"India's BRICS Presidency Tests Whether Advocacy Can Become Tangible Cooperation"
New Development Bank (NDB)
BRICS-established multilateral development bank with $100 billion authorised capital, financing infrastructure and sustainable development in Global South countries.
Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA)
A $100 billion BRICS currency swap mechanism providing short-term liquidity support to members facing balance-of-payments stress.
BRICS began as an informal grouping of major emerging economies, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, that held its first formal summit in 2009. Its founding premise was that the existing international order, shaped largely by Western-led institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, and WTO, inadequately represented the interests of large developing nations. BRICS positioned itself as a platform for these nations to collectively advocate for a more representative global governance architecture.
Over time, BRICS moved beyond advocacy. The New Development Bank (NDB), established in 2015 with an initial authorised capital of $100 billion, became its most significant institutional achievement. The NDB was designed to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects in member and non-member developing countries, offering an alternative to Western-dominated multilateral development banks. BRICS also launched the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), a $100 billion currency swap mechanism to provide short-term liquidity support to members facing balance-of-payments pressures.
In 2024, BRICS underwent its most significant expansion. Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE joined as full members, bringing total membership to eleven. This expansion reflected the grouping's growing appeal among Global South nations but also introduced new complexity: a larger, more diverse membership makes consensus harder to achieve and risks diluting the coherence that gave BRICS its early credibility.
India holds the BRICS chairship in 2026, themed 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.' The 18th BRICS Summit is scheduled in New Delhi. India's presidency has focused on seven broad priorities: strengthening existing BRICS institutions (especially the NDB), deploying validated technologies across the Global South, turning resilience into practical cooperation, deepening energy and food-security linkages, resisting coercive trade practices, sustaining momentum for reforming international institutions, and implementing measurable targets.
A central tension in BRICS today is the gap between advocacy and delivery. BRICS collectively represents approximately 45 per cent of the world's population and 37 per cent of global GDP (PPP). It controls a substantial share of global energy production, critical minerals, and manufacturing capacity. Yet its summits have historically produced joint declarations that paper over disagreements rather than binding commitments that translate into action. The 2025 BRICS Foreign Ministers' meeting in Rio de Janeiro deadlocked over language on UN Security Council reform, and the 2026 meeting in New Delhi failed to produce a joint communiqué over differences between Iran and the UAE on West Asia, concluding instead with a Chair's Statement. …
The 'Fortaleza Declaration', recently in the news, is related to the affairs of
The question of India's Energy Security constitutes the most important part of India's economic progress. Analyze India's energy policy cooperation with West Asian countries.
How will I2U2 (India, Israel, UAE and USA) grouping transform India's position in global politics?
Consider the following statements about BRICS:
1.BRICS currently has eleven full members, including Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
2.BRICS accounts for approximately 45 per cent of the world's population and 37 per cent of global GDP (PPP).
3.The New Development Bank was established with an initial authorised capital of $200 billion.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
Consider the following pairs:
BRICS Instrument — Purpose
1.New Development Bank — Infrastructure and sustainable development financing
2.Contingent Reserve Arrangement — Long-term climate adaptation finance
3.BRICS Technology Cooperation Exchange — Matching validated technologies with Global South development needs
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
With reference to the 'Fortaleza Declaration', which of the following statements is/are correct?
1.It was adopted at the 6th BRICS Summit held in Brazil.
2.It established both the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement.
3.It called for the immediate introduction of a common BRICS currency.
Which of the following best describes the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the position taken by BRICS on it?
Consider the following statements about the New Development Bank (NDB):
1.The NDB is headquartered in Shanghai, China.
2.Membership of the NDB is restricted exclusively to BRICS member states.
3.The NDB was established with an initial authorised capital of $100 billion.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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