India is advocating for a new BRICS Trade Receivables Discounting System to ease cash flow for micro, small and medium enterprises, fostering their global competitiveness amid a broader push for resilient, sustainable MSMEs within the BRICS framework.
India is pushing for a study on a BRICS Trade Receivables Discounting System, a move designed to ease the working-capital squeeze on micro, small and medium enterprises and help them sell more easily into overseas markets. The proposal sits within India’s 2026 BRICS chairship, which has placed the internationalisation of smaller firms at the centre of its agenda, according to the KNN report and official Indian statements on the forum. The aim is to make it easier for businesses to turn unpaid invoices into cash, a financing practice known as discounting trade receivables.
India has framed the effort as part of a wider push to build more resilient and globally competitive MSMEs. The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises hosted the first BRICS MSME Forum and the third SME Working Group Meeting in Agra on June 19, bringing together officials, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders from BRICS members and partner countries, including Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa, the UAE, Belarus, Cuba, Malaysia, Uganda and India, the Press Information Bureau said. The event was held under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
Alongside the receivables proposal, India is also pressing for closer links between MSMEs and global value chains, stronger fintech-enabled digital payments and financing tools, and wider adoption of sustainable production standards. The broader policy pitch is that small firms need not only credit but also smoother cross-border payment systems and support to meet international quality and environmental requirements, if they are to compete beyond domestic markets.
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