Fact-Check: Has India rejected BRICS offer to trade in Local Currency? Here are the facts

A claim has recently surfaced on X alleging that India has rejected BRICS offer to trade in local currency. It wants to trade in US dollar. The claim has been shared by several users including a pak-based handle on X

An X handle named World Affairs posted an image on X and wrote: “India rejects BRICS offer to trade in local currency. It wants to trade in US dollar”

Several users have shared this claim citing similar facts. The preview link can be seen here and here.

Fact-Check

The DFRAC team investigated the viral claim and found it to be false.
We conducted a keyword search in this regrad that led us to reports from TOI & ANI dated Dec 6, 2024. As per reports, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said that what the RBI has done so far is to permit the opening of vostro accounts in local currency and enter into agreements with a couple of countries for local currency-denominated trade.

What is a vostro account?

A vostro account is an account held by a domestic bank on behalf of a foreign bank in the domestic bank’s local currency. A vostro account allows a Russian bank to hold rupees with an Indian bank. Indian importers pay in rupees into this account for goods like oil, enabling trade without using the US dollar.

Investigating further, we found reports from NDTV & The Tribune published on Dec 1, 2024, citing that no decision had been taken to start a new currency to compete with the US dollar, EAM S Jaishankar has said in Qatar, where he has gone to attend the Doha Forum.

Conclusion

DFRAC’s Fact-check clearly shows that the viral claim alleging that India has rejected BRICS offer to trade in local currency is completely misleading since India has made no official statement about completely rejecting BRICS currency.

Analysis: Misleading