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.

Importance of BRICS

• The grouping consists of:
  • 42% of the world’s population
  • 30% of the world’s territory
  • 23% of global GDP
  • 18% of world trade.
  • With Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE as members, BRICS countries produce about 44% of the world’s crude oil.

Expansion of BRICS

• 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.

Benefits for China

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

BRICS and Russia

• 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.

Expansion with caution (Lesson for India)

• 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.

Need of BRICS (Alternative mechanism for global governance)

• 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.

The rationale behind creating BRICS

• 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.

BRICS Agenda

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

Issues

• 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.

15^th BRICS Summit

• 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’.

Importance of BRICS for India

• 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.