BRICS India 2026: Big move towards de-dollarisation as India pitches for linking payment systems for trade within bloc

Commerce minister Piyush Goyal today urged the BRICS member nations to link payments systems to facilitate trade in local currencies.

Goyal also called for making digital trade more accessible globally.

What is India's mega pitch on non-Dollar trade?

“India has taken significant initiatives in laying out a digital public infrastructure. 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,” Goyal said while addressing the Opening Session of BRICS Business Forum 2026 in New Delhi.

"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," he said.

"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. Goyal also underlined the fact that non-tariff measures lead to higher export costs, which even surpass the tariff measures and called for making market access easier and smoother for businesses.

"I urge BRICS member states and partner countries to open their markets while working together to simplify regulatory procedures and facilitate faster clearance of consignment," the minister said.

Speaking at the session minister of state for commerce and information technology Shri Jitin Prasada highlighted that BRICS Business Forum provides an opportunity to convert the strength of BRICS economies into concrete commercial results.

“He highlighted digital services, particularly artificial intelligence, as an important area of collaboration, noting its potential to improve productivity, standard of living, incomes and outcomes for individuals and MSMEs, while ensuring access to compute, particularly in the Global South,” said a release from the ministry of commerce.

Prasada stressed the need for greater technology exchange and cooperation in AI while keeping the United Nations at the centre of governance. On semiconductors, he highlighted India’s Semiconductor Mission 2.0 with a financial outlay of about $13 billion in incentives and called for collaboration to develop the entire semiconductor ecosystem.