France to provide up to 7 lakh euros for railway station development in India
New Delhi, Jun 10: Indian Railway Station Development Corporation (IRSDC) on Monday entered into a tripartite agreement with French National Railways (SNCF) and French Development Agency (AFD), under which a grant of up to 7 lakh euros will be provided to boost capacity building for railway station development program in India.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Suresh Angadi, Minister of State of Railways, and Jean Baptiste Lemoyne, Minister of State for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France in India and other senior officers of French Embassy and Indian Railways.
"Under this agreement, AFD, has agreed to provide in-kind grant financing up to 7,00,000 Euros, through SNCF-Hubs and Connexions as a Technical Partner to IRSDC to support capacity building for the Railway Station Development Program in India," said a statement released by the Indian Railways.
This will impose no financial liability on IRSDC or Indian Railways, the statement said.
"India and France have a strong and long standing prosperous partnership in the railway sector. French Railways (SNCF) in the past has been associated with Indian Railways in conducting speed upgradation study for Delhi-Chandigarh section and station development of Ludhiana and Ambala stations," Angadi said.
"I am sure that this effort will go a long way in further strengthening Indo-French cooperation and will help Indian Railways in positioning its stations to world class standards," he added.
On Twitter, Ziegler said, "Just after the signing ceremony of an Indo-French agreement to support India's modernisation of railways stations, @JBLemoyne (Lemoyne) met Shri @PiyushGoyal (Piyush Goyal) to discuss about the future of this cooperation! (sic)"
Piyush Goyal is the railway minister.
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West Asia crisis: MEA establishes control room to assist Indians
New Delhi (PTI): The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has set up a control room to assist those affected by the escalating crisis in West Asia.
The MEA has said almost one crore Indian citizens live in West Asia and their safety and well-being is of "utmost priority" for New Delhi.
As the Iran-US conflict widened, the Indian embassy in Iran moved hundreds of Indian students from the Iranian capital of Tehran to safer locations.
"A Control Room has been set up in the Ministry of External Affairs in view of the current situation in West Asia and the Gulf region," the MEA said on Wednesday.
"The Control Room can be contacted from 9 am to 9 pm at: 1800118797 (Toll Free) +91 11 2301 2113, +91 11 2301 4104, +91 11 2301 7905," it added.
The US launched military strikes on Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Following the military offensive, Iran has carried out a wave of attacks mainly targeting Israel and American military bases in several Gulf countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
The MEA on Tuesday noted that almost one crore Indian citizens live and work in the Gulf region, and their "safety and well-being is of utmost priority."
"We cannot be impervious to any development that negatively affects them," it said.
The MEA said New Delhi will continue to closely monitor the evolving situation and take relevant decisions in the national interest, adding it is in touch with the governments in the region as well as other key partners.
A Special Control Room has been set up in the Ministry of External Affairs in view of the current situation in West Asia and the Gulf region. Details are as below ⬇️
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) March 4, 2026
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