"BRICS Dialogue Questioned as Insufficient for Reforming Global Order"
New Development Bank (NDB)
BRICS-established multilateral development bank, headquartered in Shanghai, as an alternative to World Bank financing.
Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA)
BRICS mechanism providing short-term liquidity support to members facing balance-of-payments pressures, as an alternative to IMF.
BRICS began as a grouping of five major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The first BRICS Summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. The grouping expanded significantly at the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, held under Russia's chairship, admitting Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia as full members. This brought total membership to ten. The theme of the Kazan summit was 'Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security', a precise formulation worth noting, as it uses 'Multilateralism', not 'Multiculturalism'.
The Fortaleza Declaration of 2014 was a landmark document. It announced the creation of the New Development Bank (NDB) and a Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA). These positioned BRICS as a provider of development finance outside Western-dominated institutions like the World Bank and the IMF. The structural grievances binding BRICS members are real. The SWIFT financial messaging network has been used as a geopolitical instrument, with Russia and Iran removed under Western pressure. The WTO, while formally rules-based, has in practice allowed developed countries to retain agricultural subsidies and non-tariff barriers while pressing developing nations to liberalise. These shared frustrations explain why BRICS declarations consistently invoke the language of multilateralism, sovereign equality, and reform of the international order.
The Delhi 2026 BRICS Declaration, a 45-paragraph document, achieved consensus through careful diplomatic calibration across ten diverse member states. It condemned unilateral sanctions and tariffs, omitted any reference to Ukraine (mirroring India's G20 strategy of softening language to preserve consensus), reiterated China and Russia's support for India and Brazil's UNSC aspirations, and included a multilateral condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack. For India, the declaration consolidated diplomatic gains, terrorism condemnation, UNSC reform language, anti-tariff solidarity, without requiring explicit endorsement of Russia's war or Iran's nuclear programme.
The core debate around BRICS is whether it is a genuinely transformative institution or primarily a forum for dialogue. Proponents argue that expanded membership strengthens the Global South's collective voice, creates scope for economic cooperation, and keeps diplomatic channels open on difficult geopolitical questions. The grouping's deliberate effort to avoid being seen as an explicitly anti-Western alignment gives it flexibility that a more confrontational bloc would lack.
Critics, drawing on realist international relations theory, argue that multilateral forums do not transcend power politics. They largely reflect the distribution of power and the interests of the states that create and use them. On this view, BRICS is less an independent force shaping international politics than a forum through which states respond to changing configurations of power and pursue converging interests. The rapprochement between India and China at the Delhi summit, for instance, can be read not as a triumph of BRICS diplomacy but as a strategic calculation by both countries to reduce bilateral tensions and gain greater room for manoeuvre in dealing with Washington amid escalating tariff pressures. …
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
Consider the following statements with regard to the 16th BRICS Summit held in Kazan:
1.It was held under the Chairship of Russia.
2.Indonesia became a full member of BRICS at this summit.
3.The theme of the summit was 'Strengthening Multiculturalism for Just Global Development and Security'.
4.The summit brought total BRICS membership to twelve.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Consider the following pairs:
Declaration / Agreement — Associated Grouping / Forum
1.Fortaleza Declaration — BRICS
2.Contingent Reserve Arrangement — IMF
3.New Development Bank — World Bank Group
4.Kazan Summit — BRICS
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
With reference to the New Development Bank (NDB), consider the following statements:
1.It was established through the Fortaleza Declaration of 2014.
2.It is headquartered in Shanghai, China.
3.Its mandate is limited to infrastructure financing for BRICS member states only.
4.It was created as an alternative to the World Bank for development financing.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following statements about the Delhi 2026 BRICS Declaration:
1.It condemned unilateral sanctions and tariffs imposed by major powers.
2.It explicitly condemned Russia's military operations in Ukraine.
3.It included multilateral condemnation of a terrorist attack on Indian soil.
4.It reiterated support for India and Brazil's aspirations for a greater role in the UN Security Council.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following correctly describes the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) established by BRICS?
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