"India Leverages BRICS Chairship to Advance Ukraine Peace Diplomacy"
Strategic Autonomy
India's foreign policy doctrine of maintaining independent positions rather than aligning fully with any bloc.
New Development Bank (NDB)
BRICS-created multilateral development bank with $100 billion authorised capital, headquartered in Shanghai.
BRICS began as an informal grouping of five major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Its first formal summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. South Africa joined last, at the 3rd Summit in Sanya, China, completing the original five-member configuration. The grouping was conceived as a platform for large developing nations to coordinate on global governance, trade, and development finance outside Western-dominated institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, and WTO, which were designed for a post-World War II order that no longer reflects the actual distribution of global economic weight. The grouping's most significant institutional creation is the New Development Bank (NDB), established at the 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, with an initial authorised capital of $100 billion. The NDB is headquartered in Shanghai and finances infrastructure and sustainable development in member and non-member developing countries. BRICS also created the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), a $100 billion currency swap mechanism for short-term liquidity support.
At the 16th BRICS Summit held in Kazan, Russia, the grouping expanded significantly. Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE joined as full members, bringing total membership to ten or eleven full members depending on the counting of the partner-country category. Ten additional countries were admitted as partner countries, a new category below full membership. This expansion reflects the grouping's growing appeal among Global South nations but has also made consensus harder to achieve. India holds the BRICS Chairship in 2026 and is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict, which entered its active phase with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, forms a critical backdrop. Its roots lie in the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the Donbas insurgency. The legal framework rests on UN Charter Article 2(4), which prohibits the use of force against another state's territorial integrity, and Article 51, which recognises the right of self-defence. Ukraine surrendered its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal under the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 in exchange for security assurances from Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. That memorandum has no enforcement mechanism, and Russia's invasion rendered it effectively void.
BRICS functions as a consultative forum rather than a formal alliance. It has no binding treaty obligations or collective security commitments. Its value lies in providing a platform for large emerging economies to coordinate positions on global governance. The UN Security Council (UNSC), established in 1945 under the UN Charter, has 15 members: five permanent members (the P5) and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms. The P5 hold veto power, meaning any one of them can block a substantive resolution. The Council's membership was expanded from 11 to 15 in 1965 by adding four non-permanent seats, but the number of permanent members has not changed since. The UN General Assembly has grown to 193 members, creating a wide gap between the Council's composition and broader global representation. Any amendment to the UN Charter requires approval by two-thirds of the General Assembly and ratification by all five permanent members, meaning the P5 effectively hold a veto over their own reform.
India's position within BRICS carries a distinct strategic complexity. India has abstained on all major UN resolutions condemning Russia's invasion, citing its doctrine of strategic autonomy. …
Consider the following statements with regard to BRICS:
I.16th BRICS Summit was held under the Chairship of Russia in Kazan.
II.Indonesia has become a full member of BRICS.
III.The theme of the 16th BRICS Summit was 'Strengthening Multiculturalism for Just Global Development and Security'.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Recently, India signed a deal known as 'Action Plan for Prioritization and Implementation of Cooperation Areas in the Nuclear Field' with which of the following countries?
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.
Consider the following statements with regard to BRICS:
1.India holds the BRICS chairship in 2026 and is hosting the summit in New Delhi.
2.Indonesia became a full member of BRICS at the 16th Summit held in Kazan.
3.The theme of the 16th BRICS Summit was 'Strengthening Multiculturalism for Just Global Development and Security'.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following pairs:
Agreement — What it provides
1.LEMOA — Logistics support between Indian and US military forces
2.COMCASA — Encrypted communications interoperability between India and the US
3.BECA — Geospatial intelligence and map data sharing between India and the US
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
With reference to the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, consider the following statements:
1.Ukraine surrendered its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal in exchange for security assurances from Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
2.The Memorandum contains a legally binding enforcement mechanism obligating signatories to use military force in Ukraine's defence.
3.France and China were also signatories to the Memorandum.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to the UN Charter provisions relevant to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which of the following pairs is correctly matched?
Provision — Content
Which of the following best describes India's approach to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as reflected in its diplomatic posture since 2022?
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