Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called for secure sea lanes, open supply routes and the safety of seafarers to ensure the continued growth of global trade, while urging BRICS countries to work towards removing trade barriers and expanding business opportunities.
Addressing the BRICS Business Forum in New Delhi, PM Modi said India was a strong advocate of freedom of navigation and the safety of seafarers, stressing that secure maritime routes were essential for global commerce.
“Global trade can move forward only when sea lanes are secure, supply routes remain open and seafarers are safe,” PM Modi said.
BRICS represents 50% of global population
PM Modi noted that BRICS is celebrating 20 years this year. The grouping, which began with four countries in 2006, has now expanded to a family of 21 BRICS and partner countries.
BRICS countries currently account for 50 per cent of the world’s population, 40 per cent of global GDP and more than 25 per cent of global trade, he said.
While global GDP has grown by around two and a half times over the period, the combined GDP of BRICS countries has expanded by approximately four and a half times, PM Modi said, highlighting the bloc’s growing economic strength.
He also described BRICS countries as emerging centres of global innovation and solutions, saying new possibilities were taking shape from grassroots innovations to frontier technologies.
The Prime Minister said the forum in India was the largest BRICS Business Forum so far.
India pushes resilience, innovation and sustainability
PM Modi said the theme of India’s BRICS Chairship – “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability” – reflected the country’s economic and trade policy.
He said India had diversified and strengthened supply chains across sectors ranging from energy to technology, helping the country maintain growth and stability amid global uncertainties.
India is also rapidly expanding its infrastructure, including roads, railways, ports and airports, while developing capabilities in strategic sectors such as shipbuilding, semiconductors, quantum technology, critical minerals and biotechnology.
“Make in India, Innovate with India, and Scale for the World,” PM Modi said, outlining India’s approach towards creating opportunities for global businesses.
PM Modi highlights India’s startup ecosystem and UPI
The Prime Minister highlighted India’s startup ecosystem, saying the country now has more than 2 lakh startups and over 120 unicorns.
He said Indian startups were using artificial intelligence to transform education and healthcare, while also working on green hydrogen, batteries, defence and space technologies.
PM Modi called for BRICS to help take such innovations to global markets. He also highlighted India’s model of “innovation at population scale”, citing the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as an example.
PM Modi said around 50 per cent of the world’s real-time payments take place through UPI technology. He said India’s open digital ecosystem had enabled industry and startups to develop new solutions and noted that several countries were adopting the model.
He invited BRICS innovators to draw on India’s experience to develop solutions suited to their respective countries.
India seeks lower trade barriers within BRICS
At a time when trade barriers are increasing globally, PM Modi said India was seeking to build economic bridges.
He said India had entered into free trade agreements with nearly 40 countries since 2014 and stressed that the country’s approach within BRICS was to reduce barriers and expand business opportunities.
Under India’s BRICS Chairship, new cooperation networks have been established in areas including agriculture, health, skills and smart grids.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the BRICS Incubator Network, BRICS MSME Portal and BRICS Startup Innovation Fund, aimed at connecting startups and small and medium enterprises with markets and finance.
He called for greater exchanges of investment and talent among BRICS countries through these cooperation mechanisms.
Focus on women entrepreneurs
PM Modi also highlighted the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance, saying women entrepreneurs should play a leading role in the growth story.
He noted that around 200 women business leaders participated in the Alliance’s meeting held in India.
PM Modi sets three targets for BRICS Business Council
As BRICS enters its third decade, PM Modi urged the BRICS Business Council to work towards three measurable goals.
He called for a report identifying the top 10 trade barriers among BRICS countries and suggested supporting 100 BRICS startups every year to scale up in other BRICS markets.
He also proposed developing 1,000 new partnerships among businesses of BRICS countries.
PM Modi said progress on all three benchmarks should be reviewed annually.
“Let us transform the ambition of BRICS into action, and our collective strength into global solutions,” the Prime Minister said, adding that BRICS should move forward and take the world forward with it.
