India is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi from September 12 to 13, 2026, and digital transformation has become one of the most talked about themes of the gathering. India’s 2026 chairship theme is “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,” with New Delhi steering the agenda toward practical cooperation across commerce, agriculture, healthcare, energy and digital technology.
The summit also marks a milestone year for the bloc. 2026 falls 25 years after the BRIC concept was first coined, and that evolution shows up clearly in how digital policy now sits at the center of the agenda rather than at its edges. For Indian businesses, this shift is not just diplomatic news. It signals where investment, infrastructure and consumer behaviour are heading next.
From Trade Bloc to Digital Policy Forum
BRICS started as an economic grouping built around trade and development finance. That focus has not disappeared, but it now shares the stage with technology governance. India is placing trade, digital transformation, energy security and the aspirations of the Global South at the heart of the BRICS agenda, rather than concentrating only on political coordination.
Part of the reason is scale. BRICS countries represent nearly half of the world’s population and around two fifths of the global economy, which gives the grouping real weight in shaping how digital rules get written internationally. A bloc that size cannot treat digital policy as an afterthought when so much of global commerce now runs through digital channels.
Digital Public Infrastructure Takes Center Stage
One of the clearest signals of this shift came out of the preparatory ministerial meetings held earlier in the year. India presented a concept for a BRICS Digital Public Infrastructure Repository during the ICT Track meetings in Pune, designed to help member countries share digital solutions and best practices. This builds directly on India’s own experience with large scale digital identity, payments and public service platforms.
Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia outlined eight priority areas for future BRICS ICT cooperation, including universal connectivity, resilient public infrastructure, trusted digital ecosystems, digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence, future network technologies and startup innovation. That is a wide mandate, and it reflects how digital infrastructure now touches nearly every part of economic policy rather than sitting in a separate technology track.
Artificial Intelligence and the Question of Who Sets the Rules
Artificial intelligence sits alongside digital public infrastructure as a top agenda item, and the stakes go well beyond technical cooperation. One major question facing the summit is who will write the rules of the emerging digital economy, since generative AI is already reshaping trade, production, finance and how brands reach their customers.
Some policy voices have called for the New Delhi summit to advance a practical BRICS Digital and AI Governance Framework built around common principles for cross border data transfers, privacy and cybersecurity. India has also pushed a specific tone for these discussions, urging BRICS members to keep artificial intelligence secure, sustainable and people centric.
This is a signal every business should notice. As governments formalise how AI systems get built and governed, the way customers discover brands is shifting too. Search behaviour has already moved beyond typing keywords into Google. Buyers increasingly ask AI tools directly for recommendations, which is exactly why answer engine optimisation and generative engine optimisation are becoming as important as traditional SEO. DigiStreet Media’s AEO and GEO services exist for precisely this shift, helping brands structure their content so AI tools can find, trust and quote them.
Cybersecurity Has Become Unavoidable
Digital transformation brings new vulnerabilities alongside new capabilities, and BRICS members appear increasingly aware of this trade off. Digital transformation is becoming a new source of risk for economic growth and even national sovereignty across BRICS countries, with cybersecurity expected to be one of the key discussion topics at the summit.
The threat picture has shifted noticeably over the past year. Artificial intelligence now automates infrastructure analysis, phishing and vulnerability detection, which helps attackers scale their efforts against both individuals and institutions. This has prompted concrete proposals rather than just statements of concern, including a call to create a formal BRICS Cybersecurity Alliance placed on the agenda for the New Delhi summit.
Why This Matters for Indian Businesses
The practical stakes of these discussions reach well past diplomatic communiqués. The lapse of the WTO moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions earlier this year has turned digital trade rules into part of a wider contest over economic sovereignty. Individual businesses feel these shifts indirectly, through changing compliance requirements, evolving platform policies and new expectations around how digital services get delivered.
For brands built on exports, cross border ecommerce or international B2B relationships, this is the moment to strengthen digital fundamentals rather than wait for policy to settle. A website that loads quickly, ranks well and shows up in AI generated answers is no longer optional infrastructure. It is becoming the baseline expectation, much like the digital public infrastructure BRICS members are now trying to formalise at a national level.
DigiStreet Media has spent over 14 years building digital marketing strategies for brands navigating exactly this kind of shift, combining SEO, performance marketing and AI search readiness under one accountable team. Our SEO Company in India work already blends traditional rankings with AEO and GEO, since the two now move together rather than apart. Explore our case studies to see how this approach has played out for brands across manufacturing, healthcare and B2B sectors.
What to Expect From the Outcome Document
Summit declarations rarely settle every open question, and this year looks no different. The final summit declaration will indicate where the expanded grouping has been able to reach consensus, particularly on technology areas where digital transformation, innovation and resilient digital infrastructure have featured prominently throughout India’s chairship.
Even short of a binding framework, the direction is clear. Digital public infrastructure, AI governance and cybersecurity cooperation have moved from side conversations to core pillars of the BRICS agenda in 2026. Brands that treat their digital presence as a strategic asset now will be far better positioned as these policy shifts play out over the coming years.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the BRICS Summit 2026 and why does it matter for businesses?
The 18th BRICS Summit takes place in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, 2026, bringing together major emerging economies to discuss trade, digital cooperation and technology governance. Businesses feel the effects through evolving compliance rules, platform policies and digital infrastructure standards.
How does digital transformation at BRICS affect Indian companies?
As member nations formalise digital public infrastructure and AI governance, expectations around website performance, data handling and AI discoverability are rising across every sector, not just technology companies.
What is AEO and GEO, and why are they relevant now?
Answer Engine Optimisation and Generative Engine Optimisation structure content so AI tools like ChatGPT and Google AI Overview can find and quote a brand accurately, which matters as more buyers research through AI rather than traditional search.
Should small and mid sized businesses worry about BRICS digital policy?
Direct policy impact takes time to reach smaller businesses, but the underlying trend toward AI driven search and stronger digital infrastructure expectations affects brands of every size right now.
How can a business prepare its digital presence for these shifts?
Start with a technical and content audit covering site speed, SEO fundamentals and AI search readiness, then build a plan that strengthens all three together rather than treating them as separate projects.
Ready to see where your digital presence stands against this shift? Book a free digital audit and get a clear roadmap for search, AI visibility and performance readiness.
