Paris: France will partner India in a study for upgrading the speed on Delhi-Chandigarh rail line to 200 km per hour and help in re-development of Ambala and Ludhiana railway stations. France will also help in development of Smart Cities in India to be identified by the host government. These were among the outcomes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s talks with French President Francois Hollande here on Friday. The two sides signed a Railway protocol, which seeks to establish cooperation between Indian and French Railways for semi-high speed rail and station renovation.
Under the protocol, Indian Railways and French National Railways (SNCF) will co-finance an execution study by SNCF for a semi-high speed project on upgradation of the Delhi-Chandigarh line to 200 kms per hour and re-development of Ambala and Ludhiana railway stations in Punjab.
“The leaders look forward to cooperating in areas such as modernization of the Railways and in high speed and semi-high speed rail projects, in urban transportation and in roads..,” said a joint statement issued after the talks.
France also expressed interest in collaborating with India for development of Smart Cities from among the list of cities to be identified by the Government of India, the Statement said.
The two sides also agreed on a new scheme to allow Indian students in France and French students in India to stay for a period of 24 months. The scheme offers Indian Visa for 12 months renewable once for a period of 12 months for 250 French students and a ‘second residence permit’ of 12 months for the Indian students in France following the 12 months already granted. A Letter of Intent on Ayurveda between Ministry of Ayush and University of Strasbourg provides for conducting joint workshops/conferences on Ayurveda as complimentary medicine in France.
