Beyond BRICS: India Is Turning Strategic Alignment Into Economic Opportunity

India’s BRICS presidency reveals a broader economic strategy: building commercial relationships across competing markets rather than becoming dependent on any one of them. For businesses in Canada and the Gulf, the opportunity lies in understanding where this strategic flexibility is creating new trade, investment and supply chain demand.

From political alignment to commercial infrastructure

The most important outcome of the New Delhi BRICS Summit was not a new common currency or a dramatic geopolitical realignment. It was a quieter shift toward practical commercial infrastructure.

The New Delhi Declaration advanced work on interoperable payment and messaging channels, trade settlement and investment using local currencies and greater local currency financing through the New Development Bank. India also used its presidency to emphasize resilient supply chains, digital infrastructure, innovation and the removal of barriers that limit trade between member countries.

This matters because intra BRICS merchandise exports reached US$1.17 trillion in 2024, more than thirteen times the 2003 level. Yet the same trade still represents only about 20 per cent of South South commerce. The bloc has scale, but its commercial systems remain less integrated than its economic weight suggests.

India’s opportunity is therefore not simply to lead a large group of emerging economies. It is to help make that group easier to do business across.

India is preserving strategic choice

India’s approach is notable because it is not based on choosing one economic camp over another. New Delhi is strengthening ties across BRICS while continuing to attract Western technology, capital and industrial capability.

Applied Materials’ commitment to invest US$5 billion in India over the next decade demonstrates the strategy in practice. The investment will support research, supply chain expansion and workforce development as India positions itself as a trusted semiconductor partner in a market shaped by artificial intelligence demand and geopolitical risk.

Indian companies are also moving outward. JPMorgan data indicates that outbound acquisitions from India have approached US$24 billion in 2026 and could reach a record level. These transactions are increasingly being used to secure technology, market access, energy and critical inputs rather than simply to expand corporate scale.

The pattern is consistent: India is using multiple relationships to build capability and reduce concentrated exposure. BRICS is one platform within that strategy, not the whole strategy.

Where businesses should pay attention

For companies in Canada, the UAE and Qatar, India’s positioning creates opportunities that extend beyond conventional export activity.

• Trade and payment connectivity: Progress toward interoperable payment systems and greater use of local currencies could reduce friction for companies operating across BRICS markets. Businesses should watch settlement rules, banking partnerships and treasury requirements rather than assume a single BRICS payment system will emerge.
• Supply chain partnerships: India’s demand for semiconductors, energy, critical minerals, logistics and industrial technology creates space for specialized international suppliers. Canada has a clear opening in LNG and critical minerals, while Gulf businesses can contribute capital, logistics capability and access to regional markets.
• Investment through capability: India’s outbound acquisition activity shows that market access alone is no longer enough. Companies seeking Indian investment should be able to demonstrate technology, strategic resources, distribution or a capability that strengthens resilience.
• Market entry through alliances: Regulatory and institutional differences remain a major constraint within BRICS. Joint ventures, local partnerships and carefully structured market entry strategies will often be more effective than approaching the bloc as one unified market.