Archive · 12 Sep 2026
India Outlines BRICS Priorities on Cooperation, Innovation and Sustainability
Harsh Vardhan Shringla explained India’s plans for leading BRICS.
BRICS is a group of countries that work together on shared issues.
India wants the group to focus on projects that help ordinary people.
One idea is allowing India’s UPI payment system to work across more member countries.
Another idea is sharing early warnings when dangerous diseases appear.
India also wants better support for farmers facing climate problems.
A proposed startup fund could help entrepreneurs from BRICS countries.
Shringla said BRICS has grown greatly since it began with four countries discussing the idea in 2006.
Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India’s BRICS chairship is centered on people-focused cooperation, innovation and sustainability.
India is promoting the Unified Payments Interface as a possible model for cross-border retail payments among emerging economies.
The presidency has advocated an early-warning mechanism for infectious diseases across BRICS countries.
Other proposed initiatives include a digital agricultural network and a startup innovation fund for member-country entrepreneurs.
Shringla said BRICS has grown from a 2006 meeting of four foreign ministers into a grouping representing about half of humanity and 40% of global GDP by purchasing power parity.
- Who
- Harsh Vardhan Shringla, a former foreign secretary and Rajya Sabha member, described India’s BRICS priorities.
- What
- India is promoting people-centered cooperation involving digital payments, health alerts, agricultural support and startup innovation.
- When
- The remarks were made on Wednesday during the 18th BRICS Summit hosted by India; the two-day summit was scheduled to conclude on Sunday.
- Where
- Shringla spoke at Adamas University in Barasat, near Calcutta, while the summit was being held in New Delhi.
- Why
- India wants BRICS to become more relevant to developing countries and the global south through cooperation, innovation and sustainability.
- BRICS chairship theme
- Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability
- BRICS membership
- Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
- India’s chairship
- India is holding the rotating chairship for the fourth time
- Digital payments proposal
- India is promoting the Unified Payments Interface as a possible model for cross-border retail payments
- Health proposal
- An early-warning mechanism for infectious diseases among BRICS countries
- Additional initiatives
- A digital agricultural network and a startup innovation fund
- BRICS scale
- Shringla said the grouping represents about half of humanity and 40% of global GDP in purchasing power parity terms