Key Highlights:

  • Report highlights India's development contributions: A new report says India's 2026 BRICS presidency has advanced the Global South's development agenda through digital infrastructure and finance experience.
  • Digital public infrastructure cited as a model: Aadhaar, UPI and India Stack are highlighted as examples of digital systems built for mass adoption.
  • UPI's international spread: UPI-based payment services have been introduced in countries including France, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and the UAE.
  • New Development Bank's role: Established by BRICS in 2015, the NDB offers an alternative financing source to traditional institutions like the World Bank and IMF.
  • India among the NDB's principal beneficiaries: Projects like the Madhya Pradesh Major District Roads Project have been financed through the bank.
  • MSME focus flagged as significant: India's emphasis on local-currency financing and MSME support could extend BRICS finance beyond large infrastructure projects.

New Delhi: India's 2026 BRICS presidency has succeeded in highlighting that the concerns of developing countries should not be treated as peripheral to global governance, and made a positive contribution to the development agenda of the Global South, according to a new report.

India has brought some practical contributions to the table, which include its experience with digital public infrastructure and the crucial need for development finance, according to an article on the Directus news website.

India's Digital Public Infrastructure As A Model

Over the past decade, New Delhi has built a digital ecosystem that has changed how millions of Indians access payments, banking and public services. Aadhaar, UPI and the broader India Stack have become important examples of how digital systems can be designed for mass adoption.

UPI, which began as an Indian payment infrastructure, has become a reference point in conversations about accessible and interoperable digital payments. Its internationalisation has spread, with UPI-based payment services being introduced in countries such as France, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and the UAE.

India's experience provides developing countries with a working example of how digital public systems can be built around everyday economic activity, the article points out.

"The initiative is significant because it moves the conversation from technology as a marker of national prestige to technology as a means of expanding economic participation," the article observes.

The New Development Bank: An Alternative Financing Source

It also underlines that finance is another area where India's BRICS engagement carries wider significance, as for the developing world, the problem is not merely a shortage of investment. It is the cost of accessing it and the difficulty of securing funds for projects that may not offer immediate commercial returns.

The New Development Bank, established by BRICS in 2015, was an important step towards addressing this imbalance. Headquartered in Shanghai, the bank was created to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects in member countries. Its founding members committed equal initial capital, giving the institution a structure distinct from the voting arrangements of traditional Bretton Woods institutions — the World Bank and the IMF, the article states.

The bank's importance lies in the fact that it creates an additional source of development finance to the World Bank or other development lenders at a time when infrastructure requirements across the Global South remain enormous, the article points out.

India has been one of its principal beneficiaries. NDB financing has supported projects in India, including the Madhya Pradesh Major District Roads Project, which was approved to improve road connectivity and transport infrastructure. Such projects illustrate how the bank's role can extend beyond the language of financial reform to the everyday requirements of development.

Extending Finance Beyond Large Infrastructure

"Yet the larger question remains whether BRICS finance can reach beyond major infrastructure. India's emphasis on MSMEs, investment cooperation and local-currency financing is relevant here. Small businesses are often more exposed to credit constraints and currency volatility than large corporations. Easier access to finance could make a difference to employment, entrepreneurship and local economic activity," the article states.

This serves to provide a BRICS financial agenda that goes beyond large state-backed projects and expands the opportunities available to smaller economic actors to create more jobs and incomes for the poor masses.

The article also highlights that India's BRICS presidency has also sought to place health, agriculture, sustainability and innovation on the agenda — all of which are closely tied to the resilience of societies.

(With inputs from IANS)