India demands freer trade, easier movement of skilled workers within Brics | Today’s news

India on Friday called on Brics members to further open their markets to each other’s products, including raw materials and critical minerals, and skilled professionals, while pushing for freer trade within the bloc and greater use of local currencies to settle trade.

Speaking at the opening session of the Brics trade forum at the National Capital, Trade and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said supply chains will only be resilient if they run both ways, without non-tariff measures imposing higher costs or access issues blocking opportunities.

The 11-nation grouping accounts for 40% of the world’s gross domestic product and nearly a quarter of global exports, Goyal said.

Quick answers to key questions

•5 QUESTIONS

India has been urging BRICS members to further open their markets to each other’s products, improve the mobility of skilled workers and promote trade in local currencies to facilitate trade within the bloc.

India aims to reduce dependence on major currencies such as the US dollar, promote financial stability and increase trade efficiency by facilitating transactions in local currencies among BRICS countries.

India proposes improving logistics, simplifying regulatory procedures and ensuring sound market practices to create resilient supply chains that will benefit all member states.

India faces a significant trade deficit with the BRICS countries, with imports significantly exceeding exports, mainly due to high imports from China, highlighting the need for better market access within the bloc.

Yes, promoting cooperation in access to technology and development of digital infrastructure is essential to enhance economic growth, productivity and ensure mutual trust among the BRICS countries.

In 2025, the bloc accounted for 21.6% of world exports and 17.3% of imports, while intra-bloc trade accounted for only 4-5% of world trade, according to an estimate by research firm Global Trade Research Initiative. Brics accounts for 42% of India’s imports but only 22% of its exports, largely because of the country’s large trade deficit with China.

Read also | Bigger Brics, tougher economy, but tougher consensus

India is hosting the Brics Business Forum and Leaders’ Summit from September 11 to 13 in the nation’s capital. Originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Brics expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in 2024, with Indonesia joining in 2025.

Open technical approach

At the same event, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar emphasized the need to separate the approach to technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), from geopolitics.

“Technology has always been inseparable from economics and geopolitics. Digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence, fintech and advanced manufacturing all offer great opportunities. But they also raise questions: questions of access, standards, security and trust,” he said.

Jaishankar also said that higher economic activity and greater economic security mean greater self-reliance among Brics members.

Read also | Bigger Brics, tougher economy, but tougher consensus

“The aim is to strengthen our ability to absorb shocks while remaining connected and competitive,” Jaishankar said. “This requires true market practices, reliable logistics, a predictable business environment, diversified business relationships and transparent trade and investment.”

He urged the businesses in the cluster to look beyond commercial opportunities to the conditions that enable them to do so.

Trade in local currencies

Goyal also urged Brics members to build on India’s digital public infrastructure, especially the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which he said accounts for more than 250 billion transactions annually and more than half of transactions by volume globally.

“Today (UPI) is also accepted in 11 countries and I would like to call on the Brics member countries and partner countries to link our payment systems, transact with each other in local currencies, make digital commerce global and build together for future emerging economies,” Goyal said.

According to him, India has advanced in manufacturing products, including engineering goods, electronics and pharmaceuticals, as well as agricultural products and various services, pushing for greater market access within the Brics bloc.

Trade between the partners should be “deep, resilient, with diversified supply chains and should ensure that at no point does trade become a hindrance to the growth and well-being of the people of each member state,” Goyal said.

He also called on member states to simplify regulatory procedures and facilitate faster clearance of shipments to boost trade.

“We will open up our services markets in a real sense. Allow professionals to move easily across borders and facilitate mutual recognition of professional qualifications,” he said.

Business cooperation

Jaishankar called for energy systems capable of coping with disruption and transition paths suitable for different national conditions. He said the forum’s most useful contribution would be to bring a clear business perspective to the next phase of Brics cooperation.

“We are building tomorrow, today – from green energy to high-speed metro networks,” he said.

The summit comes at a time when the global political and economic order is facing upheaval, with volatility, uncertainty and complexity becoming its defining features, Jaishankar said.

“We are witnessing the economic consequences of geopolitical conflicts, pandemics and climate-related disruptions,” he said. At the same time, technological progress opens up new possibilities for growth, productivity and development.

“The result is an economic environment where both risks and opportunities are increasingly distributed, and where the ability to anticipate, adapt and respond is becoming more important. Resilience has therefore become the forum’s agenda, supply chain connectivity and trade facilitation have emerged as essential,” he said.

Russia for resilient supply chains

Maxim Reshetnikov, Russia’s economic development minister, confirmed Russian support for “concrete steps to support resilient supply chains, to accelerate green and digital transformation” and called on foreign businesses to set up units in his country.

He also said that Russia is actively negotiating trade deals with India and several other countries. Russia signed a free trade deal with Iran last year, while a pact with the United Arab Emirates is due to enter into force in October and another deal with Indonesia early next year, Reshetnikov said.

“Today we are an economy of opportunity. Russia’s GDP has grown by 10 percent in real terms over the past three years,” Reshetnikov said. “Despite external pressure, our economy remains market-oriented. Today we focus on structural transformation.”

The dollar and euro together accounted for 85% of Russian export settlements three years ago, but now account for 11%, he said. “The alternative international financial system has become our key lever,” he said.