India’s position ahead of the September 12-13 BRICS summit in New Delhi is becoming clearer: it is unlikely to support the creation of a common currency for the grouping, but may push for stronger links between national payment systems and central bank digital currencies. The distinction is central to understanding the monetary debate inside BRICS. New Delhi is not proposing to replace the rupee, yuan, rouble or other national currencies with a new bloc-wide unit. It is exploring whether existing digital forms of sovereign money can be made easier to use across borders.
The proposal reflects a practical problem rather than a symbolic ambition. India wants cross-border payments to become faster and less expensive, while preserving national control over currencies and monetary policy. The Reserve Bank of India has recommended that connections between the central bank digital currencies of BRICS members be considered during India’s 2026 presidency, according to Reuters reporting cited in the supplied material. The recommendation was not an approved BRICS proposal, and no bloc-wide CBDC network has been agreed.
That uncertainty matters. A common currency would require participating countries to create and manage a new monetary unit, including decisions about issuance, reserves, exchange rates, monetary governance and settlement. Interoperable payment systems would leave national currencies in place while attempting to improve the infrastructure through which they are transferred or exchanged. India’s public statements indicate a preference for the second approach.
India’s opposition to a common BRICS currency was stated directly by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal after a two-day meeting of BRICS trade and industry ministers in Jaipur on August 7. Goyal said India did not support the introduction of such a currency scheme. The position was consistent with comments made by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Doha on December 7, 2024, when he said BRICS countries had no interest in weakening the US dollar, according to Reuters.
Those statements came amid repeated international discussion about alternatives to the dollar. In November 2024, then US President-elect Donald Trump warned BRICS members against creating a new currency or supporting another currency intended to replace the dollar. He repeated the warning in January 2025, threatening 100% tariffs against countries that pursued such an initiative, Reuters reported. India has sought wider international use of the rupee, but New Delhi and the RBI have maintained that this effort is not intended to promote de-dollarisation.
The alternative under discussion is based on two related ideas: linking central bank digital currencies and connecting fast-payment systems. A CBDC is sovereign currency issued electronically by a central bank. India’s digital rupee, or e₹, began as a retail pilot launched by the RBI in December 2022. It is different from Unified Payments Interface. When a person sends Rs 500 through UPI, the system functions as a payment rail for transferring money between bank accounts, while the underlying funds remain commercial bank deposits. A CBDC is digital money issued directly by the central bank.
That distinction creates the possibility of connecting payment systems without establishing a new currency. If technical and regulatory arrangements could be agreed, a traveller or business might be able to make a payment in one national digital currency while the recipient receives value in another. The stated attraction is lower cost and fewer intermediaries in international transactions. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra confirmed on August 11 that BRICS countries were discussing CBDCs and connections between fast-payment systems. Speaking at an event in Mumbai, he said cross-border payments were an area of interest because there was scope to reduce costs. He also said several options remained on the table and that the discussions were still at an early stage.
The technical challenge is that interoperability is not simply a matter of connecting software. Participating countries would have to agree on technology, governance, regulation and the way transactions are ultimately settled. Reuters reported in January that reluctance among countries to adopt technological platforms developed elsewhere could delay progress. A functioning system would therefore require consensus not only on the policy objective but also on the infrastructure that would support it.
The more difficult question may be what happens after a payment is made. Digital connectivity can accelerate a transaction, but it does not automatically resolve imbalances in trade. India and Russia have already encountered this problem while attempting to settle more trade in national currencies. After Indian imports from Russia rose following the Ukraine war, Russia accumulated substantial balances in Indian rupees. Because Russia was selling significantly more to India than it was buying, it had limited opportunities to use those rupees.
The RBI subsequently allowed such balances to be invested in Indian securities. Reuters also reported that bilateral foreign-exchange swaps between central banks were among the mechanisms being considered to deal with such imbalances. Weekly or monthly settlements through swaps were another possibility cited by a source familiar with the discussions. These arrangements show why a payment network cannot by itself solve the underlying problem of unequal trade flows. Countries still need rules for holding, converting or settling the money that accumulates when commerce moves primarily in one direction.
This is where India’s proposed agenda connects payments technology with trade policy. The Economic Times reported on August 29 that New Delhi was likely to pitch seamless cross-border digital payments and wider adoption of CBDCs among BRICS members at the summit. India was also seeking discussions on more balanced trade within the grouping. A high-level meeting was expected to examine possible mechanisms for digital currencies and greater intra-BRICS trade using national currencies, although the final list of issues for the leaders remained pending at the time of the report.
The approach also appears compatible with Russia’s recent public messaging. On September 8, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia was not seeking de-dollarisation and was open to acceptable payment methods, according to Reuters. He said that 90% of transactions between Russia and BRICS countries were being conducted in national currencies and that the issue of Russian companies accumulating excess Indian rupees was gradually being resolved. Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to participate in the New Delhi summit and hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The evidence points to a BRICS payments discussion that is more incremental than the idea of a common currency suggests. A new currency would be a political and monetary project requiring a shared institutional framework. Interoperability between existing systems is narrower in scope, but it is still difficult because payment infrastructure is tied to national regulation, technology standards, financial institutions and trade balances. The fact that discussions remain at the proposal stage illustrates the gap between political support for cheaper cross-border payments and the institutional work required to deliver them.
For India, the distinction also protects room for a national strategy. New Delhi can support wider use of the rupee and promote the digital rupee without committing to a currency union or declaring an intention to replace the dollar. For other BRICS members, linked payment systems could offer additional settlement options while allowing them to retain their own monetary instruments. But the model will work only if participating countries can agree on technical standards, regulatory responsibilities, exchange mechanisms and solutions for persistent trade imbalances.
The September summit may therefore produce discussion, political direction or a framework for further work rather than a finished payment network. The supplied reporting does not establish that BRICS leaders have approved a common CBDC platform or a final mechanism for settling transactions. What it does establish is a clear difference between two concepts often presented together: creating a new BRICS currency and making national currencies easier to use across borders. India is backing the latter, while the practical details of implementation remain unresolved.
