India Opens BRICS Statistics Meet with Focus on Better Data Systems

Source: Devdiscourse | Original Published At: 2026-08-03 16:35:52 UTC

Key Points

• India inaugurated a two-day meeting of Heads of National Statistical Offices of BRICS member countries in Lucknow, with more than 350 delegates participating.
• The 2026 BRICS Statistics Track is held under India's BRICS Chairship and the broader BRICS theme of building resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability.
• India's adopted theme for the track is "Quality Statistics as Driver of Change," focusing on accurate, timely, people-centric data and stronger statistical systems.
• MoSPI Secretary Dr. Saurabh Garg, chair of the BRICS 2026 Statistics Track, highlighted priorities such as modernising national statistical systems, using administrative data and digital public infrastructure, and strengthening data governance and privacy standards.
• Representatives from Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates reaffirmed their commitment to deeper cooperation in official statistics.
• The meeting released the draft BRICS Joint Statistical Publication 2026 and the Snapshot BRICS JSP 2026, which will be refined after consensus-based inputs from participating countries.
• Technical sessions and a side event focused on digital data dissemination, transformational reforms in statistical systems, administrative data, metadata, interoperable digital systems and trusted data ecosystems.