India’s BRICS Presidency 2026: Navigating India’s Opportunity to Shape BRICS AI Governance Framework

The global debate on artificial intelligence (AI) governance is at a critical inflection point. As AI systems increasingly shape economies, societies, and geopolitical power structures, the question of “who governs AI and how AI is being governed” has become not only deeply political but ethical as well. Historically, global technology governance has been dominated by Western frameworks, rooted in their institutional priorities, market structures, and capitalist values. However, the emergence of BRICS as a cohesive multilateral bloc offers a compelling alternative: a governance paradigm grounded in the aspirations, developmental needs, and socio-political and cultural sensitivities of the Global South.

Within this evolving landscape, India stands uniquely positioned to shape a BRICS-led AI governance framework—one that is inclusive, development-oriented, human-centric and reflective of diverse socio-economic and cultural contexts.

The Strategic Context: BRICS and the Rebalancing of AI Governance

Beyond the original five (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), BRICS expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia, representing over 40% of the world’s population and roughly 37.3% of global GDP. Their collective push for AI governance is not merely technical but deeply normative: it seeks to rebalance global digital power!

Recent BRICS declarations, including the BRICS Leaders’ Statement on the Global Governance of AI (which was released during the Brazilian Presidency last year), have consistently emphasised the core principles: digital sovereignty, inclusivity, equity, trust, and multilateralism. The bloc has called for a United Nations-led framework that ensures equitable access to AI technologies and prevents deepening digital divides.

This approach reflects a broader dissatisfaction with fragmented and often exclusionary governance models currently shaping AI regulation. Instead, BRICS envisions a system that is “representative, development-oriented, accessible, and inclusive,” explicitly foregrounding Global South priorities.

Against this backdrop, India’s growing diplomatic and technological influence positions it as a bridge-builder—capable of aligning diverse interests within BRICS while articulating a coherent vision for global AI governance reflective of Global South aspirations and sensitivities.

India’s Emerging Leadership in Global AI Discourse

India’s transition from a technology adopter to a global agenda-setter in AI governance is both recent and rapid. Its initiatives—ranging from national AI strategies to convening Global South dialogues—signal an earnest attempt to shape global norms. The recent mega global AI convening in the form of AI Impact Summit 2026 is a loud and clear testament to this!

The country’s strengths lie in three key areas:

1. Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI): India’s success with scalable, inclusive platforms (such as digital identity and payments ecosystems) offers a replicable model for AI deployment in developing economies.
2. Human-Centric Governance Philosophy: India’s AI governance approach emphasises “human-centricity,” ensuring that AI serves societal welfare while mitigating risks.
3. Scale and Diversity: With its vast population and socio-economic diversity, India provides a real-world laboratory for testing inclusive AI solutions.

Core Pillars of a BRICS AI Governance Framework

For India to effectively shape BRICS AI governance architecture, the framework must be anchored in principles that resonate with Global South realities. These include:

 

1. 1. Digital Sovereignty with Interoperability:BRICS nations strongly advocate for digital sovereignty—the right of states to regulate data, infrastructure, and AI systems within their jurisdictions. However, India can play a critical role in ensuring that sovereignty does not lead to fragmentation. By promoting interoperable standards and federated governance models, India can balance national autonomy with global collaboration.
2. Inclusive Access and Capacity Building: A defining concern for the Global South is the risk of AI exacerbating existing inequalities. Limited access to compute infrastructure, data resources, and skilled talent can widen the technological gap. India can champion initiatives such as:

• Shared AI infrastructure (compute pools, open datasets)
• Capacity-building programs across BRICS+ countries
• Open-source AI ecosystems

Such measures align with BRICS’ emphasis on equitable access and democratisation of technology.

3. Development-Oriented AI Governance:Unlike Western frameworks that often prioritise risk mitigation and compliance, a BRICS-led model must foreground development outcomes—agriculture, healthcare, education, and climate resilience. AI governance, in this context, should not merely regulate risks but actively enable socio-economic transformation.
4. Ethical Pluralism and Cultural Context:Global AI ethics debates are often rooted in Western philosophical traditions. However, the Global South encompasses diverse cultural, ethical, and social norms. India, with its pluralistic ethos, can advocate for context-sensitive ethics frameworks—allowing countries to adapt global principles to local realities while maintaining core safeguards such as fairness, accountability, and transparency.

 

5. Multilateral and UN-Centric Governance:BRICS has consistently supported an UN-led approach to AI governance to avoid regulatory fragmentation by:

India can strengthen this vision by:

• Advocating for inclusive representation in global AI bodies
• Supporting Global South participation in standard-setting institutions
• Bridging gaps between regional and global governance mechanisms

Challenges in Building a Cohesive Framework

While the opportunity is significant, several challenges must be addressed:

 

Divergent National Interests: BRICS countries have varying political systems, economic priorities, and technological capabilities. Aligning these differences into a unified governance framework will require careful diplomacy.

Institutional Capacity Gaps: Many Global South countries, along with a few BRICS member countries, have limited regulatory and technical capacity to implement complex AI governance frameworks. Without addressing these gaps, even well-designed policies may fail in practice.

Avoiding Regulatory Fragmentation: While advocating sovereignty, BRICS must ensure that divergent national regulations do not hinder cross-border innovation and collaboration.

India’s Strategic Pathways Forward

To effectively shape a BRICS AI governance framework, India must adopt a multi-pronged strategy toward the following:

1. Norm Entrepreneurship: India should articulate a clear normative vision for AI governance—anchored in inclusion, development, and trust—and actively promote it within BRICS and global forums.
2. Institutional Innovation:Creating new institutional mechanisms, such as a BRICS AI Council, can facilitate coordination, knowledge sharing, and policy alignment. Apart from the government, policy think tanks, industry, academia and civil society organisations can be part of this Council.
3. Leveraging Digital Public Goods:India’s experience in building digital public goods can be extended to AI—developing shared tools, frameworks, and infrastructure for BRICS nations.
4. Building Coalitions within BRICS+:With the expansion of BRICS, India has an opportunity to build coalitions among like-minded countries—particularly those in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America—to amplify Global South voices.
5. Bridging Global Divides:India’s diplomatic positioning—maintaining strong ties with both Western and Global South countries—enables it to act as a bridge, fostering dialogue and reducing polarisation in global AI governance debates.

Toward a New Global AI Order

The emergence of a BRICS-led AI governance framework signals a broader shift toward a multipolar digital order. This transition is not merely about redistributing power but about redefining the principles that underpin technological governance.

A Global South-oriented framework would prioritise:

• Equity over dominance
• Access over exclusivity
• Developmental Impact over mere regulation

Conclusion

As AI reshapes the contours of global power, governance frameworks will determine not only how technology evolves but also who benefits from it. The BRICS platform offers an unprecedented opportunity to democratize AI governance—ensuring that it reflects the voices and aspirations of the Global South.

India, with its unique combination of technological capability, developmental experience, and diplomatic credibility, is well-positioned to lead this transformation. By shaping a BRICS AI governance framework that is inclusive, context-sensitive, and development-oriented, India can help forge a more equitable and representative global digital future. The MANAV Vision espoused by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, during the India AI Impact Summit 2026 sums up the salient features of any such governance framework on AI. MANAV Stands for ‘M’oral and Ethical System; ‘A’ccountable Governance; ‘N’ational Sovereignty; ‘A’ccessible and Inclusive; and ‘V’alid and Legitimate.

This vision gels quite well with the theme of India’s 2026 BRICS Presidency, i.e. “Building Resilience and Innovation for Cooperation and Sustainability,” focusing on a people-centric, “Humanity First” approach, and placing Global South concerns at the forefront!