India’s BRICS Presidency pushed innovation, startups and resilient growth through business cooperation.
BRICS Business Forum 2026 took place in India on 11 September, focusing on trade, investment, innovation and commercial cooperation among BRICS economies. The forum was held under India’s BRICS Presidency theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
The forum highlighted the economic scale of BRICS, whose countries represented 50 per cent of the world’s population, 40 per cent of global GDP and more than 25 per cent of global trade. Additionally, The combined GDP of BRICS countries had grown around 4.5 times since 2006, while the global economy had grown approximately 2.5 times over the same period.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined India’s business priorities in his opening address, highlighting opportunities in infrastructure, shipbuilding, semiconductors, quantum technology, critical minerals and biotechnology. Innovation also featured prominently, with attention given to artificial intelligence, healthcare, green hydrogen, batteries, defence and space.
The forum highlighted initiatives supporting start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises, including the BRICS Incubator Network, BRICS MSME Portal and BRICS Startup Innovation Fund. Cooperation networks covering agriculture, healthcare, skills and smart grids were also presented as areas for further business engagement.
Prime Minister Modi also proposed identifying the top 10 trade barriers among BRICS countries, helping 100 BRICS start-ups each year expand into other BRICS markets, and developing 1,000 new business partnerships. The BRICS Business Council was encouraged to review progress against these targets annually.
Source: Press Information Bureau, Government of India
