Cabinet approves digital tech MoUs with France, two other countries

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the country's three separate memorandum of understandings with Papua New Guinea, France, Trinidad and Tobago in the field of digital technologies.

The MoU (memorandum of understanding) with France intends to promote closer cooperation and exchange of information pertaining to digital technologies, and will mutually support each participant's goal to promote access to digital technology in their countries, according to an official statement.

"The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty of the French Republic on cooperation in the field of Digital Technologies," the statement said.

The MoU is likely to enhance bilateral cooperation in digital technologies in the G2G (government-to-government) and B2B (business-to-business) domains.

"MoU envisages improved collaboration, leading to employment opportunities in the field of IT," the statement said.

The Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) has been mandated to promote international cooperation in the emerging and frontier areas of information technology under a bilateral and regional framework of cooperation.

"The cooperation under this MoU will start on the date of its signature by both Participants and will last five years," the statement said.

The cabinet approved the MoU signed on July 28 between Meity and the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology of Papua New Guinea on cooperation in sharing successful digital solutions implemented at population scale for digital transformation.

"The MoU intends to promote closer cooperation and exchange of experiences and digital technologies-based solutions (viz. India Stack) in the implementation of digital transformational initiatives of both the countries. The MoU shall come into effect from the date of signature of the Parties and shall remain in force for a period of three years," the statement said.

The government has opened India stack -- a set of technology tools like Aadhaar, UPI, and Cowin -- for their adoption in other countries.

The cabinet has approved a similar agreement to promote India stack between Meity and the Ministry of Digital Transformation Technology of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

The MoU with Trinidad and Tobago will also remain in force for a period of three years.