Continued from Page 1
| Country |
Project
description |
No
of Cards (in million) |
Launch
Year |
| Germany |
Health
card |
70 |
1993 |
| Belgium |
SSI health
card |
10 |
1997 |
| Spain |
TASS
benefits card |
2 |
1997 |
| France |
Health
card |
40 |
1998 |
| Slovenia |
Health
insurance card |
2 |
1998 |
| Russia |
Health and
benefits card |
3 |
1998 |
| Argentina |
Driver’s
license |
2 |
1998 |
| India |
Gujarat
state driver’s license |
0.7 |
1998 |
| United
States |
Department
of defense |
4 |
2000 |
| Brunei |
National
ID card |
0.3 |
2000 |
| Taiwan |
Health
card |
24 |
2001 |
| Malaysia |
Government
multi-purpose card |
2 |
2001 |
| South
Africa |
National
ID card |
30 |
2001 |
| Mexico |
Card
registration project |
14 |
NA |
| Canada |
Health
insurance card |
10 |
NA |
Meanwhile, encouraged by its initial success, the Gujarat
government is now planning to expand the use of chip cards by issuing 50,000
stored-value smart cards to truck drivers, enabling them to pay local levies and
toll taxes electronically. Add to this the recent decision by the Calcutta and
Delhi Metro authorities to issue smart card-based tickets, as also the
intentions of the respective authorities of the Noida toll bridge and the Mumbai–Pune
highway and one can well visualize the growing number of smart cards. Not to
miss the fact that the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) has
already completed its project with smart cards for its passengers.
Opportunities galore |