India wants BRICS members to reuse modular digital public infrastructure components and train technical and institutional staff together as part of its BRICS ICT Track during its 2026 chairship.
The government is pushing joint workforce training and institutional capacity building across BRICS to address common challenges like limited bandwidth, language diversity, uneven digital literacy, and large rural populations.
India presented its DPI stack — Aadhaar, UPI, DBT, DigiLocker, ONDC, GeM and account aggregators — as a model while leading the BRICS ICT Track in Pune (Aug 17–21, 2026).
Officials highlighted telecom investments: near-universal 4G coverage of villages, a $4 billion mission to cover remaining areas, over 500,000 5G base stations, and a $17 billion BharatNet fibre expansion.
# What India proposed to BRICS
India told BRICS partners it will share modular, open-source building blocks for digital public infrastructure (DPI) and wants to plan joint training programs to build capability across member states. The offer came as the Department of Telecommunications led the BRICS ICT Track in Pune during India's 2026 BRICS chairship.
# Why India framed this approach
India also called for coordinated advocacy on international telecom and ICT standards to ensure rules are fair and representative of the Global South.
# What India presented as its DPI model
India described its DPI stack by naming specific components that underpin service delivery:
These elements were presented as modular building blocks BRICS members can examine and adapt.
# Workforce training and institutional capacity
Beyond sharing code and designs, India proposed partnership in capability building: joint training for technical staff and workforces and coordinated institutional strengthening. The idea is to accelerate uptake by aligning skills development with the technologies being shared.
# Telecom and connectivity context India used to support its case
India framed the DPI offer against domestic telecom achievements and ongoing investments. The government reported nearly 99% of villages now have 4G coverage and said it is investing about $4 billion to reach the remaining uncovered areas. India reported a rapid 5G rollout with more than 500,000 5G base stations in service. BharatNet, intended to bring high-speed fibre to villages, was cited as a $17 billion programme.
Officials said these policy choices — pro-investment measures, rational spectrum pricing, and indigenous technology stacks — have reduced the cost per gigabyte and kept connectivity affordable for citizens.
# How this fits into the BRICS agenda
# Immediate implications for BRICS members
Sharing open-source DPI frameworks could speed up digital service rollouts for countries facing similar logistical and financial constraints. Joint training could reduce duplicate learning efforts and help create interoperable institutional practices. Coordinated advocacy on standards seeks to influence global telecom and ICT rule-making in favor of broader representation.
# Bottom line
India's pitch to BRICS combines concrete technical artifacts (its DPI stack) with capacity-building offers (joint training and institutional support). The approach aims to lower entry costs for digital platforms, speed deployments, and align standards and skills across participating countries.
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