India Says No Proposal for Common BRICS Currency at Summit

India has clarified that there is no proposal for a common BRICS currency, with the bloc instead focusing on practical steps to settle bilateral trade in local currencies. The clarification came from Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary Economic Relations in India's Ministry of External Affairs, during a media briefing on September 12, 2026, ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. Dalela stated that discussions on using national currencies for trade settlement have been ongoing within BRICS for some time and are not a new development. He emphasized that India views local currency settlement as a practical mechanism to reduce transaction costs in bilateral trade, describing it as complementary to, rather than a replacement for, the existing global payment and settlement system. The position was reinforced by the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration by BRICS leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The declaration calls for continued efforts to facilitate trade and investment using local currencies and to strengthen cross-border payment mechanisms among member countries. India's stance is not new.