India opposes BRICS currency proposal; no support for any such scheme, says Piyush Goyal

[Yellow is Okay]

Commerce minister says India backs stronger trade, MSME financing and digital commerce within BRICS, while recent FDI reforms will help artisans, farmers and small businesses tap e-commerce opportunities.

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal Credits: File Photo​

India is firmly opposed to the idea of a common BRICS currency and does not support any proposal to introduce one, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday, clarifying New Delhi's position amid periodic discussions within the grouping on reducing reliance on the US dollar.

Addressing reporters after the two-day BRICS Trade and Industry Ministers' Meeting in Jaipur, Goyal said India has made its stand unequivocally clear.

"Bharat BRICS currency ke paksh mein nahin hai. Hum samarthan nahin dete ki aisi koi BRICS currency jaisi nai yojna lai jaye. Bharat ka uske upar virodh hai (India is not in favour of a BRICS currency. We do not support the introduction of any such BRICS currency scheme. India opposes it)," he told reporters.

The minister's remarks assume significance as discussions around alternatives to the US dollar have periodically surfaced within BRICS, particularly with Russia and China advocating greater use of local currencies and exploring the possibility of a common currency. The issue also drew global attention last year after US President Donald Trump warned BRICS nations against any attempt to replace the dollar in international trade.

Focus shifts from currency debate to trade and MSME financing​

The expanded BRICS grouping comprises Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
Beyond the currency issue, Goyal said the ministerial meetings focused on strengthening trade and investment among member countries, improving access to finance for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), expanding digital commerce and enhancing industrial cooperation.

"The agenda included coordinating our bilateral trade, specifically imports and exports, and ensuring adequate financing and investment for MSMEs through banks and other channels," he said, adding that ministers also discussed paperless trade and greater use of digital technologies to simplify commercial processes.

AI, quantum computing take centrestage in BRICS discussions​

The minister said India, which currently holds the BRICS presidency, also led discussions on leveraging emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing to boost industrial growth and create employment opportunities across member nations.

"There were extensive discussions on creating new jobs and opportunities through emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing, and on how these technologies could accelerate economic and industrial progress across all BRICS nations," Goyal said, adding that "constructive decisions were reached".

FDI reforms to boost e-commerce opportunities for artisans, farmers​

Goyal further highlighted India's recent amendments to foreign direct investment (FDI) regulations aimed at facilitating large-scale e-commerce.

"We have recently amended FDI regulations to facilitate large-scale e-commerce trade for products such as handlooms, handicrafts, textiles, footwear and various everyday items, including food products, that consumers typically purchase online. This will benefit our farmers and fishermen," he said.

Emphasising the government's focus on small enterprises, Goyal said India wants to use e-commerce to connect products made by artisans, traders and MSMEs with larger domestic and global markets.

"India is keen to harness the power of e-commerce to connect small-scale products with vast markets. Many nations have already generated massive trade volumes through this channel, and India is now striving to ensure that our micro and small enterprises and traders gain similar opportunities," he said.

Referring to National Handloom Day, Goyal said the initiative would also support traditional and labour-intensive sectors, including khadi, handlooms, textiles and leather craftsmanship. (With inputs from PTI)

 

[Ali_Baba]

On this front, India is right. There is no need for a single BRICS currency, just look at how hard it is in the EU to get the Euro to work.

BRICS is better off focussing on SWIFT replacements for payments and money transfers, than anything else.

 

[Cookie Monster]

On this front, India is right. There is no need for a single BRICS currency, just look at how hard it is in the EU to get the Euro to work.

BRICS is better off focussing on SWIFT replacements for payments and money transfers, than anything else.

Well they can't have a currency between them(a new one) bcuz the nations have lots of differences economically, not a lot of integration, and don't trust each other as much as needed to have a single currency between them...basically kind of like how u pointed out problems with Euro except even greater set of problems).

The other option would be using one of the currencies of one of the BRICS members as a reserve currency to settle transactions. In this case China being the biggest economy, Yuan would make the most sense but again other BRICS member(specifically India) wouldn't agree to it.

 

[Vikramaditya1]

Yuan would make the most sense but again other BRICS member(specifically India) wouldn't agree to it.

Its not India hating Yuan. RMB is fundamentally a problem currency. To begin with China does not have a fully open capital account or a freely determined currency. Their central bank manages the exchange rate rather than allowing the market alone to determine it. There are separate onshore (CNY) and offshore (CNH) yuan markets.

But the Chinese cannot simply do away with their controls. So even if somehow India agrees, Yuan cannot become a common currency.

 

[hussain0216]

Best thing to do is kick India out, it's headache of a state, always doing the most gimpish things

 

[Cookie Monster]

Its not India hating Yuan. RMB is fundamentally a problem currency. To begin with China does not have a fully open capital account or a freely determined currency. Their central bank manages the exchange rate rather than allowing the market alone to determine it. There are separate onshore (CNY) and offshore (CNH) yuan markets.

But the Chinese cannot simply do away with their controls. So even if somehow India agrees, Yuan cannot become a common currency.

Doesn't need to become a common currency...just like how USD isn't a common currency of the world but still used as THE CURRENCY to settle transactions.

...also yes I'm aware of that "some lack of transparency". By that reasoning all members of BRICS can be accused of that...which is why I said in my original post that the member countries of BRICS lack trust amongst each other. I only suggested Yuan as a possibility not bcuz it checks all the boxes but bcuz China has the biggest economy amongst the members and decent sized gold reserves as well.

 

[ety]

Its not India hating Yuan. RMB is fundamentally a problem currency. To begin with China does not have a fully open capital account or a freely determined currency. Their central bank manages the exchange rate rather than allowing the market alone to determine it. There are separate onshore (CNY) and offshore (CNH) yuan markets.

But the Chinese cannot simply do away with their controls. So even if somehow India agrees, Yuan cannot become a common currency.

Lol, China has not interest to relinquish the control of Yuan to appease BRICS or the international markets for the sake of letting Yuan becoming internationally tradeable currency. RMB is a Chinese currency and its purpose is to serve China not BRICS. Take it or leave it as it is.

 

[Mr X]

I think India understands that if there was a BRICs currency, it would be Chinese Yuan. Then Yuan comes with its baggage of problems such as direct intervention of Chinese government to depreciate the value of Yuan as it leads to higher exports etc.

Plus Yuan is a currency of rival nation. Even if they introduce a new hybrid currency… it would still be largely controlled by the Chinese due to much bigger economy and manufacturing capacity

 

[Oldenwisdom...قول بزرگ]

I think India understands that if there was a BRICs currency, it would be Chinese Yuan. Then Yuan comes with its baggage of problems such as direct intervention of Chinese government to depreciate the value of Yuan as it leads to higher exports etc.

Plus Yuan is a currency of rival nation. Even if they introduce a new hybrid currency… it would still be largely controlled by the Chinese due to much bigger economy and manufacturing capacity

Instead China is going for a gold based Yuan or Brics currency. Before dollar became the global reserve, Britain tried to push Bancor... Keynes idea for international settlements. However, US pushed through owing to it replacing Britain as the global super power and that the dollar would fully convertible into gold. Which made Europeans send their gold reserves to the US.

Anyhow, a BRICS has been working on a framework with mix of national currencies and convertibility into certain percentage of gold. Besides having digital settlements systems such as a CBDC. I don't think anything has been worked out yet... though Gold Yuan is offering a parallel track should everything else fail.

 

[Pakistani Dragon]

On this front, India is right. There is no need for a single BRICS currency, just look at how hard it is in the EU to get the Euro to work.

BRICS is better off focussing on SWIFT replacements for payments and money transfers, than anything else.

There is no alternative to SWIFT except trading in local currencies which is costly.

Also, a BRICS currency is just Vladimir Putin's dream, a wish and nothing more.

 

[Vikramaditya1]

Lol, China has not interest to relinquish the control of Yuan to appease BRICS or the international markets for the sake of letting Yuan becoming internationally tradeable currency. RMB is a Chinese currency and its purpose is to serve China not BRICS. Take it or leave it as it is.

Exactly, precisely why RMB cannot be a BRICS currency or rather BRICS don't need a common currency all we need is interoperability of digital transactions and making it easy for the members to do cross border transaction without SWIFT or similar systems getting in the way.

 

[retaxis]

There is no alternative to SWIFT except trading in local currencies which is costly.

Also, a BRICS currency is just Vladimir Putin's dream, a wish and nothing more.

No there isn't ur right but China is doing its own thing with CIPS

China's Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) processed roughly ¥180.15 trillion ($25.55 trillion USD) across 8.44 million transactions in 2025, with transactional values climbing further in 2026 to average between $118 billion and $134 billion daily. [1, 2, 3]

Annual and Monthly Volumes

• • 2025 Total: Settled ¥180.15 trillion (~$25.55 trillion USD) via 8,441,897 transactions.
  • 2026 Peak (March): Average daily transaction values surged to roughly 920 billion yuan (~$134–$136 billion USD), with peak single-day volumes passing 1.22 trillion yuan (~$180 billion USD).
  • Mid-2026 Pace: June 2026 recorded 810,563 transactions settling ¥18.21 trillion ($2.67 trillion USD) for the single month. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Network and Global Reach

• • Participants: Connects over 1,800 total banking and financial institutions (around 210 direct and over 1,600 indirect participants).
  • Global Footprint: Reaches across more than 180 countries and regions worldwide.
  • Drivers: Accelerated adoption is tied to rising local-currency and renminbi-denominated energy/commodity trades, alongside structural shifts in cross-border infrastructure. [1, 2, 3, 4]

 

[peacemaker99]

It was a bullshit proposal of zero impact. Dollar is used by more than 90% of transactions for a reason.
And neither china nor india can allow too much of yuan or rupee to leave their countries becsuse too much appreciation in our currencies will impact exports.

This thread should be called ' india says stop wasting time on bullshit and get real'

 

[peacemaker99]

Lol, China has not interest to relinquish the control of Yuan to appease BRICS or the international markets for the sake of letting Yuan becoming internationally tradeable currency. RMB is a Chinese currency and its purpose is to serve China not BRICS. Take it or leave it as it is.

As if you had a choice. You can talk big but if you ever try even making yuan a dollar dominant like currency, the appreciation will kill your economy. You know why? Because american companies will stop manufacturing in china due to increased costs.

 

[Raj-Hindustani]

Well they can't have a currency between them(a new one) bcuz the nations have lots of differences economically, not a lot of integration, and don't trust each other as much as needed to have a single currency between them...basically kind of like how u pointed out problems with Euro except even greater set of problems).

The other option would be using one of the currencies of one of the BRICS members as a reserve currency to settle transactions. In this case China being the biggest economy, Yuan would make the most sense but again other BRICS member(specifically India) wouldn't agree to it.

NO one wants to make repeat the past mistake as same as Dollar.
so even if they will be agreed- it will be a common new currency.