India Is Building a Third Way for BRICS’ Digital Economy

Source: Modern Diplomacy | Original Published At: 2026-09-14 22:00:30 UTC

Key Points

• The 2026 BRICS Summit’s New Delhi Declaration emphasized sovereign digital ecosystems, interoperable Digital Public Infrastructure, and artificial intelligence within BRICS’ development agenda.
• The declaration welcomed work on a BRICS Digital Public Infrastructure repository, pilot projects, the Digital BRICS Forum, and the Focus Group on Digital Public Infrastructure.
• India has signed India Stack and Digital Public Infrastructure cooperation agreements with 24 countries, focusing on architecture and design principles rather than exporting finished products.
• The article argues that BRICS may benefit more from interoperable national digital stacks than from a single shared technology stack.
• Indonesia’s QRIS cross-border payment connectivity and planned QRIS-UPI interoperability are cited as examples of sovereign interoperability.
• Bangladesh’s shift from the Binimoy platform to a Mojaloop-based instant payment system illustrates efforts to redesign payment architecture while reducing dependence on proprietary foreign platforms.
• BRICS leaders committed to implementing the grouping’s statement on global AI governance and expanding access to AI resources and capabilities for the Global South.