Panel asks government if India will push de-dollarisation agenda at BRICS summit
Members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, headed by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, on Tuesday (August 11, 2026) questioned the government on
Members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, headed by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, on Tuesday (August 11, 2026) questioned the government on whether it plans to push a de-dollarisation agenda at the 18th BRICS Summit to be held in New Delhi in September. The questions come against the backdrop of the Reserve Bank of India’s repeated advocacy for linking the official digital currencies of BRICS countries to facilitate cross-border trade and tourism payments. The Central bank has argued that such a framework could reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar amid rising geopolitical tensions. Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, at the conclusion of the two-day meeting of BRICS Trade and Industry Ministers in Jaipur on August 7, 2026, had said: “Bharat BRICS currency ke paksh mein nahin hai.
Hum samarthan nahin dete ki aisi koi BRICS currency jaisi nayi yojana layi jaye. Bharat ka uske upar virodh hai (India is not in favour of a BRICS currency. We do not support the introduction of any such BRICS currency scheme; India opposes it).” Members of the committee questioned why the government was not pursuing greater “financial sovereignty” that could help countries bypass U.S. sanctions, sources said. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) MP John Brittas, sources said, specifically pointed to bilateral trade between Russia and China, which is increasingly being conducted in rubles and yuan, respectively, reducing the dependence on the U.S. dollar. India’s efforts to establish a similar local currency trade mechanism with Russia had not taken off, they said, and sought to know whether India, as the host nation, would push a “BRICS-led de-dollarisation agenda”.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned BRICS countries against creating an alternative currency or taking steps that could challenge the dollar’s dominance, threatening punitive tariffs and other measures. Members also asked whether India would raise concerns over the imbalance in global financial governance, with the U.S. continuing to hold the largest voting share and an effective veto in both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The core BRICS countries collectively hold significantly less voting power in these institutions. Some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs pushed back against suggestions that India should take positions that could be seen as confrontational towards the U.S., according to sources. No clear response was offered by officials of the Ministry of External Affairs, the sources said.
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