GOYAL SAYS “NO” TO BRICS CURRENCY AS INDIA BUILDS THE FINANCIAL BRIDGE AROUND THE DOLLAR
September 12, 2026: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s rejection of a common BRICS currency has highlighted an intriguing contradiction in India’s approach to the bloc’s financial ambitions.
Goyal has said India does not support any proposal for a new BRICS currency. Yet, India, as BRICS chair, is simultaneously encouraging greater use of local currencies in intra-BRICS trade and discussions on linking digital payment systems and central-bank digital currencies.
The distinction is technically clear but politically striking: India opposes replacing national currencies with a single BRICS currency, while supporting mechanisms that could reduce reliance on the dollar in bilateral trade.
Russia and China have pushed more aggressively for alternatives to the dollar, while India has maintained that it has no intention of undermining the US currency.
The emerging BRICS debate therefore reveals a delicate balancing act. New Delhi wants financial independence without monetary integration, and greater payment sovereignty without an open confrontation with the dollar.
In other words, India appears to be saying: “No BRICS currency, but make BRICS trade less dependent on the dollar.” A paradox, perhaps, but one carefully designed to preserve India’s strategic room for manoeuvre.
JANPATH NEWS NETWORK (JNN)
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