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Informist, Wednesday, Jun. 10, 2026

 

By Priyasmita Dutta

 

NEW DELHI – As chair of BRICS, India plans to propose linking the official digital currencies of member countries to the payment platform Project Mandala to facilitate easier cross-border trade settlements, a senior finance ministry official said. This is part of India's larger push for the internationalisation of the rupee, with central bank digital currencies emerging as the more feasible option for international settlements. "Linking CBDC to Project Mandala will significantly lower the bloc's dependence on other settlement platforms like US-backed CHIPS and China-backed mBridge," the official said. 

 

"Coming up with a BRICS' alternate currency or a separate reserve currency to settle trade, promote tourism, or send remittances is a far-fetched idea," the official told Informist. "Rather, joining a commonly decided settlement platform for interoperable CBDC transactions for payments or repatriating remittances is a more doable plan," the official added. 

 

India currently holds the BRICS presidency. The bloc's other founding members are Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa. The other member nations of the bloc are Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The bloc aims to promote unified emerging economic perspectives in multilateral forums. At the previous summit in 2025, the bloc had resolved to increase interoperability of its payment systems to make cross-border transactions more efficient. 

 

Developed under the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub, Project Mandala is backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Bank of France, the Central Bank of Kuwait, the Central Bank of Malaysia, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. "A commonly agreed and widely used settlement platform will allow safeguarding currency sovereignty and monetary and financial stability of each participating nation," the official said.

 

According to the official, CHIPS – Clearing House Interbank Payments System, which is the largest private-sector dollar-based clearing and settlement network in the world, applies anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism standards that are more closely aligned with US standards than with the globally accepted norms set by the Financial Action Task Force. On the other hand, India is apprehensive about the security of the mBridge platform, which has more lenient norms for allowing transactions than prescribed by the Financial Action Task Force. 

 

The Financial Action Task Force is an intergovernmental organisation established in 1989 as the international watchdog to combat money laundering, terror financing, and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system. India became a member in 2010.

 

To be sure, the official said that this move is not aimed at de-dollarisation but at promoting cross-border settlements without relying on any one reserve currency. US President Donald Trump last year threatened to take action against the bloc if it made any move to bypass the dollar. The main purpose of rupee internationalisation is to insulate the Indian economy from market volatility and the challenges posed by geopolitical instability. 

 

India has already entered local currency settlement arrangements with some countries. The official, however, said that having a broad platform for cross-border settlements will pave the way for a systemic shift towards a more localised, standardised settlement ecosystem. "A common platform promotes homogeneity, which will help bring CBDCs of different nations under a common architecture."

 

The RBI had launched wholesale CBDC in November 2022, designed for use by financial institutions and intermediaries, primarily to streamline interbank settlements and large-value transactions. Wholesale CBDC focuses on improving the financial system's infrastructure and reducing settlement risks, while retail CBDC aims to enhance accessibility, financial inclusion, and convenience for individuals or businesses. India has already signed agreements with countries including the UAE, Singapore, and Vietnam to promote CBDC-based payments.  End

 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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