India Hosts BRICS National Statistical Offices Meeting in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, on August 3, 2026

Key facts

• India hosted the two-day BRICS meeting of Heads of National Statistical Offices (NSO) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, beginning on August 3, 2026.
• The meeting was inaugurated under India's Chairship of the BRICS 2026 Statistics Track.
• More than 350 participants, including NSO chiefs, policymakers, academics, think-tanks, civil society members and technical experts, attended the meeting.
• The participating countries were Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE.
• The draft BRICS Joint Statistical Publication (JPS) 2026 and Snapshot BRICS JSP 2026 were released on the opening day.
• India chose 'Quality Statistics as Driver of Change' as the theme for the 2026 Statistics Track.
• Saurabh Garg, Secretary of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), chaired the BRICS 2026 Statistics Track.
• Technical sessions covered digital platforms for data accessibility and transformational reforms in statistical systems.