7th BRICS ICT Working Group Meeting Continues in Pune with Strategic Focus on Digital Public Infrastructure

Pune:18/8/26:The Focus Group on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Digital BRICS Task Force met today at Pune on the second day of the in-person meetings of the BRICS ICT Track, alongside continuing sessions of the 7^th Meeting of the BRICS Working Group for Cooperation in ICTs.

The Focus Group on Digital Public Infrastructure, whose Terms of Reference were adopted in 2025, received an update from the Chair and presentations from India and other member countries on national approaches to digital public infrastructure. Digital public infrastructure has emerged as a critical enabler for the affordable, inclusive, reliable, secure, sustainable and citizen-centric delivery of digital services, and is guided by the principles of openness, interoperability, digital sovereignty and national ownership, with respect for domestic laws and regulations, cybersecurity, resilience, privacy and trust.

India advanced the discussion on the Focus Group on DPI and presented India’s DPI to the BRICS countries, as well as presented the concept note on the BRICS Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Repository and BRICS Pilot Projects of DPI Solutions.

The Working Group received reports on the webinars held during the year, on capacity building for secure, inclusive and sustainable digital telecom infrastructure, on BRICS submarine cable network cooperation and development, and on BRICS digital ecosystem cooperation. The Digital BRICS Task Force reviewed its activities and provided an overview of the Digital BRICS Forum 2026. Draft Terms of Reference for a Digital Applications Expert Group and a Digital Governance Expert Group were taken up for discussion. The proceedings of the Working Group conclude tomorrow, ahead of the Digital BRICS Forum and Expo on 20^th August and the 12^th BRICS Communications Ministers’ Meeting on 21^st August. \