7th BRICS ICT Working Group Meeting Continues in Pune on Digital Public Infrastructure and Digital Governance

What happened in Pune (BRICS ICT Track) on 19 August 2026

The Focus Group on Digital Public Infrastructure and the Digital BRICS Task Force met in Pune on the second day of the in-person meetings of the BRICS ICT Track. These meetings ran alongside continuing sessions of the 7th Meeting of the BRICS Working Group for Cooperation in ICTs.

Key activities reported for 19 August 2026 included updates, presentations, and draft Terms of Reference under multiple BRICS ICT groupings:

Focus Group on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) received an update from the Focus Group chair and presentations from India and other BRICS member countries on national approaches to Digital Public Infrastructure.Digital BRICS Task Force reviewed its activities and provided an overview of the Digital BRICS Forum 2026.Working Group on Cooperation in ICTs received reports on webinars held during the year, capacity building for secure, inclusive and sustainable digital telecom infrastructure, BRICS submarine cable network cooperation and development, and BRICS digital ecosystem cooperation.Draft Terms of Reference for a Digital Applications Expert Group and a Digital Governance Expert Group were taken up for discussion.

Background and earlier position on BRICS DPI work

The Focus Group on Digital Public Infrastructure reported Terms of Reference adopted in 2025. The Focus Group also described Digital Public Infrastructure as a critical enabler for digital services that are affordable, inclusive, reliable, secure, sustainable, and citizen-centric.