By Sanjay Kumar Kar
Under India’s Presidency, New Delhi is gearing up to celebrate twenty years of BRIC formalisation. Members such as Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, along with partner countries, are moving forward under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”. Today, BRICS has become more inclusive and responsible, promoting a “People-Centric and Humanity-First” approach that encompasses “political and security”, “economy and finance”, and “cultural and people-to-people exchanges”.
Some of the areas that demand timely attention include measures to protect the climate, food and energy security, an international financial architecture capable of protecting against global shocks emanating from regional conflicts, and more balanced trade mechanisms. BRICS has emerged as one of the important groups, representing 48.5% of the global population, contributing 29.2% of global GDP and accounting for 26% of global trade.
BRICS constantly strives to promote trade, sustainable development, environmental protection and the adoption of clean energy.
India’s trade with BRICS members and partners is constantly expanding, which is a good sign for the bloc. However, India’s increasing import dependency on China has created a considerable trade imbalance. During 2021-2025, India’s cumulative trade deficit with BRICS reached $962 billion, with China contributing $452.9 billion, or 47% of the total trade deficit with BRICS.
India’s trade deficit with BRICS soared from $133 billion in 2021-22 to $226 billion in 2025-26. In 2025-26, India maintained a positive trade balance with only Egypt, Ethiopia and Iran.
India’s massive $112 billion trade deficit with China in 2025-26 leaves little breathing space for the country.
Despite a continued focus on indigenous manufacturing, India’s trade deficit with China escalated by an average of $7.7 billion annually over the last five years. Geopolitical conditions in West Asia and Russia have resulted in India’s surging imports from Russia. India’s trade deficit with Russia skyrocketed from $6.6 billion in 2021-22 to $50.8 billion in 2025-26. India needs to recalibrate its trade strategy with BRICS and capitalise on the export opportunities available in BRICS member and partner countries.
India must deploy a multipronged strategy to cut down imports and enhance exports to reduce its trade deficit with BRICS. Areas that need urgent attention include expanding R&D, developing the global competitiveness of Indian industries, strengthening manufacturing and building BRICS supply-chain networks. In terms of R&D, China, Brazil, Russia and Egypt spend 2.5%, 1.19%, 0.94% and 1.02% of their respective GDPs, whereas India spends only 0.6-0.7% of its GDP.
World Bank data indicates that in 1999, China and India spent 0.74% and 0.72% of their respective GDPs on R&D. Over the last three decades, China has strengthened its R&D funding, whereas India’s R&D-to-GDP ratio has remained almost stagnant. The consequence of according low priority to R&D in India has been overdependence on China.
During the BRICS Summit 2026, India expects to navigate a better path towards reducing its trade deficit with China. India would press for better access to the Chinese market, which would improve exports to China and thereby reduce the country’s trade deficit.
India’s trade deficit with Russia has been accentuated by crude oil imports. This deficit can be addressed by exporting petroleum products to Russia.
The trade deficits with Saudi Arabia ($20.5 billion) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ($26.5 billion) can be offset by exporting non-oil goods, automobiles, automotive parts, value-added metals, organic chemicals, engineering goods, electronics, IT services and defence equipment. In addition, processed food exports to Saudi Arabia and the UAE can be strengthened.
India can increase exports of pharmaceuticals and agricultural products to Brazil, which could reduce the trade deficit and possibly help India attain a trade surplus within a couple of years.
Bilateral trade opportunities in emerging areas such as critical minerals, renewable energy and artificial intelligence applications can also be explored. India needs to reset its strategies and actions to address the growing trade deficit with most of the members, especially China, Russia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
The writer is Professor, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Bengaluru Campus
