"BRICS Summit Highlights India's Case for Reducing Western Economic Dependence"
New Development Bank (NDB)
BRICS-created multilateral development bank, headquartered in Shanghai, with $100 billion authorised capital.
Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA)
BRICS $100 billion currency swap facility for short-term balance-of-payments support, unused in over a decade.
BRICS began as a Goldman Sachs investment concept in 2001, grouping large emerging economies. The first formal summit was held in 2009 in Yekaterinburg, Russia. South Africa joined in 2010, completing the original five-member bloc. The grouping's founding premise was that Western-led institutions, the IMF, World Bank (IBRD), and WTO, inadequately represented large developing nations. BRICS positioned itself as a platform for collective advocacy toward a more representative global governance architecture, explicitly contrasting itself with G7 dominance. The Fortaleza Declaration of 2014 was the grouping's most significant institutional output. It formally established the New Development Bank (NDB), headquartered in Shanghai, with an initial authorised capital of $100 billion, and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), a $100 billion currency swap facility for short-term liquidity support. The NDB was designed as an alternative to Western-dominated multilateral development banks, while the CRA was conceived as an alternative to IMF emergency lending.
BRICS underwent its most significant structural expansion in 2024. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE were admitted as full members at the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, held under Russia's chairship with the theme 'Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security'. Indonesia joined as a full member in 2025, bringing total membership to eleven nations. Around ten additional countries hold partner-country status. India has hosted BRICS four times: in 2012, 2016, 2021 (virtually), and now in 2026. India holds the 2026 BRICS Chairship under the theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability', with the 18th BRICS Summit hosted at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on September 12 and 13.
BRICS operates through three interlocking pillars:
The NDB's institutional performance reveals a gap between BRICS ambition and delivery. The NDB has approved roughly $40 billion over a decade, compared to the World Bank's $81 billion in a single fiscal year. No member has drawn on the CRA in over a decade. …
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?
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.
Consider the following statements with regard to BRICS:
1.Indonesia became a full member of BRICS at the 16th Summit held in Kazan under Russia's Chairship.
2.The TRIPS Agreement, administered by the WTO, came into effect in January 1995.
3.Russia and Iran have been excluded from SWIFT.
4.The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has been endorsed by BRICS nations as a model for climate finance.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Consider the following statements about the TRIPS Agreement:
1.TRIPS stands for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
2.It is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), not the WTO.
3.In 2020, India and South Africa sought a TRIPS waiver for WTO members in relation to Covid-19 prevention and treatment.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Match the following institutions/agreements with their defining characteristics:
List I (Institution/Agreement) — List II (Characteristic)
A.SWIFT — 1. Sets minimum global intellectual property standards; in force since 1995
B.TRIPS Agreement — 2. Secure global messaging network for cross-border financial payment instructions
C.New Development Bank — 3. BRICS's multilateral development lending institution
D.CBAM — 4. EU mechanism levying a carbon price on imports from countries without equivalent domestic carbon pricing
Choose the correct match:
With reference to the United States sanctions regime, consider the following statements:
1.The US has imposed approximately 486 out of 1,325 global sanctions recorded since 1949.
2.Secondary sanctions penalise third-country entities for dealings with a sanctioned state, even when those transactions do not violate the third country's own laws.
3.The G7 and the EU have never coordinated with the US in imposing sanctions on any country.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following best describes 'secondary sanctions' as used in international economic statecraft?
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