Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, 13 September issued a pointed warning to global leaders at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, cautioning that the 'weaponisation of technology and critical minerals' risks reversing the world's hard-won progress toward shared prosperity and inclusive development. The remarks came during his closing address at Bharat Mandapam, where Modi sat alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping on the summit's second day.

Key Developments at the Summit

Addressing member-state leaders gathered under the summit theme — 'Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability: Shaping the Future for Inclusive Global Growth' — Modi said he was pleased that India had helped translate the group's shared vision into 'win-win collaboration' with the support of all BRICS members. He described the bloc as a force 'uniting different continents, cultures, and development journeys', calling it a testament to BRICS's growing strength and confidence.

On the increasingly turbulent global order, Modi said: 'Today, the global tensions are increasing, which is negatively affecting the common man. Pandemics, climate change disasters and supply chain disruptions have shown that in the current interconnected world, no crisis remains confined to a single region.' He invoked the lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic — which spread from Wuhan, China and claimed crores of lives worldwide — as a case study in cross-border vulnerability.

What India Proposed

Modi unveiled several India-led initiatives at the summit. He announced that BRICS nations had reached consensus on a BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for the prevention of and response to infectious diseases, along with Early Warning Data Integration Guidelines for disaster management. He also proposed a BRICS Startup Innovation Fund to promote scalable, innovative solutions, and said the BRICS Incubator Network would link startups and incubators across member states.

Additionally, Modi highlighted a BRICS Logistics Supply Chain Cooperation Framework aimed at making global supply chains 'more reliable and resilient'. A dedicated BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture was also announced, designed to harness AI, geospatial technology, and digital public infrastructure to address the real-world needs of farmers.

The Warning on Technology and Critical Minerals

Modi's most geopolitically charged remarks centred on the growing trend of nations restricting access to advanced technologies and key raw materials as instruments of strategic pressure. 'The weaponisation of technology and critical minerals can create hurdles for common growth. Therefore, we have emphasised inclusivity in the adoption of technology,' he said. The statement is widely read as a reference to escalating US-China tech restrictions — and their cascading effects on emerging economies — though Modi did not name any country directly.

Notably, the warning was delivered with Xi Jinping seated beside him, a detail that underscores the diplomatic tightrope India continues to walk: aligning with BRICS rhetoric on multipolarity while managing a complex bilateral relationship with Beijing.

What This Means for BRICS Going Forward

Modi stressed that BRICS cooperation must extend beyond governments to include 'entrepreneurs, farmers, researchers, women, youth, and ordinary citizens'. This people-first framing signals India's intent to position BRICS as a platform for development diplomacy rather than a purely state-centric geopolitical bloc. With the group having expanded its membership in recent years, the challenge of maintaining consensus across divergent interests remains significant. The early warning system and startup fund proposals, if operationalised, would mark the most substantive India-led institutional additions to BRICS since its founding. Whether these frameworks move from declaration to implementation will be the real measure of this summit's legacy.