Currency conundrum: On the BRICS New Delhi Declaration

The BRICS New Delhi Declaration shows that progress in enhancing local currency trade has been incremental. The paragraph pertaining to local currency trade acknowledges the efforts of various task forces and committees but falls short of offering any concrete proposals. Recently, the Commerce Ministry indicated that India’s rupee trade with its BRICS partners was limited, with only the UAE and Russia engaged in it. Even those volumes are relatively small. Until recently, Russia had struggled to dispose of the rupees it was accumulating from its exports to India. Some avenues have now opened, with Russia being forced to import petroleum products from India due to Ukraine’s attacks. But that is a trickle. Another option is to treat any BRICS currency as ‘local’. India has already been using the UAE Dirham to pay for Russian oil.