BRICS Solutions Awards 2026

awards spotlight innovative, scalable, and impactful solutions from across BRICS nations that advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and India's Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) framework. Winning projects are positioned for BRICS-wide adoption support, exhibition at the BRICS Business Forum, and broad media coverage. Who Should Apply Applications are open to citizens and organisations of BRICS countries — including Indian startups, MSMEs, corporates, NGOs, civil society organisations, academic institutions, and research bodies. Individual applicants must be nominated by an NGO or a corporation. Government departments are not eligible. The project, programme or solution must be at least 3 years old; for completed interventions, the underlying work must not be more than 5 years old. Award Categories Seven categories are open in 2026, each mapped to SDGs and Mission LiFE actions: - Innovations in Food Security and Nutrition — biodiversity-based farming, waste-to-value food innovations, resilient supply chains, nutrition technologies. - Digital Health and Wellness Ecosystem — telemedicine, AI-enabled diagnostics, wellness apps, community health data systems. - Gender Inclusive Learning and Empowerment — digital learning tools, women-led innovation hubs, inclusive curricula, cross-border knowledge exchange. - Water Security and Resilience — smart irrigation, water recycling, community conservation, drought and flood resilience. - Clean Energy and Sustainable Transition Pathways — solar and wind breakthroughs, energy storage, green hydrogen, community-driven clean energy. - Innovative Infrastructure and Sustainable Industry Solutions — smart cities, low-carbon transport, sustainable manufacturing, digital-industrial transformation. - Resource Recovery and Circular Material Innovation — plastic alternatives, e-waste recycling, biodegradable materials, circular supply chain models. Format & Timeline The process is a three-stage assessment. Stage I: open call for applications and shortlisting based on completeness and category fit. Stage II: desk assessment against an 8-indicator framework, with each indicator scored out of 10 for a maximum of 80 marks. Stage III: jury shortlisting (qualifying score around 40) with a final international jury constituted from national chapters of the BRICS Business Council, who recommend winners and runners-up per category. Key dates announced for 2026: Launch on 15 May, Outreach and Awareness 15 May to 15 June, Application registration 15 May to 10 July, Preliminary Shortlisting in the 2nd and 3rd week of July, and Jury Assessment from the 4th week of July through the 2nd week of August. Evaluation Criteria Judging is on eight parameters: Relevance and Context, Design and Approach, Resources and Cost Effectiveness, Innovation and Originality, Scalability and Replicability, Sustainability and Impact, Alignment with SDGs/LiFE, and Cross-Border Cooperation Potential. Recognition There is no advertised cash prize. Winners and runners-up receive Finalist or Winner certificates, recognition on the BRICS platform, support for BRICS-wide adoption of their solution, participation in knowledge-sharing sessions and exhibitions, a showcase slot at the BRICS Business Forum, and media coverage. All participants who submit a valid application receive a certificate of participation. Intellectual property rights remain with the applicants; winners agree to share best practices for cross-BRICS adoption. How to Apply Applications are free of charge and must be submitted in English through the official portal linked above. There is no cap on the number of submissions per applicant. For queries, contact Mr. Kiral Singh at kiral.singh@ficci.com.

departments are not eligible. Projects must be at least 3 years old; for completed interventions, work must not be more than 5 years old.