Taking a leadership role forward, India will launch a BRICS Start-Up Forum this year to facilitate collaboration and share best practices among investors, incubators and aspiring entrepreneurs, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said.

He announced this during the seventh BRICS Industry Ministers' meeting hosted virtually with South Africa.

Goyal said that the Start-Up India initiative of the central government has led to the creation of nearly 100,000 start-ups in the country and on account of this, New Delhi can offer its support to other BRICS members in this segment. The industry ministers of other BRICS countries also attended the meeting and adopted a joint declaration. 

The ministers emphasised on the need for digitalisation, industrialisation, innovation, inclusiveness, and investment among BRICS countries. They recognised the increasing importance of Industry 4.0 and other emerging technologies in promoting the digital transformation of all economic sectors. 

"Through the declaration, the BRICS members acknowledged the need for human resource development and exploring opportunities for cooperation on upskilling and reskilling programmes," the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement. 

They also underlined the need for creating market opportunities for inclusive growth of projects owned/managed by women, youth, and disadvantaged groups. 

BRICS is an association of five major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. These countries hold annual summits to discuss various issues of common interests.