India urges BRICS to link payment systems, encourage local currency trade

New Delhi: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal Friday urged member countries of the BRICS bloc to link their payment systems, encourage trade in local currencies, simplify regulatory procedures and make digital trade more accessible globally.

At the Opening Session of BRICS Business Forum 2026, he also encouraged BRICS leaders to open their markets to each other’s products, including raw materials and critical minerals, and to work together to simplify regulatory procedures and facilitate faster clearance of consignments.

Also read: BRICS' trade puzzle: Modi, Putin and Pezeshkian pitch three different fixes


Highlighting that India has taken significant initiatives in laying out a digital public infrastructure, he said India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has crossed over 250 billion transactions a year, representing more than half of the transactions by volume across the world.

“Today, it (UPI) is also accepted in 11 countries and I would urge the BRICS member countries and partner countries to link our payment systems, trade in each other’s local currencies, make digital trade global and build together for the future emerging technologies,” Goyal said.

The business forum was held on the sidelines of the two-day BRICS summit, being hosted by India from Saturday.

At the same session, Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said BRICS countries represent a quarter of the global economy and a powerful voice for a sustainable future.

“We stand for concrete steps to foster resilient supply chains, accelerate green and digital transition…Russia strongly welcomes foreign businesses to enter our country. Today we are the economy of opportunities,” Reshetnikov said.

He said Russia has taken a series of measures to boost exports, economic growth and modernise infrastructure and added that exports accounted for 18% of the GDP.

“Three years ago, dollar and euro totalled 85% of settlements for Russian exports. The figure now stands at about 11%. An alternative international financial system became our key leverage. Today it links thousands of banks from many countries and prospects are even greater,” the Russian minister said.

BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with Indonesia joining in 2025. Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam became BRICS partner countries last year.

Resilient trade

Goyal also said that trade amongst partners should be deep, and resilient with diversified supply chains, ensuring that at no point of time trade becomes an impediment to growth and the well-being of the people of each member state.

“We should open our markets for each other’s products, including for raw materials and critical minerals. Our supply chains will be resilient when they run both ways,” he said adding non-tariff measures lead to higher export costs, which are even more than the tariff measures.

The minister insisted on making market access easier and smoother for businesses while working together to simplify regulatory procedures and facilitate faster clearance of consignments. He added that agriculture, pharmaceuticals, engineering, electronics, automobiles, auto components, and services hold immense potential for increasing cooperation.

He also called for encouraging agri-tech startups to develop solutions together for farmers across the BRICS nations in the interest of food security for people.

“Let us open our services markets to each other in a real sense. Let professionals move easily across borders and make it easier to recognise each other’s professional qualifications,” Goyal said.

Also read: PM Modi, Iran's President Pezeshkian hold talks on the sidelines of BRICS; second meet since West Asia war

Agri focus, finance gap

The Russian minister said that active negotiations for a trade agreement between India and Eurasian Economic Union are ongoing and suggested BRICS members to focus on two specific initiatives – BRICS grain exchange, and BRICS special economic zones (SEZ) Association.

Noting that BRICS countries are among the world’s leading producers and consumers, he said they still rely on price benchmarks that reflect the interests of entirely different markets.

“We urgently need two independent mechanisms for strategic agricultural commodities,” Reshetnikov said adding that Moscow has prepared a detailed plan to establish the BRICS grain exchange which is a unified trading platform where producers, traders and buyers can conclude transactions directly and called upon partners’ feedback at the public and the private level.

He called for joining hands in developing BRICS business navigator for investors and to participate in SEZs ranking across BRICS countries.

“Today fragmentation divides, instability isolates, but together we endure…That is resilient supply chains, shared prosperity and a more balanced global economy. Let us continue this work not as competitors, but as partners in shared economic future,” he said.

Russia, he said, remains open to doing business together and to have joint investment projects and initiatives. “We welcome you in Russia, come and grow together”.

At the session, commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal called for taking steps to bridge trade finance gaps estimated at $2.5 trillion. and suggested to enable exporters to access affordable working capital based on confirmed orders and reliable payment records.