrates China’s willingness to create more opportunities for the world. It is a step ahead of previous initiatives and aligns with President Xi’s vision. President Xi believes that amid a wave of protectionism, restrictions, anti-globalization movements, trade wars, and a my-country-first mentality, China must act as a beacon of hope for global economic development and globalization. To do so, China must deepen reforms and create concrete opportunities, not just talk. Therefore, the initiative is not only facilitating trade but also providing space for the global community to explore a new world of opportunities. How? It brings global businesses to Hainan FTP, where they interact to find opportunities not only in China but also in other countries. Data show that 9,600 foreign enterprises operate in Hainan, and investors from 170 countries and regions have invested. Fourth, China is not only inviting investment but also working to bridge the global investment gap. This is another way to create linkages and further open the Chinese market and economy to build the SMECC model. Therefore, China launched the Belt and Road Initiative to create economic opportunities. China has invested almost US$ 1.5 trillion and mobilized more than US$ 3 trillion from other countries and sources. China has also enhanced trade with BRI countries. China also launched the Global Development Initiative to help the world pursue sustainable development. According to data, China has invested more than US$ 23 billion under GDI. Moreover, China established the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to meet countries’ investment needs and bridge the investment gap. In 2025, total investment disbursements exceeded US$ 38 billion. China is also deepening economic openness through its modernization drive. President Xi believes that to achieve modernization objectives, China must be deeply engaged with other economies worldwide. The 15th Five-Year Plan further

South Korea is one of the most remarkable countries in the world. Shortly after the mid-20th century, South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. According to World Bank, it had a per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) of roughly 159 USD in 1960. The Helen Kellogg Institute For International Studies (University of Notre Dame) points out that South Korea’s per-capita income in early 1960 was lower than Haiti, Ethiopia and Yemen and over 40% of the South Korea’s population was suffering from absolute poverty. However, with right public policy actions implemented in the right direction, South Korea was among the most rapidly growing economies in the world by the start of 21st century. Do you know that South Korea had exponentially increased its per-capita GDP to 12,710 USD (in 2000) that then sky-rocketed to over USD 36000 in 2025? A question that one would ask is, what formed the basis of this rapid economic growth and a resulting reduction in poverty in South Korea? A World Bank report “Republic of Korea: Four decades of equitable growth” points out that South Korea has experienced rapid economic growth in 1990, where its real GDP grew by over 5 percent each year except 1998. Absolute poverty decreased incredibly in South Korea during 1975 – 2001. Those who remained poor were either had low educational achievements or were unemployed or underemployed. In 1975, South Korea earned USD 12.4 billion through trade that then skyrocketed to a trade volume of USD 314.6 billion in 2002. Thus, in a span of 27 years, trade volume of South Korea increased over 25 times which is nothing less than a remarkable success story. A journey that helped South Korea to achieve rags-to-riches status in 3 decades time. In my opinion, education made a significant difference in South Korean society and made it more socially resilient to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. As we all know that with education and the use of common sense, we make better life choices that then helps us is attaining better results for us and our families. Do you know that South Korean society is one of the most educated societies in the world? As per Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), over 58% of masses in South Korea has tertiary education. In-fact, South Korea performed better than Luxembourg, Australia, Norway, Netherlands and several other countries when it comes to percentage of masses (25 – 64 years) who have completed tertiary education in 2025. Highly educated masses mean highly qualified labour that can help any country in commencing sustainable social and economic development over a sustained period. We all are familiar with Samsung Electronics and the leading role it plays in connecting countries and people across the globe. Do you know that Samsung Electronics is a South Korean company? In 2025, Samsung Electronics declared a revenue worth a whooping USD 233.3 billion. Similarly, Hyundai Motor Co., Ltd is another South Korean motor vehicles and parts manufacturing company. According to Forbes, in 2025, Hyundai Motor Co., Ltd declared a financial revenue worth a whooping USD 128.4 billion including a profit of USD 9.1 billion. Hyundai Motor Company pointed out that it sold over 4 million vehicles worldwide out of which close to a million vehicles were electrified vehicles. Likewise, Kia Corporation is South Korea’s oldest motor vehicles manufacturing company and has a capacity to produce over 1.4 million vehicles each year. Kia Corporation has over 40,000 employees and normally reports an annual revenue of over USD 17 billion each year.  LG Electronics is another South Korean tech giant that reported a revenue of USD 62 billion in 2025. Finally, SK Hynix Inc is another South Korean company that manufactures semiconductor products and had reported an annual revenue of USD 51.2 billion in 2025 with profits over USD 18 billion. It is crucial to mention here that SK Hynix Inc is among the largest memory chip manufacturer’s in the world and acts as a rival to Samsung. Moreover, it is an important memory supplier to Apple and the components supplied by SK Hynix Inc are widely used in iPhone, iPad and MacBooks. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace reports that South Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP) was USD 1.71 trillion in 2023 and its per-capita GDP was USD 33,121. Do you know that in 2020, South Korea invested USD 112.9 billion on domestic research and development (R&D). Globally, it stood on fifth position when it comes to spending on R&D. Top spending on R&D in 2020 was commenced by United States with USD 720.9 billion, followed by China with USD 582.8 billion, Japan with USD 174.1 billion and Germany with USD 143.4 billion. Despite commencing rapid social and economic development, South Korea has not compromised on environmental conservation. According to The Korea Times newspaper, South Korea planted roughly 10 billion trees from 1960 to 1980. As a direct result of this, Korea Forest Service (KFS) reported that South Korea’s forest growth rate exponentially increased from 50 cubic meters per hectare in 1990 to 148 cubic meters per hectare in 2015. Thus, in a span of 25 years, forests in South Korea observed nearly 3 times increase in growth rate. It serves as an excellent example that we can commence economic growth, eradicate absolute poverty and conserve environment simultaneously. The already discussed example shatters the paradigm that we must compromise and degrade environment to commence economic growth. A successful reforestation program in South Korea proves the fact that we can commence economic growth and protect environment simultaneously. Do you know that trees are the most inexpensive carbon capture and storage devices? Moreover, healthy forests help us to decrease the concentration of carbon dioxide gas in atmosphere, mitigate climate change, prevent biodiversity loss, avoid landslides and provide clean air and water by decreasing pollution. We must understand this basic fact that for our commenced economic growth to be sustainable, we must preserve and protect environment. In-fact, Sustainable Development has 3 pillars