While Bell ID has one of the most comprehensive smart card management solutions today and manages over 125 million cards in different applications worldwide, MGRM has vast expertise in e-governance with its research based proprietary e-governance platforms for education, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and insurance domains as well as countrywide requirements.

Both partners expect this joint venture to be a significant investment initiative.

"This joint venture synergizes the unique strengths of both MGRM and Bell ID. Bell ID has experience in managing an unrivalled portfolio of international customers in many key markets while MGRM is first in the world to offer research based integrated e-governance platforms", Dr. KVR Murthy, Founder of MGRM Net, said announcing this 50:50 joint venture.

"We see very exciting prospects in this emerging space. The MGRM-Bell ID joint venture will explore smart card related opportunities secured by biometric applications based on domain research and integrate them with MGRM's OmVcard capability," said Pat B. Curran, Chairman of Bell ID.

Bell ID's expertise of having managed ID programmes worldwide equips the company to marry their strengths with the MGRM Net's on-ground experience of having developed, deployed and continued managed research based integrated IT applications in different domains in India using its proprietary OmVcard.

The MGRM-Bell ID joint venture will become operational in the next quarter or as soon as it completes the necessary formalities. An operational team is expected to step in as early as next month.