BRICS: Evolution, Cooperation and India’s Leadership
·
BRICS has evolved from a
four-country economic concept into a broad geopolitical grouping spanning Asia,
Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. India is chairing BRICS for the fourth
time in 2026.
·
18th BRICS Summit: India
will host the Summit in New Delhi on 12–13 September 2026 under the
theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
·
Current membership: BRICS
comprises 11 countries — Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India,
Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and UAE. Together they
represent 49.5% of global population, 40% of global GDP and 26% of global
trade.
Origin
and Evolution
·
The acronym “BRIC” was coined by Goldman
Sachs in 2001, referring to Brazil, Russia, India and China as emerging
major economies.
·
BRIC became a formal political cooperation forum in
2006, with the first BRIC Summit held at Yekaterinburg, Russia, in
2009.
·
South Africa joined in 2010/2011,
converting BRIC into BRICS and broadening its geographic representation.
·
2024 expansion: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi
Arabia and UAE became full members.
·
2025: Indonesia became the 11th
full member.
·
A Partner Country framework was created in
2025, with Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand,
Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam joining.
Objectives
and Areas of Cooperation
·
BRICS seeks a more democratic, legitimate and
balanced global order, with greater representation for emerging economies.
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Cooperation covers:
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Trade and agriculture
o
Finance and global economic governance
o
Climate change
o
Food and energy security
o
Technology and telecommunications
o
Labour and employment
o
Terrorism
o
Development and social inclusion
·
BRICS advocates greater representation and equity
in institutions such as the WTO, IMF and World Bank.
India’s
Previous BRICS Chairships
2012 –
New Delhi
·
Theme: “BRICS Partnership for Global Stability,
Security and Prosperity.”
·
Proposed a New Development Bank.
·
Signed the Master Agreement on extending credit
facilities in local currencies.
·
Laid foundations for the Contingent Reserve
Arrangement (CRA).
·
Strengthened cooperation in agriculture, health and
science.
2016 –
Goa
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Theme: “Building Responsive, Inclusive and
Collective Solutions.”
·
Strengthened cooperation on counter-terrorism,
trade and innovation.
·
Advanced renewable energy and energy security
cooperation.
·
Strengthened BRICS engagement with the BIMSTEC
region.
·
Established initiatives including the BRICS
Agriculture Research Platform and Railway Research Network.
2021 –
Virtual Summit
·
Theme: “BRICS@15: Intra-BRICS Cooperation for
Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus.”
·
Adopted a unified BRICS Counter-Terrorism Action
Plan.
·
Launched the BRICS Vaccine R&D Center.
·
Advanced digital health, remote-sensing satellite
cooperation, green tourism and water cooperation.
Major
Outcomes under India’s 2026 Chairship
·
India held more than 350 meetings and high-level
engagements across 25 cities.
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Agriculture: Centres of Excellence on Agro-Ecology, Digital Agriculture Network and BRICS AGRIN
for seeds, germplasm and agricultural inputs.
·
Health: BRICS Mission for Healthy
Lifestyle; cooperation on traditional/complementary medicine and mental health.
·
Traditional knowledge:
Principles for climate-resilient, people-centric adaptation and stronger
academic cooperation on indigenous knowledge.
·
Skills and employment: BRICS
CONNECT for skilling, social security, women's workforce participation and
digital public infrastructure.
·
Energy: Guiding Principles on Energy
Storage and Smart Grids, along with a Digital Centre of Excellence.
·
Urban infrastructure: BRICS
Urban Mobility Hub, climate-resilient urban infrastructure principles and Urban
Research & Knowledge Network.
·
MSMEs: BRICS MSME Cooperation Portal
and institutionalized dialogue on MSME finance and internationalisation.
·
Start-ups: BRICS Incubator Network and BRICS
Startup Innovation Fund.
·
Science: BRICS Science and Research
Repository for knowledge sharing.
Key Trade
& Customs Outcomes
·
BRICS Logistics Supply-Chain Cooperation Framework: Focuses
on resilient and sustainable logistics, transport connectivity, cargo/shipping
services, manufacturing ecosystems and capacity building.
·
Global Value Chains: GVC
Action Plan 2026–2030, including a Technical Council and Joint Study,
aimed at resilient GVCs, market opening and economic diversification.
·
Customs: BRICS members gave in-principle
approval and expressed willingness to sign an Agreement on Cooperation and
Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters.
o
Faster trade
o
Lower transaction costs
o
More secure borders
o
Trade facilitation
o
Improved ease of doing business
o
Action against illicit trade
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Standards: An MoU among BRICS national
standards bodies will strengthen cooperation on standards, technical
information, quality infrastructure and reduction of technical barriers to
trade.
Overall
Significance
·
India’s 2026 Chairship
seeks to move BRICS beyond expansion toward practical cooperation and
tangible outcomes.
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The focus is on inclusive growth, resilience,
sustainability, technology, trade facilitation, supply chains and a stronger
Global South voice.
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For trade, the most significant developments are
the proposed Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement, GVC Action Plan 2026–30,
logistics cooperation framework and standards cooperation, which could
facilitate intra-BRICS trade and reduce technical and administrative barriers.