BRICS expansion could boost India’s local-currency trade

Source: Moneycontrol | Original Published At: 2026-09-14 10:00:43 UTC

Key Points

• BRICS expansion could increase India's potential local-currency trade settlement share to about 40 percent across the BRICS+ network.
• For India, the potential share rises from 22.4 percent under the original BRICS framework to 33.8 percent under the expanded BRICS grouping and 39.5 percent under BRICS+.
• Russia could potentially settle 61 percent of its trade with BRICS+ partners in local currencies, while Iran's potential share could reach 64 percent.
• Ethiopia and Indonesia could also benefit significantly, with nearly half of their trade potentially falling within the expanded local-currency network.
• Greater local-currency settlement could reduce third-currency conversion costs and limit exposure to fluctuations in major international currencies.
• The actual share of trade settled in local currencies would depend on payment arrangements, currency convertibility, liquidity, and acceptance by exporters and importers.