India’s Contribution to BRICS
India’s Contribution to BRICS: How India Helped Build BRICS and Is Shaping the World
Introduction
India is not simply a member of BRICS. It has been one of the countries helping transform BRICS from a diplomatic dialogue among emerging economies into a platform for development finance, digital innovation, sustainable growth, trade, healthcare, agriculture, energy and reform of global governance.
India is one of the original four BRIC countries alongside Brazil, Russia and China. Over the years, it has repeatedly pushed the grouping towards practical institution-building.
The clearest example came at the 2012 BRICS Summit in New Delhi, where the idea of creating a new development bank was formally advanced. That proposal ultimately became the New Development Bank, now one of BRICS’ most important institutions.
India’s role has become even more significant in 2026, when it assumed the BRICS Chairship for the fourth time.
The 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi adopted a declaration commending India for pursuing a balanced, practical, actionable, inclusive, development-oriented and people-centred approach. More than 400 BRICS meetings and engagements were held across 30 Indian cities during the Chairship.
The larger story is therefore not only about what India receives from BRICS.
It is about what India contributes to BRICS and how those ideas can influence the wider world.
India’s Contribution to BRICS: At a Glance
Period / Initiative | India’s Contribution | How It Helped BRICS | Wider Global Significance |
Founding phase | India was one of the original BRIC economies and helped establish political cooperation | Helped create a major forum for emerging economies | Strengthened the collective voice of developing countries |
2012 New Delhi Summit | India proposed exploring a BRICS Development Bank | Created momentum for what became the New Development Bank | Offered emerging economies another source of infrastructure and sustainable-development finance |
2014–15 NDB creation | The first NDB President was designated to come from India | Helped institutionalise BRICS financial cooperation | Created a new multilateral development institution with an initial authorised capital of $100 billion |
2016 Goa Chairship | India pushed institution-building, agricultural research, counter-terrorism cooperation and people-to-people engagement | Broadened BRICS beyond economics | Connected development, security, agriculture and regional cooperation |
BRICS Agricultural Research Platform | India initiated the platform | Improved cooperation in agriculture, innovation and climate resilience | Encouraged knowledge-sharing to strengthen food systems |
2021 Chairship | India advanced the first BRICS Digital Health Summit, Counter-Terrorism Action Plan, remote-sensing cooperation and green tourism initiatives | Expanded BRICS into health, security, space and sustainability | Demonstrated how emerging economies can cooperate in technology and public policy |
2026 Digital Cooperation | India put Digital Public Infrastructure and digital governance at the centre of the BRICS ICT agenda | Encouraged affordable, interoperable and citizen-centric digital systems | Creates models developing countries can adapt for payments and public services |
2026 Energy Cooperation | India launched the BRICS Digital Centre of Excellence for Smart Grids and Energy Storage | Built a platform for energy technology and knowledge-sharing | Supports energy transition, grid resilience and cleaner growth |
2026 Industry & Startups | India proposed a BRICS Incubator Network and BRICS Startup Innovation Fund | Increased cooperation on startups, MSMEs, photovoltaics and logistics | Helps emerging-market entrepreneurs access wider innovation networks |
2026 Trade | India drove the Jaipur Consensus and principles for MSME credit | Targeted financing barriers faced by smaller companies | Can improve participation of MSMEs in global trade and value chains |
2026 Agriculture | India led consensus on the Indore Declaration | Put food security, farmer welfare, climate resilience and digital agriculture on the agenda | Offers developing economies a framework for more resilient food systems |
2026 Health | India advanced digital health, responsible AI, mental wellness and public-health networks | Created lasting institutional health mechanisms | Supports resilient healthcare systems across developing countries |
2026 Education & Skills | India pushed skills, research, innovation and mutual recognition of qualifications | Expanded human-capital cooperation | Helps prepare the emerging-market workforce for the digital economy |
2026 Knowledge Sharing | India’s Chairship saw the launch of the BRICS-NDB Knowledge Portal | Creates a shared platform for best practices and technical knowledge | Strengthens South-South knowledge exchange |
1. India Helped BRICS Build Its Most Important Financial Institution
Perhaps India’s most important historical contribution to BRICS was helping initiate the idea that eventually became the New Development Bank.
At the fourth BRICS Summit in New Delhi in March 2012, leaders agreed to examine the feasibility of establishing a development bank that could mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable-development projects.
Official Indian records explicitly state that the idea of the bank was proposed during the New Delhi summit.
Two years later, the BRICS countries signed the agreement establishing the NDB. The bank was created with an initial authorised capital of $100 billion, and its first president was to come from India.
Today, the NDB reports $42.9 billion in approved financing across 139 projects covering clean energy, transport, water, housing, social infrastructure and digital infrastructure.
India itself has received substantial NDB financing. In March 2026, NDB President Dilma Rousseff said the bank had committed nearly $10 billion across 32 projects in India since its inception.
Recent projects include affordable housing, education infrastructure, renewable energy and Lucknow Metro Phase 1B, for which proposed NDB financing is $311.4 million.
This demonstrates how an idea advanced in New Delhi developed into a financial institution operating across emerging economies.
2. India Is Giving BRICS a Digital Public Infrastructure Model
India’s next major contribution comes from its experience in building digital systems at enormous scale.
The most visible example is UPI.
According to the National Payments Corporation of India, UPI processed approximately 24.51 billion transactions in August 2026, worth around ₹29.82 lakh crore, with 752 banks live on the system.
The relevance to BRICS is important.
Developing economies need digital systems that can provide payments and public services affordably to very large populations.
During the 2026 BRICS ICT track in Pune, India placed strong emphasis on Digital Public Infrastructure, interoperability, cybersecurity, digital sovereignty and citizen-centric digital services.
Instead of simply discussing technology, India can bring the experience of implementing it at national scale.
That is one way India is helping shape a wider debate around digital development for the Global South.
3. India Is Turning BRICS Into an Innovation and Startup Platform
BRICS cannot remain relevant if it only focuses on traditional diplomacy.
Future economic power will increasingly depend on technology, startups, advanced manufacturing, clean energy and digital services.
India used the 2026 Industry Ministers’ Meeting in Jaipur to advance cooperation in:
MSMEs, startups, photovoltaics, logistics and industrial innovation.
India also proposed a BRICS Incubator Network and a BRICS Startup Innovation Fund.
These proposals could connect entrepreneurs and innovation ecosystems across some of the world’s largest emerging markets.
India is therefore helping move BRICS from government-to-government dialogue toward business-to-business and startup-to-startup cooperation.
4. India Is Helping Small Businesses Enter Global Markets
Large corporations usually find it easier to access international finance than smaller businesses.
India has tried to address this challenge inside BRICS.
At the 2026 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Jaipur, members agreed on the Jaipur Consensus and Guiding Principles for MSME Credit.
The initiative is intended to reduce the trade-finance gap and improve access to global markets for smaller companies.
BRICS members also commended India’s leadership in advancing work towards the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2030.
This is significant because the long-term success of BRICS will depend on whether cooperation benefits entrepreneurs, employees and smaller companies, not only governments and multinational corporations.
5. India Is Bringing Food Security and Farmers Into Global Diplomacy
India’s agricultural scale gives it substantial experience dealing with food security, small farmers, climate risk and agricultural technology.
Under India’s Chairship, BRICS Agriculture Ministers adopted the Indore Declaration in June 2026.
The declaration focused on:
food security, farmer welfare, climate-resilient agriculture, agricultural trade, innovation and digital agriculture.
India has also historically promoted the BRICS Agricultural Research Platform, intended to strengthen research and innovation cooperation among member countries.
This matters far beyond BRICS.
Climate change, food security and rural livelihoods are challenges shared by much of Africa, Asia and Latin America.
India is therefore helping place farmers and food systems at the centre of Global South cooperation.
6. India Is Shaping the BRICS Health Agenda
India is also using BRICS to expand cooperation in healthcare.
The 2026 BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting under India’s Chairship adopted institutional frameworks covering health equity and public-health cooperation.
India introduced new priorities around healthy lifestyles and mental wellness, while continuing cooperation in TB research, disease surveillance, digital health and medical regulation. NIMHANS was selected to coordinate a BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence on Mental Wellness.
India has also demonstrated its population-scale digital-health infrastructure.
The government reported more than 940 million ABHA health IDs and one billion linked digital health records by July 2026.
This gives India a practical example of how digital public infrastructure and responsible AI could be applied to healthcare across developing economies.
7. India Is Helping Shape the Global Energy Transition
Energy is another area where BRICS countries have enormous global influence.
Under India’s 2026 Chairship, the BRICS Energy Ministers launched the BRICS Digital Centre of Excellence for Smart Grids and Energy Storage.
The initiative is intended to strengthen cooperation in energy technology, grid modernisation and storage systems.
At the same time, the NDB is financing India’s energy transition.
Its 2026 REC Energy Infrastructure Project proposes up to $300 million in financing to support renewable-energy hybrid projects and battery energy storage.
India is therefore influencing BRICS energy cooperation in two ways: through policy platforms and through real investment.
8. India Is Making Education and Skills Part of BRICS Strategy
Technology will create little long-term value without trained people.
India has therefore brought education and skills into the centre of BRICS cooperation.
The 2026 Education Ministers’ agenda included:
early-childhood education, vocational skills, research, innovation, startups, mutual recognition of qualifications and academic leadership.
This is important for the next generation of BRICS cooperation.
If qualifications, skills and research networks become easier to connect across member states, BRICS could gradually create a much larger ecosystem for education, innovation and talent.
9. India Is Making BRICS More Knowledge-Driven
One of the newest developments under India’s Chairship is the BRICS-NDB Knowledge Portal, launched in Mumbai in September 2026.
The portal is designed to consolidate and share technical expertise, good practices and knowledge generated by BRICS working groups and NDB operations.
This may sound less dramatic than a summit announcement, but knowledge-sharing is crucial.
Emerging countries frequently face similar challenges in transport, energy, healthcare, finance and digitalisation.
A platform that enables governments to learn directly from each other can make South-South cooperation more practical.
10. India Is Giving the Global South a Stronger Voice
India’s influence within BRICS is ultimately connected to a wider argument about global governance.
India has repeatedly supported reform of international institutions so they better reflect contemporary economic and demographic realities.
During the September 2026 BRICS Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UN Secretary-General António Guterres discussed multipolarity and reform of multilateral institutions, including the UN Security Council.
The BRICS New Delhi Declaration similarly calls for a more representative, fair and responsive international system.
This is where India’s BRICS role connects with a much bigger global story.
India is advocating a world in which developing countries have greater influence over the rules governing trade, finance, technology, development and international institutions.
How India Is Shaping the World Through BRICS
India’s global influence does not come from a single initiative.
It comes from connecting several ideas.
India is demonstrating that digital public infrastructure can serve hundreds of millions of people.
It is helping build alternative development-finance institutions.
It is pushing agriculture, health, skills and MSMEs higher on the international agenda.
It is encouraging cooperation on AI, clean energy and digital governance.
And it is simultaneously arguing that the Global South deserves a stronger voice in international institutions.
India’s economic weight also strengthens that influence. The IMF projects growth of 6.4% for India in 2026–27 and describes India as one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies and a key engine of global growth.
What makes India particularly important to BRICS is therefore not simply the size of its economy.
It is the combination of scale, development experience, digital capability, democratic institutions, diplomatic reach and practical solutions.
India’s 2026 BRICS Chairship: From Dialogue to Delivery
India’s 2026 Chairship offers perhaps the clearest picture of the country’s evolving BRICS strategy.
More than 400 meetings and engagements were organised across 30 Indian cities, involving ministers, parliamentarians, officials, businesses, experts and citizens. The New Delhi Declaration explicitly commended India for promoting a practical and people-centred approach.
The agenda has stretched across digital infrastructure, energy, agriculture, health, trade, education, industry, disaster resilience, urbanisation and security.
For example, India also hosted BRICS cooperation on disaster risk reduction and resilient cities in 2026.
This reveals the central idea behind India’s approach:
BRICS should not become influential merely because its members are large. It should become influential because it solves problems.
Conclusion: India Is Helping BRICS Move From Influence to Impact
India’s contribution to BRICS can be traced from the organisation’s earliest years to the present.
It helped build the political forum.
It proposed the idea that became the New Development Bank.
It promoted agricultural research, digital health, counter-terrorism cooperation and remote sensing.
In 2026, India has pushed BRICS further into digital public infrastructure, AI, smart energy, startups, MSME finance, food security, healthcare, education and knowledge-sharing.
This is also how India is increasingly shaping the world.
Not by asking every country to copy India, but by demonstrating solutions that can be adapted by other developing economies.
The future of BRICS will depend on whether its members can convert economic scale and political visibility into measurable improvements in people’s lives.
India’s contribution is increasingly focused on exactly that transition:
from declarations to institutions, from institutions to implementation, and from cooperation to development.
That may ultimately be India’s most important contribution to BRICS and to the wider Global South.
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