New Delhi, May 15 -- India's trade engagement with BRICS nations has grown strongly over the past five years, but the widening trade deficit poses a key policy challenge as New Delhi prepares to host the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Thursday and Friday. According to a report by Rubix Data Sciences, India's bilateral trade with the other 10 BRICS countries touched $416 billion in CY2025, registering a nearly 10% CAGR between CY2021 and CY2025. However, the goods trade deficit with the bloc has almost doubled, rising from $117 billion in CY2021 to $224 billion in CY2025.

Looking ahead, India's role within the expanded 11-nation grouping will be shaped by its ability to balance growing import dependencies with efforts to boost outbou...