BRICS by BRICS: India's journey from seeking reforms to shaping global order

New Delhi: As India gears up to host the BRICS Summit later this week, a distinctive transformation has redefined New Delhi's global footprint-shifting the narrative from once demanding space at international forums to now actively shaping the global order with indigenous, scalable solutions.

From its 2012 Chairship as the world reeled from the Eurozone debt crisis to its 2016 presidency amid Brexit uncertainties, India consistently rallied for a more representative international financial architecture. The early calls for equity materialised into powerhouse institutions like the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Agreement (CRA), including its first green bond issuance in renminbi.

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Then came 2021 - and an entirely different global crisis.

When the COVID-19 pandemic brought global trade and public health systems to their knees, India rejected "vaccine weaponisation" in favour of vaccine diplomacy, sharing open-source digital health repositories with developing nations. As the pandemic disrupted economies and supply chains and access to vaccines became a geopolitical concern, India sought to position itself not merely as a beneficiary of global cooperation but as a provider of solutions.

Five years later, in 2026, India is once again at the helm of BRICS, this time with the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability" - bringing together its domestic experiences and international partnerships as it seeks to amplify the voice of emerging economies and the Global South.

In an interview with ANI, Sameep Shastri, Chairman of the BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BRICS CCI), highlighted how India's trajectory within the alliance mirrors its own domestic economic evolution.

"In the early years, the focus was understandably on seeking a greater voice for emerging economies in global financial institutions," Shastri told ANI.

"As BRICS evolved, the conversation moved towards creating mechanisms of its own-the creation of the New Development Bank was a vital step. Today, India comes to the table with considerable experience of its own, whether in digital payments, financial inclusion, startups, renewable energy, or supply chain resilience. India is no longer only asking how the global system should change; it is also able to share what has worked for it," Shastri added, emphasising that exchange within the bloc remains a two-way street," he added.

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Addressing how Indian economic models can drive the BRICS vision of innovation and resilience, Shastri pointed to India's pioneering work in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), led by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

"Platforms such as UPI have shown how technology can bring millions into the formal digital economy. But India's experience also spans financial inclusion, MSMEs, renewable energy, and affordable healthcare-developed in response to real challenges faced by a massive, diverse population," Shastri stated.

He cautioned against a one-size-fits-all approach, noting, "The real opportunity is to share technology and know-how, allowing each country to adapt them to its own requirements."

Shastri emphasised that India's digital rollout offers a fundamental blueprint for other nations-- constructing open, interoperable systems rather than leaving digital access trapped behind proprietary, private platforms.

"There cannot be a single template for everyone. I see BRICS as a useful platform for this kind of exchange. Governments, financial institutions, technology companies and startups can learn from each other and explore partnerships," he said.

"If we can make digital technology more accessible, secure and affordable, it can become a very powerful tool for inclusive growth across the Global South," he added.

With global financial architecture undergoing rapid realignment, Shastri took a pragmatic stance on the push toward local currency settlements among BRICS members.

"The growing use of local currencies in trade between BRICS countries is an important development," Shastri told ANI. "BRICS can play a useful role by looking at better payment connectivity and interoperability between payment systems to make trade settlements easier."

However, he stressed that market viability must dictate policy implementation. "Questions around convertibility, transaction costs, regulatory clarity, and financial stability will matter enormously. Currency diversification should develop gradually as trade grows. The objective is greater choice and resilience in international trade, rather than creating a system designed to replace an existing one."

Shastri's remarks underline the changing nature of India's BRICS engagement - a journey that began with New Delhi seeking a greater voice in institutions designed largely by the developed world, and has increasingly moved towards demonstrating that emerging economies can also build, innovate and offer workable alternatives.

From the New Development Bank to Digital Public Infrastructure, from vaccine diplomacy to resilient supply chains, India's BRICS story increasingly reflects a country that is not merely asking for a seat at the global table, but arriving with solutions of its own.