India calls for closer BRICS ties

Brasilia: India reaffirmed its commitment to inclusive, sustainable, and future-ready digital development during the 11th BRICS Communications Ministers’ Meeting in Brasilia, Brazil.

Union Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar presented India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) as a global benchmark for inclusive and transformative digital governance at the BRICS ministers’ meeting held here.

The Minister highlighted the pivotal role of flagship initiatives like Aadhaar and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in advancing universal and meaningful connectivity. He noted that Aadhaar has empowered over 950 million citizens with a secure digital identity, enabling seamless access to essential public and private services. UPI, he emphasised, has revolutionised real-time digital payments and now accounts for 46 per cent of global digital transactions.

He called upon BRICS nations to deepen collaboration in harnessing digital public infrastructure to drive inclusive growth and build resilient digital economies. He underscored that India’s DPI model -- built on open, interoperable platforms -- serves as a catalyst for financial inclusion, good governance, and digital innovation, while also guarding against monopolistic practices.

BRICS members include 11 nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, Egypt, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

Dwelling on India’s vibrant startup ecosystem, robust digital skills initiatives, and progressive legislation such as the Telecommunications Act and the Data Protection Act, Dr Sekhar spoke about India’s Sanchar Saathi initiative -- a key effort to combat telecom fraud -- and called for enhanced BRICS cooperation in cybersecurity, data protection, and digital trust to ensure the safety and integrity of interconnected digital societies.

Dr Chandra Sekhar highlighted India’s digital journey, celebrating the transition from digital divide to digital leadership. India’s ambitious Digital Bharat Nidhi programme was showcased as a cornerstone initiative, funding landmark projects such as BharatNet, which now connects over 2,18,000 village councils with optical fiber infrastructure. India’s indigenous development and mass deployment of 4G and 5G technologies have enabled near-universal high-speed connectivity, now covering over 95 per cent of the population with 4G and more than 80 per cent with 5G. The country has also emerged as a global leader in affordable digital access, with the lowest data rates worldwide -- just 12 cents per gigabyte.