The human centric approach of India’s BRICS Presidency is visible in the way the agenda of the Summit has been framed with a focus on internationalising micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), a key pillar of several BRICS economies, and creating a fund for startups.

MSMES And Startup Fund  

In the run-up to the New Delhi BRICS Summit from Saturday, a Framework for Cooperation in the SME Working Group has been adopted, which includes the establishment of a BRICS MSME Cooperation Portal and a Dialogue on Finance to strengthen cooperation in MSME financing.

The BRICS MSME Cooperation Portal will serve as a digital ecosystem accessible to all BRICS member countries, supporting MSMEs, technology centres and clusters, trade associations, financial institutions, training and capacity-building institutions, policymakers, and other relevant stakeholders. The idea is to help the MSMEs of BRICS member states access markets and finance. 

In this context, the Inaugural BRICS MSME Forum was held in Agra in June 2026, and will be a sustained platform for engagement to strengthen MSME cooperation.

A Workplan on the Internationalisation of MSMEs, comprising a Jaipur Consensus to study a BRICS Invoice Discounting Mechanism and Guiding Principles for Credit Assessment Frameworks for Export-Oriented MSMEs, has been adopted. 

Similarly, the BRICS Startup Innovation Fund that can be announced at the Summit will catalyse financing for early and growth-stage startups and foster innovation-driven entrepreneurship in BRICS countries. The idea is to establish a dedicated institutional mechanism for governance, fund management, and operations of the proposed Fund, with voluntary mobilisation of public and private financing for innovative and scalable start-up-led solutions across BRICS countries. It is understood that India stands ready to share best practices in the startup sector with other BRICS member states. 

A BRICS Incubator Network, a digital interface/network to connect National Nodal

Agencies, selected incubators, and startups across BRICS countries; facilitate

registration and linkages with participating incubators; and enable the referral of qualified startups to incubators in other BRICS countries will also be set up. There is a proposal to launch the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) repository for BRICS countries and pilot projects of digital public infrastructure solutions for digital transformation of BRICS countries. India, as a global leader in DPI, stands ready to share its knowledge and best practices with members of the Global South.

Resilient Supply Chains

Governments across continents are scrambling to ensure resilient supply chains that impact businesses and common citizens.  

The group, hoping to overcome challenges that global supply chains are facing due to geopolitical turbulence, is ready to adopt the BRICS Logistics Supply-Chain Cooperation Framework. This will be a voluntary consensus-based framework to strengthen cross-sector transport logistics resilience and sustainability. 

It aims to address fragmented supply chains and weak connectivity by promoting technical exchange, knowledge sharing on cargo and shipping services, localised assembly and manufacturing ecosystems, and capacity building, while advancing environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient logistics practices.

Similarly, there is a plan for the establishment of the BRICS Urban Mobility Hub as a collaborative platform to facilitate structured training, expert workshops, and pilot projects to demonstrate scalable models in public transport.

Also in the pipeline is a BRICS Forum on Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), which will promote cooperation on feedstock mapping, the exchange of SAF certification practices, and the alignment of Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification frameworks with international standards, taking into account national capacities and priorities.    

Labour And Skilling 

With the mobility of citizens among BRICS members and from the BRICS member states to the countries of the Global North that are facing a population shortage, skilling of labour across sectors is a priority for all governments.  

India’s BRICS Presidency has pushed BRICS CONNECT (Cooperation Network for Capacity Building, Employability, and New Skills and Technologies) to facilitate the sharing of best practices and knowledge exchange in labour market intelligence, skills forecasting, future skills, digital employment services, and social security. 

India’s BRICS Presidency has given considerable focus on agriculture and agro-industry, given the fact that the sector provides livelihoods and sustains the population across BRICS member states. 

BRICS Centres of Excellence on Agro-Ecology have been agreed upon as a collaborative platform for joint research, knowledge sharing, and capacity building on natural, organic, and regenerative farming practices to promote climate-resilient and sustainable agricultural systems.

A network to strengthen cooperation in artificial intelligence, geospatial technologies, digital public infrastructure, and data-driven agricultural solutions, bridging innovation with practical applications for farmers, has been discussed by the BRICS member states.

BRICS AGRIN

BRICS AGRIN (Agro-Inputs, Genetic Resources and Information Network) has been agreed upon as a voluntary, farmer-centric cooperation framework among BRICS countries to strengthen collaboration in seeds, germplasm, and agricultural inputs.

Also agreed upon is a virtual collaborative platform for member countries to exchange policy experiences, build local capacity, and document traditional agricultural knowledge. Initially, it will be coordinated by India through the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority.

In the run-up to the Summit, a BRICS Digital Centre of Excellence for Smart Grids and Energy Storage was also launched, which will serve as a voluntary platform for knowledge sharing, capacity building, the exchange of policy and regulatory best practices, and promotion of pilot initiatives among BRICS countries.

The members have decided to update the Terms of Reference of the BRICS Energy Research Cooperation Platform (ERCP) aimed at strengthening the institutional framework for research, technical cooperation, and knowledge exchange in the energy sector. 

While geopolitics and geoeconomics cannot be sidestepped and a multipolar world order is the mantra for the BRICS member states, India’s BRICS Presidency will be an important milestone in the group’s history to set the tone for citizens’ priorities. 

(The writer is a commentator on geopolitics and geoeconomics. Views expressed are personal.)