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Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has urged the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations to set up a cross-border startup corridor within the bloc. Addressing the leaders' session of the BRICS Business Forum in New Delhi on September 11, PM Modi called for supporting 100 BRICS startups annually in accessing new markets within the bloc. He also pitched for developing 1,000 new partnerships between the businesses of the BRICS nations. PM Modi also urged the council to prepare a report to identify the top ten trade barriers among BRICS nations. “As BRICS enters its third decade, I would urge the BRICS Business Council to consider … can you prepare a report on removing the top 10 trade barriers among BRICS countries? Can we support 100 BRICS startups every year to scale into other BRICS markets? Can we develop 1,000 new partnerships among our businesses?” said PM Modi. Lauding the homegrown startup ecosystem, PM Modi said that India is home to 2 Lakh startups and 120 unicorns. He also called for fostering cooperation between the five nations in areas of trade and startups. The comments came a day before the New Delhi Declaration was unanimously adopted yesterday at the 18th BRICS Summit in the national capital. In the declaration, the five nations backed the safe, ethical and human-centred use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). The charter also identified quantum technologies as an emerging area for cooperation. As part of this, the nations called for improving access to AI resources while addressing the risks linked to the technology. The declaration added that the BRICS Fintech Working Group will study the opportunities and risks created by new technologies. The bloc also recognised the need for strengthening cooperation on cybersecurity and stronger action against deepfakes. The declaration also called for piloting digital public infrastructure projects to support “digital transformation” across member countries. The declaration also paves for establishing the BRICS incubator network, knowledge hub and startup forum. While the incubator network will offer support to startups in the region, the startup knowledge hub and the startup forum will support networking, knowledge sharing and collaboration among BRICS startups. The forum also explored the possible creation of a BRICS Startup Innovation Fund. The declaration also pitched a potential virtual platform to connect young founders, researchers and innovators across member countries. “We welcome the establishment of the BRICS Incubator Network and further consideration of a BRICS Startup Innovation Fund, as a potential mechanism to catalyse startups for innovation-led growth. We also appreciate the strengthening of the BRICS Startup Knowledge Hub and the BRICS Startup Forum,” read the declaration. The declaration also underscored the need for deepening cooperation on cross-border payments, including the interoperability of payment and messaging systems. All in all, startups and AI emerged as the key pillars of the BRICS New Delhi declaration. But regulators across the globe are walking a tightrope as they look to regulate the emerging technology without stifling innovation. However, concerns remain. Just a day ago, Anthropic cofounder and CEO Dario Amodei, in an essay, called on AI companies to slow down the rate at which they were advancing model capabilities amid fears of misuse. Responding to this, rivals OpenAI’s Sam Alman and xAI’s Elon Musk also said that they agreed with Amodei. Back home, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while addressing the recently concluded Global Fintech Fest 2026, also reportedly flagged that AI labs were “racing straight to self-improving superintelligence”, adding that this raised significant concerns over AI safety and systemic risks. She also called on the fintech startups to build systems that are “fast yet accountable, autonomous yet reversible, and innovative without diluting consumer trust”. She also hinted at the possibility of creating a federated industry platform for India’s technology ecosystem.
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