The Union Ministry of Education, in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs, is organizing the BRICS Bharat Innovates Exposition on September 11-12, 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The event serves as a showcase of India's deep-tech innovations and runs alongside the 18th BRICS Summit being held on September 12-13, 2026 under India's BRICS Chairship.
The exposition features 37 Indian deep-tech startups and ventures selected from the original cohort of 120 that participated in the maiden Bharat Innovates edition held in Nice, France from June 14-16, 2026. The event aligns with India's BRICS Chairship theme of "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability" and supports the BRICS Education Track priority of "Enhancing Research, Innovation and Start-up Ecosystems".
The exposition is being held alongside the BRICS Business Forum on September 11, providing participating innovators networking opportunities with CEOs, investors, business leaders and industry representatives from BRICS member countries. This facilitates B2B engagements, technology partnerships, investment discussions, business linkages and international market access. The event is supported by industry associations FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM, which provide structured matchmaking services.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi, and BRICS leaders are expected to visit the exposition. Senior Indian and international delegates associated with BRICS Leaders' engagements, along with CEOs and investors from BRICS countries, are also expected to attend.
The previous edition in France resulted in significant outcomes, including over 30 collaboration MoUs and partnerships, and funding commitments of US$254.5 million for Indian startups and ventures. These results were achieved through 1,350 B2B meetings with participation from over 2,000 attendees representing 29 countries. The France event showcased India's top 120 deep-tech startups across 13 thematic areas and 15 institutes including IITs, IISc, BIRAC and iDex.
This event builds on the Ministry of Education's engagements under India's BRICS Chairship 2026, which included hosting the 13th BRICS Education Ministers' Meeting on August 7, 2026 and the 3rd BRICS Senior Officials' Meeting on Education on August 5, 2026 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. These meetings resulted in the adoption of the 13th BRICS Education Ministers' Declaration outlining cooperation across five priority areas including early childhood education, skill development, research innovation, mutual recognition of qualifications, and capacity building for academic leadership.