India seeks to share DPI frameworks, train workers with BRICS nations: Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani

India seeks to work with BRICS nations to share modular, open-source frameworks for digital public infrastructure (DPI) and train workforces together to build institutional capacities, said Minister of State for Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani on Thursday.

“The strength of the BRICS partnership lies in our diversity and in the developmental goals we hold in common. The Global South faces challenges that are particular to it, constraints on bandwidth, a great diversity of languages, uneven digital literacy, and vast rural populations,” Pemmasani said.

Sharing open-source frameworks would enable member states to adapt proven tools without rebuilding from the beginning and without prohibitive licensing costs, he said.

“The second is partnership in capability. Let us train our workforce together and build institutional capacity together,” Pemmasani said, adding that there should be advocacy for standards in international telecom and ICT bodies that are fair and representative of all.

As part of India’s BRICS Chairship for 2026, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is leading and organising the BRICS ICT Track (Information and Communication Technologies Track) in Pune from August 17 to August 21, 2026, under the “Innovate, Cooperate and Transform (ICT) for a Resilient Future”.

BRICS brings together 11 major emerging markets and developing countries of the world – Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.

India’s DPI stack comprises Aadhaar as the foundational identity layer, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), direct benefit transfer (DBT) to citizens’ accounts, and DigiLocker. Other components include the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), Government e-Marketplace (GeM), and the account aggregator portal.

Pemmasani said that telecom has been the “quiet force multiplier” behind every success in the field, noting that the country has brought fourth-generation (4G) mobile connectivity to nearly 99% of the villages.

“India is investing around $4 billion in a saturation mission to reach those still uncovered. We then delivered one of the world’s fastest 5G rollouts, with more than 5 lakh 5G base stations,” he said, underscoring that the government is investing $17 billion in the BharatNet programme to take and maintain high-speed fibre infrastructure to every major village.

“Through pro-investment policies, rational spectrum pricing, and indigenous technology stacks, we have brought down the cost of every gigabyte,” Pemmasani said. “Connectivity has been kept within the reach of every citizen.”