17th BRICS Summit in Brazil

General Studies Paper-2

Context

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the BRICS Summit Plenary session on ‘Strengthening Multilateralism, Economic-Financial Affairs, and Artificial Intelligence.

Major Highlights of the BRICS Summit

• The BRICS Leaders’ Declaration, adopted at the summit reflected India’s key concerns, especially on cross-border terrorism and global governance reforms.
• PM Modi said that the majority of the world’s population is not properly represented in key global institutions.
• He called for a greater role for the developing world in international decision-making.
• He also emphasizes the need for making BRICS more effective in an increasingly multipolar world.
• He put forward four key suggestions to enhance cooperation among BRICS nations:
  • Improving Systems to Boost Credibility: Highlighted the importance of demand-driven decision-making, long-term financial sustainability, and maintaining a healthy credit rating.
  • Collaborative Initiatives: Proposed creating a BRICS Science and Research Repository that can also benefit the countries of the Global South.
  • Resilient supply chain: He emphasised the need to secure and make the supply chain resilient, particularly for critical minerals and technology.
  • Responsible AI: Stressed the importance of Responsible AI, stating that India believes in artificial intelligence as a tool for enhancing human values and capabilities and is guided by the mantra of ‘AI for All’.

Increasing Relevance of BRICS

• Platform for Strategic Autonomy: BRICS offers India a non-Western multilateral platform to engage with global powers without aligning exclusively with any bloc.
• Strengthening the Group: With the additions of new countries, it will represent almost half the world’s population, and will include three of the world’s biggest oil producers, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran.
• Focus on Middle East: With the inclusion of Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE, and Egypt, there is a Middle East focus, bearing geo-economic, geostrategic, and geopolitical implications.
• Voice for Global Governance: The grouping now represents a larger share of the world’s population and economy.
  • This means the group is potentially a powerful voice for reforming global governance structures and can also act as an influential player within these arrangements.
  • Additionally, India positions itself as a leading voice of the Global South within BRICS.
• Push for Multilateral Reform: A larger BRICS enhances the push for UNSC reform, where India seeks a permanent seat.
• Counterbalance to China’s Dominance: A broader membership may dilute China’s dominance within BRICS.
  • India can build coalitions with new members to promote balanced agendas and prevent unilateralism.

Challenges

• Internal Geopolitical Tensions: India–China border disputes strain bilateral trust.
• Asymmetry in Power and Influence: China’s economic dominance creates imbalance in decision-making.
• Lack of Cohesive Vision: BRICS lacks a unified ideology or strategic coherence beyond broad themes like multilateralism and development.
  • Members pursue divergent national interests, limiting collective action.
• Institutional Limitations: BRICS has no permanent secretariat, making coordination ad hoc and dependent on rotating presidencies.
  • Limited enforcement mechanisms reduce implementation of summit declarations and commitments.
• Economic Disparities: Members are at different stages of economic development and face unique challenges, it creates difficulty in setting common economic goals or trade policies.
• Impact of External Alliances: India’s engagement with the West and Indo-Pacific frameworks.
  • Russia’s increasing dependence on China post-Ukraine conflict.
  • These shifts complicate internal unity and raise questions about long-term alignment.
• Expansion-related Challenges: The inclusion of new members adds diversity but also increases coordination complexity and risks diluting the original focus.

Way Ahead

• While BRICS holds significant potential as a voice of the Global South and a platform for multipolarity, it faces serious structural, political, and institutional challenges.
• Overcoming these would require a shared strategic vision, institutional strengthening, and internal diplomacy — especially among key players like India, China, and Russia.
• As the BRICS operates based on consensus-driven decision-making, attaining consensus among 11 countries characterized by diverse economies, geographical locations, and interests proves to be substantially more challenging than doing so among the original five members.
• To ensure the continued effectiveness and consistency of the institution, in the long run, BRICS might opt to focus on easier-to-achieve objectives.