BRICS backs India’s push for sports technology and manufacturing

The BRICS bloc has backed India’s proposals to deepen cooperation in sports technology and sports-goods manufacturing, giving the country’s sports industry agenda a new multilateral platform.

The New Delhi Declaration, adopted at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13, endorsed proposals for a BRICS Working Group on Sports Technology and a Sports Goods Manufacturing Conclave.

The initiatives were first advanced during the BRICS Sports Ministers’ Meeting in Visakhapatnam in August 2026 under India’s 2026 chairship.

The proposed Sports Technology Working Group is intended to build cooperation across sports science, athlete performance, governance, artificial intelligence, digital transformation and innovation. India has said it will contribute experts across key sporting domains to the group.

For the sports industry, the manufacturing proposal could have a more direct commercial footprint. The Sports Goods Manufacturing Conclave, proposed for Udaipur, Rajasthan, in November 2026, will focus on technology and innovation, quality standards, intra-BRICS trade and resilient supply chains.

The conclave is expected to bring together manufacturers, exporters, investors, technology providers, SMEs, startups and research institutions, creating a platform that connects sports-product manufacturing with investment and technology ecosystems across BRICS economies.

The push also comes as India is building a domestic policy framework around sports-goods manufacturing. At the August Sports Ministers’ meeting, Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya highlighted the upcoming Sports Goods Manufacturing Clusters scheme, which the government says will facilitate investment and support domestic manufacturing for global markets.

That gives the BRICS initiative a domestic industrial-policy link: the proposed conclave can potentially provide Indian manufacturers with access to foreign buyers, technology providers, investors and supply-chain partnerships, while giving BRICS members a platform to exchange manufacturing practices and standards.

The New Delhi Declaration also recognised the growing role of technology in improving performance, athlete welfare, governance and inclusion in sport.

It commended the progress of the existing BRICS Sports Working Group and welcomed further discussion around a broader BRICS Sports Cooperation Framework.

For India, the two proposals extend the sports agenda beyond athlete development and competitions into technology, manufacturing and trade, areas that could shape the next phase of the country’s sports ecosystem.