BRICS should link payment systems, boost local currency trade: Goyal

Addressing the opening session of the BRICS Business Forum, a day ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Goyal said members should work towards making digital trade global while jointly developing capabilities in emerging technologies.

Highlighting India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Goyal said the home-grown digital payment system now processes more than 250 billion transactions a year, accounting for more than half of global transactions by volume. UPI is currently accepted in 11 countries, he said.

The push for greater use of local currencies was backed by Russia’s Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov. He said the share of Russia’s exports settled in US dollars and euros had fallen sharply from 85% three years ago to 11% currently.

“An alternative international financial system became our key leverage,” Reshetnikov said, adding that it now links thousands of banks across several countries and has further scope for expansion.

He said Russia’s “friendly partners” now account for 85% of its total trade turnover, twice the level recorded in 2021.

For India, strengthening BRICS supply chains has particular significance amid concerns over China’s export controls on strategic and critical minerals and rare-earth products needed for electric vehicles, renewable energy and defence industries.

Goyal urged BRICS members to open their markets to each other, including for raw materials and critical minerals. “Our supply chains will be resilient when they run both ways,” he said.

India faced an acute supply squeeze in rare-earth magnets following China’s tighter export controls in 2025. While supplies to Indian manufacturers have eased, concerns remain over the reliability and continuity of supplies, particularly as demand for these materials is expected to rise with the expansion of clean-energy and advanced manufacturing sectors.

Goyal also flagged non-tariff barriers as a major impediment to trade, saying regulatory requirements can impose costs higher than tariffs themselves. He called on BRICS members and partner countries to simplify regulations and facilitate faster clearance of consignments.

“Let us also encourage our agri-tech startups to develop solutions together for farmers across the BRICS nations in the interest of food security for our people,” he said, while also calling for greater opening of services markets. Russia proposed a more ambitious initiative on food security, with Reshetnikov pitching the creation of a BRICS Grain Exchange.

BRICS countries are among the world’s largest producers and consumers of agricultural commodities, but continue to rely on international price benchmarks that, according to Russia, do not adequately reflect their market conditions. “We urgently need two independent mechanisms for strategic agricultural commodities,” Reshetnikov said, adding that Russia had prepared a detailed plan for a BRICS grain exchange.

The proposed platform would allow producers, traders and buyers to transact directly. Russia has sought feedback from BRICS partners at both government and private-sector levels. Goyal said engineering goods, electronics and pharmaceuticals account for a significant share of India’s exports and that BRICS represents an important market for these products.

India wants trade within the grouping to become deeper and more diversified, with supply chains structured in a way that prevents trade disruptions from becoming a constraint on economic growth.

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

Goyal also called for easier movement of professionals across BRICS countries and mutual recognition of professional qualifications, seeking to broaden cooperation beyond goods trade to services and human capital.