Xi and Putin on the Same Stage: A Major Test for India Within BRICS

Source: प्रभात खबर | Original Published At: 2026-09-12 02:57:41 UTC

Key Points

• Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting India after seven years, while Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to share the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BRICS summit.
• The summit highlights India's foreign policy approach of maintaining dialogue with multiple power centers while prioritizing strategic autonomy.
• BRICS includes democracies, monarchies, one-party states, and countries involved in conflict, making consensus on a joint declaration difficult.
• Limited or voluntary cooperation in trade, development finance, technology, and payments may be more practical than pushing for a fully unified BRICS position.
• India's trade with BRICS has grown after the pandemic, but the trade deficit has also widened, especially due to manufacturing dependence on China.
• India and Brazil have been cautious about a shared BRICS currency, while interoperability of digital payments and central bank digital currencies is a separate payment infrastructure issue.
• India can contribute a practical model through digital public infrastructure, instant payments, consent-based data exchange, and climate finance via the New Development Bank in local currencies.