IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Eurostar is to trial the use of biometrics for customers checking in for services at its St Pancras International hub.

The high-speed rail operator first announced plans for a biometrics trial last summer – the initiative had been scheduled to launch in March this year, but trusted identity, payments and data protection firm Entrust confirmed that its solution would “soon be piloted in the UK by Eurostar”.

Via the digital transformation of its entire urban infrastructure, the French city of Dijon has cut it service costs by 40%, with several more benefits to come. In partnership with four external experts, the city is developing a state-of-the-art digital infrastructure.

The vision is to have every service in the city – public transportation, traffic lights, police, emergency response, utilities, and several others – connected via a digitalised central nervous system, complete with the maintenance and security functions for each. For Dijon metropole, this means connecting 23 municipalities with a combined population of 260,000 people.

The French Development Agency (AFD) on Friday said that it is committed to providing over 2 billion euros in next three years for India’s “Smart Cities” project.

“AFD’s commitment is to provide 2 billion euros over the next 3years of loans to support smart cities and sustainable development in India,” its chief Pascal Pacaut told media here after it and the Indian finance ministry’s department for economic affairs held their 6th annual negotiation meeting on Thursday regarding the implementation of India’s “smart cities” project.

The CITIIS programme will be implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the National Institute for Urban Affairs

The CITIIS programme under the country's Smart Cities Mission provides a "strong platform" for both India and France to achieve their shared vision of a sustainable future and a more equal and just society through collaboration, French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler has said.

The AFD funding is expected to be finalised before French President Emmanuel Macron’s expected visit to India next month

French development bank AFD has shown interest to fund €100 million (around Rs800 crore) for India’s smart cities mission, a finance ministry official has said.

Under the smart city mission, the government has so far identified 99 cities for upgradation which would require a total investment of about Rs2.03 trillion.

Ministry of housing and urban affairs will get experts in planning and development of smart cities from France in order to bring the delayed smart city projects on fast track. “French President will visit India in the month of December this year and agreement on many projects including smart city will be on the agenda. French participation in smart city projects of India is likely to be announced in December this year,” a senior government official said. The French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to visit India in December.

The development of Information and Communication Technology in the field of health is a high-stakes topic and an opportunity for the industry, both at national and European levels. In order to make France a world leader in the field of eHealth, determination and cooperation among public and private actors are a necessity, according to the database's introductory statement.

A new ranking of European Union member states by their technical progress has produced some surprising winners and losers and is sure to provoke heated debate.

Most notably, France, which has been investing loads of money into promoting itself as a forward-thinking, tech-savvy nation, was lumped in the lowest category — countries labeled “falling behind” because their current scores are below average and they are deemed to be progressing more slowly than their neighbors.

Rostelecom's representatives were headed by Senior Vice-President Anton Kolpakov.

The parties discussed the implementation of development projects for e-government in their countries, design and technological solutions and exchanged views on prospects for provision of electronic government services to citizens of Russia and France.

Deutschland, Spanien und Frankreich wollen die elektronische Vernetzung ihrer Strafregister vorantreiben.

The Government Office of Vietnam and the French Development Agency (AFD) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in e-government development in Hanoi on May 30.

Attended the signing ceremony were Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and French Ambassador to Vietnam Bertrand Lortholary.

A seminar on building smart and digitalised cities was held in Hanoi on April 14, as part of the 12th Vietnam-France decentralized cooperation conference.

The event was co-chaired by Permanent Vice Chairman of the Da Nang municipal People’s Committee Ho Ky Minh and President of the Nevers Agglomeration Denis Thuriot.

Speaking at the event, Minh shared the approach to smart city development in Da Nang under the pillars of infrastructure - data – intelligence, with people and organisations being placed at the centre to assess its effectiveness.

France’s core experience and success in developing an e-government were shared with the Vietnamese side during a meeting between officials of the two countries.

At their working session in Paris on April 19, Minister and Chairman of the Office of the Vietnamese Government Mai Tien Dung, General Secretary of French Government Marc Guillaume, Secretary of State for Digital Affairs Mounir Mahjoubi, as well as representatives from French enterprises, discussed the possibility of boosting the link-up between the two countries to help Vietnam to develop an e-government.

France will provide technical assistance for Vietnam to streamline administrative procedures, improve its business environment and build the e-government and digital transformation under a cooperation programme between the Vietnamese Government Office and the French Embassy in Vietnam released on June 3.

The programme on cooperation in administrative modernisation in combination with digital transformation in 2022-2023 is within the framework of a memorandum of understanding between the Office and the French Ministry of Economy and Finance, on e-government development and administrative modernisation.