India has shown BRICS how sovereign digital systems can work together

Source: Hindustan Times | Original Published At: 2026-09-22 06:19:04 UTC

Key Points

• India’s UPI processed 24.51 billion transactions in August 2026 and is linked internationally in 11 countries, including Singapore through the UPI-PayNow linkage.
• The article argues that India’s 2026 BRICS presidency can apply sovereign digital interoperability principles to health cooperation.
• It recommends a federated BRICS health trust framework rather than a central database, keeping health records under national control.
• The proposed shared rules include adopting India Stack, an International Patient Summary, common clinical terminologies, trusted digital signatures, and open-source reference software.
• The article suggests narrow pilots such as portable vaccination records, continuity of care for tuberculosis patients, and patient summaries for medical travellers.
• It cites India’s CoWIN and Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission as evidence that large-scale digital health infrastructure can support cross-border cooperation.