Sitharaman reviews BRICS Finance Track ahead of key Mumbai meeting

Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday reviewed the key outcomes of the BRICS Finance Track and preparations for the final meeting of BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, scheduled to be held in Mumbai on September 9 and 10.

Sitharaman chaired a meeting with senior officials of the Department of Economic Affairs to take stock of the Finance Track as India prepares to host finance ministers and central bank governors from BRICS member countries. The Mumbai gathering will be held just days before the BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13.

The Finance Ministry said preparations for the Mumbai meeting were underway following the meeting of ministers and governors held in Jaipur last month. India is steering the Finance Track under its 2026 BRICS chairship theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”

Focus on financial cooperation

The Finance Track serves as a platform for BRICS members to discuss the global economic outlook, financial cooperation and development financing, among other issues. The Jaipur meeting in August also examined ways to strengthen the role of the New Development Bank (NDB), including its ability to mobilise private capital for development projects across member economies.

At a seminar held on the sidelines of the Jaipur meeting, Sitharaman had underlined the importance of unlocking private investment to meet development and infrastructure requirements. She said BRICS economies were major engines of global growth but faced common structural difficulties in mobilising private capital at the required scale.

The discussions also highlighted the role multilateral development banks can play in reducing investment risks, improving the viability of projects and strengthening investor confidence. India has cited mechanisms such as viability gap funding, the hybrid annuity model, credit enhancement and Infrastructure Investment Trusts as examples of measures that can help attract long-term private investment.

Meeting ahead of Leaders’ Summit

The September 9-10 meeting will be among the final major ministerial engagements before leaders of BRICS countries assemble in New Delhi for the 18th BRICS Summit.

India’s chairship comes at a time when the expanded grouping is seeking greater coordination on economic and financial issues amid uncertainty in global trade, investment flows and geopolitical conditions. The Finance Track is expected to feed into the broader economic agenda that will be taken up by leaders at the summit.

The Mumbai deliberations will therefore provide finance ministers and central bank governors an opportunity to consolidate the work undertaken during India’s chairship and take forward cooperation on development finance, private capital mobilisation and wider global economic challenges.