BRICS Business Forum 2026 Address
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the BRICS Business Forum 2026, highlighting the significant economic weight of the BRICS alliance which now comprises 21 countries including partners. The bloc represents 50% of the world's population, 40% of global GDP, and over 25% of global trade. Notably, while global GDP has grown approximately 2.5 times since BRICS' inception in 2006, the combined GDP of BRICS countries has grown around 4.5 times, demonstrating growth at nearly twice the pace of the world economy.
India's Economic and Innovation Landscape
Under the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability," India has focused on diversifying supply chains from energy to technology and expanding infrastructure including roads, railways, ports, and airports. The country is building new capabilities in strategic sectors such as shipbuilding, semiconductors, quantum technology, critical minerals, and biotechnology. India is experiencing a startup revolution with more than 200,000 startups and over 120 unicorns, transforming sectors including education, healthcare through AI, Green Hydrogen, batteries, defence, and space.
Digital Innovation and Financial Inclusion
India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has gained significant global traction, currently processing 50% of the world's real-time payments. This technology has provided new momentum for financial inclusion and digital transactions at population scale, with an open ecosystem provided to industry and startups for building new solutions.
Trade and Cooperation Initiatives
Despite increasing global trade barriers, India has entered into Free Trade Agreements with nearly 40 countries since 2014. Under India's BRICS Presidency, new cooperation networks have been established in agriculture, healthcare, skills, and smart grids. Specific initiatives include the BRICS Incubator Network, BRICS MSME Portal, and BRICS Startup Innovation Fund to connect startups and SMEs with markets and finance. The BRICS Women's Business Alliance has seen participation from nearly 200 women business leaders.
Forward-Looking Proposals
The Prime Minister proposed three specific benchmarks for the BRICS Business Council: preparing a report on removing the top 10 trade barriers among BRICS countries, supporting 100 BRICS startups annually to scale into other BRICS markets, and developing 1,000 new partnerships among businesses. Progress against these benchmarks should be reviewed annually to transform BRICS' ambition into action and collective strength into global solutions.