BRICS Summit: Businesses Expect Grouping to Deliver on Trade, Investment

Source: Business Standard | Original Published At: 2026-09-10 13:04:41 UTC

Key Points

• Indian businesses expect the BRICS summit to deliver easier market access, lower regulatory barriers, stronger supply-chain partnerships, investment flows, technology collaboration, and efficient payment mechanisms.
• The 11-member BRICS grouping accounts for about 26% of global trade, but India's trade with China, the United Arab Emirates, and Russia remains heavily import-biased.
• Businesses seek concrete steps to reduce non-tariff barriers, improve regulatory transparency, enable mutual recognition of standards, speed up customs procedures, and support digital trade documentation.
• Economists expect local-currency trade, payment-system linkages, and reserve diversification to be key summit themes, with a focus on broader use of domestic currencies rather than directly challenging dollar dominance.
• Foreign direct investment cooperation, including possible India-China engagement on the summit sidelines, is expected to proceed cautiously with guardrails tied to geopolitical developments.
• A common energy-security framework is likely to be closely watched because BRICS includes hydrocarbon exporters, fossil-fuel-dependent economies, clean-energy manufacturers, and energy-intensive importers.
• The Federation of Indian Export Organisations called for stronger business-to-business engagement through sector-specific buyer-seller meetings, investment matchmaking, technology partnerships, joint ventures, and regular delegations.