BRICS: Evolution, Expansion & Importance for India

Context (BBC): The BRICS grouping has recently included five new members.
The members are Iran, UAE, Ethiopia, Egypt and Indonesia.
BRICS is a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa formed in 2010.

Evolution of BRICS

In 2001, British economist Jim O’Neill coined the term ‘BRIC’, standing for the initials of four emerging economies at the time – Brazil, Russia, India, and China.
The leaders of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries met for the first time in St. Petersburg, Russia in July 2006.
In September 2006, the group was formalised as BRIC.
The first formal meeting was held in 2009 in Russia.

Over 40 countries have formally or informally expressed interest in joining an expanded BRICS.
It reflects the anger in the global South countries about their place in the world.
The expansion of the group would represent a major shake-up of the existing world order.

China is benefitting from the anti-Americanism of BRICS countries.
Through BRICS China is drawing many countries in the Global South closer to China.

For Russia, the expansion of the BRICS states represents the chance:
- To overcome international isolation.
- To bring its allies — like Belarus and Venezuela into the club.

If everyone tries to bring their friends into the BRICS, then the tensions within BRICS will rise.

Given its size, economic influence, spread of the Belt and Road Initiative, and diplomatic bandwidth, China will influence an expanded BRICS.
In an attempt to create a multipolar world and alternative mechanisms for global governance, India should not boost the rise of China and the China-centric world order.

The unrepresentative character of global governance institutions has led to their failure.
A more inclusive system like BRICS can fill such institutional vacuums.
BRICS and SCO could ignite a genuine conversation on making global governance more representative and inclusive.

To counter the dominance of European and Western countries at international forums and institutions, such as the United Nations.
To represent global south at the centre of international agenda-setting.

The chairmanship rotates among the group annually.
The Chair has to set the agenda, priorities, and calendar for the year.

The five countries are not yet close together and trust each other like the Group of Seven (Group of advanced industrial nations).
BRICS has not been able to steer the global economy in any significant manner.
It doesn’t really want to make economic agreements within its members.
Its historical capability to influence global geopolitics is overestimated.
As a bloc, it is hardly an attractive investment destination.

It is the first in-person meet since 2019.
The agenda of the 15^th Summit is ‘BRICS in Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism’.

The platform could be a means of establishing its larger efforts to represent the Global South.
The Summit could move things along from a diplomatic perspective.
This is the first in-person summit since the military standoff with China at the Line of Actual Control began in 2020. This meeting could resolve the LAC situation.
Just over two weeks after the BRICS summit, India will host the G20 summit, and India will want to ensure full attendance by the leaders, including all BRICS members.

The 2017 Doklam stand-off at the Bhutan-India-China trijunction was resolved just days before Modi and Xi were scheduled to meet for the then BRICS summit in China.
All BRICS countries are members of G20.

NDB (BRICS Bank) formally came into existence as a legal entity in 2015 on the eve of the Ufa summit.
It was established by BRICS member states in 2016.
It has its headquarters in Shanghai, China.
In 2018, the NDB received observer status in the UN General Assembly.
Its objective is to support the infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies, as well as in developing countries.
The NDB President is elected on a rotational basis from one of the founding members, and there are four Vice Presidents from each of the other four founding members.
K.V. Kamath from India was the first elected president of the NDB.

All members of the United Nations could be members of the bank; however, the share of the BRICS nations can never be less than 55% of voting power.
As of now, nine countries are members of BRICS bank (NDB).
- All BRICS members are members of NDB.
- NDB admitted Bangladesh, UAE, Egypt and Uruguay as its new members in 2021.
- NDB included UAE as a prospective member.

Prospective members: Members that have been admitted by NDB’s Board of Governors and will officially become a member country once they deposit their instrument of accession.

The NDB has an initial subscribed capital of US$ 50 billion and an initial authorised capital of US$ 100 billion.
The initial subscribed capital is equally distributed amongst the founding members. The voting power of each member shall equal its subscribed shares in the capital stock of the Bank.
Each member cannot increase its share of capital without all other four members agreeing.