Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday highlighted India's four key priorities for its BRICS presidency: resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability, as the 18th BRICS Summit entered its second day in New Delhi. He said India had focused its efforts on these four pillars and expressed satisfaction that the grouping had been able to turn its shared vision into "win-win collaboration" with the support of member countries.
Addressing the summit, Modi underlined the need for BRICS nations to strengthen their ability to respond to growing global challenges. He said the number of tensions across the world is constantly increasing and is having a significant impact on the lives of ordinary people.
"No crisis remains confined to a single region"
Modi stressed the importance of resilience at a time when global tensions are increasing and affecting ordinary people. He said pandemics, climate disasters and supply chain disruptions have shown that in an interconnected world, the impact of a crisis can extend far beyond the region where it originates.
"Today, the number of tensions in the world is constantly rising," Modi said, adding that such developments were having a "significant and widespread negative impact" on people's lives. He said BRICS had therefore placed special emphasis on strengthening resilience and stressed the need to identify challenges early, remain prepared and take immediate action.
As part of this effort, Modi said consensus had been reached on a BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for the prevention of and response to infectious diseases. He also announced that Early Warning Data Integration Guidelines had been formulated for disaster management.
"Development and environment are complementary"
Speaking about sustainability, Modi said India's approach was rooted in the country's civilisational belief that nature is revered as a mother. He said development and environmental protection should not be viewed as alternatives. "In Indian civilization, nature is revered as a mother," Modi said, adding that development and the environment are "not alternatives to each other, but are complementary". He said BRICS had also focused on maintaining a balance between human development and the environment, describing this as the foundation of sustainability and an obligation towards future generations. Several initiatives have been taken in this direction, including a BRICS Digital Center of Excellence for smart grids and energy storage. According to Modi, the centre will help make clean energy systems more reliable, efficient and accessible.
He also highlighted Centres of Excellence for agroecology and regenerative agriculture, which will seek to combine traditional knowledge with modern science. Principles for community-based climate adaptation have also been formulated, with indigenous knowledge being positioned as an important foundation for climate action.
Focus on startups, MSMEs and digital agriculture
Innovation has emerged as another major area of India's BRICS agenda. Modi said the BRICS Incubator Network will connect startups and incubators across member countries. India has also proposed a BRICS Startup Innovation Fund to promote innovative and scalable solutions. At the same time, the BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture is expected to create new opportunities for farmers by aligning artificial intelligence, geospatial technology and digital public infrastructure with their practical needs.
Modi also warned that the weaponisation of technology and critical minerals could obstruct shared progress. He stressed the need for inclusivity in the adoption of technology. The Prime Minister also highlighted the BRICS MSME cooperation portal, which has been launched to connect small enterprises with knowledge, finance and new markets.
BRICS Connect to focus on skills and women's participation
Under the cooperation pillar, Modi highlighted the BRICS Connect initiative, which has promoted skills, employability, women's participation in the workforce, social security and capacity building. He also announced the establishment of a BRICS Urban Mobility Hub, aimed at facilitating the exchange of best practices among cities of BRICS countries.
Another key initiative highlighted by Modi was the BRICS Logistic Supply Chain Cooperation Framework, which he said would help make supply chains more reliable and resilient.
"We want ordinary citizens to become active participants"
Modi said India's approach has been to expand BRICS cooperation beyond governments and ensure that different sections of society can participate in the grouping's activities. "India has advanced the spirit of friendship, partnership, and cooperation through the BRICS platform," Modi said.
He added that India had sought to ensure that BRICS cooperation was not restricted to governments, but also involved entrepreneurs, farmers, researchers, women, youth and ordinary citizens. The Prime Minister said the initiatives undertaken during India's presidency reflected the four pillars of resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability. He expressed satisfaction that, with the support of BRICS partners, the grouping had been able to translate its shared vision into practical cooperation and "win-win" outcomes.
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