India is holding the BRICS summit meeting in Delhi in September 2026 amidst profound regional and global developments with far reaching ramifications. With BRICS as a major multilateral body marking the important benchmark of two decades since its inception in 2006 and with the presidency coming to India in 2026, India has a challenging leadership role to play in its home turf.

A number of relevant BRICS Working Groups meetings have been taking place in the preceding months pruor to the BRICS summit in Delhi , September 12-13, 2026. These working groups range from cultural heritage protection and preservation, insuring food security , de-risking and de-coupling from the possible misuse of Artificial Intelligence, planning long-term disaster risk reduction mechanisms, creating sustainable and resilient housing options , generating mobility in smart cities enterprises under the urban forum , developing counter- narcotics measures for establishment of BRICS drug trafficking networks, collaboration on a digital transport and future-ready transport system through innovation, meaningful partnership, etc.

The focus has been on how India can play a proactive, ambitious and visionary leadership role and can fast forward its development agenda on ‘building for resilience, innovation, cooperation, and stability’ and through four key pillars: enhancing innovation- led growth, inculcating resilience in a collective spirit, fast-tracking all-round cooperation, and in pursuing sustainable development in a time bound manner. India is also committed in nurturing a balanced and geographical representation and perspective of Global South and the non-Western block and in having a meaningful, shared partnership and camaraderie among BRICS member nations . Amidst rising global flux, geopolitical turbulence, ongoing conflict in various regions, uncertainties and unpredictabilities in energy security , India’s initiative as BRICS 2026 chairmanship has drawn inspiration from Prime minister Modi’s ‘Humanity First and People-centric” vision for BRICS with emphasis on harmony, inclusivity and equitable international order.

Synergy between Mission and Objectives:

The basic idea of BRICS originated initially in 2001 when the economist Jim O’ Neill coined the term ‘BRIC’ for Brazil, Russia, India, China in a Goldman Sachs Report with the aim of focusing on four core areas: bolstering multilateral institutions, and facilitating global governance; promoting sustainable economic cooperation and new financial architecture. With the inclusion of South Africa in 2010 and subsequent expansion of BRICS in 2024-25 when Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Indonesia have become full members, BRICS has become a mega multilateral body.

BRICS has also notable partner countries from various regions of the world which includes: Belarus, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan. BRICS , as of now, includes seven members of the G20 , leading ASEAN power horse like Indonesia, SCO members like Iran, crude oil and energy rich countries like UAE, important countries from Africa such as Egypt and South Africa, and Brazil from the Americas. With its latest expansion in membership , BRICS’ global share of GDP has increased by 3 percent and the current account balance remaining in the surplus category on the positive side.

Speaking on the efficacy of BRICS, on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting at Hangzhou, China, on 4 September 2016, Prime minister Narendra Modi had described BRICS as ‘an influential voice in international discourse’ and how it was their ‘shared responsibility in the shaping of the global agenda’.

Deliverables from the 2025 BRICS summit and 2026 Working Groups:

So far, 17 BRICS summits have taken place with India hosting it thrice already: 4th summit in 2012 (Delhi), 8th summit in 2016(Goa), 13th summit in 2021(Delhi) and again for the fourth time, the 18th summit meeting that is scheduled in 2026. At the last BRICS summit that was held in 2025 in Brazil, the primary focus was on Global South Cooperation and BRICS partnerships for social, economic, and environmental development in a holistic framework.

Along with these initiatives, some other notable flagship priorities were also identified for the 2026 Delhi summit meeting and beyond which included: climate change and mitigation strategies, Artificial Intelligence (AI), trade, financial architecture , and investment goals, heralding good governance, restructuring of the multilateral security arena, reinforcing institutional development, and global health cooperation with a mission towards universal health security one and all. Other identified areas of cooperation included: clean energy output , water and sanitation , regulated technology flows, viable digital projects, state of the art transport system, mobilization of sustainable and infrastructure development in emerging markets and developing countries. (EMDCs).

BRICS Working Groups have been successful in devising consensus on a wide range of issues such as: development of creators’ network through cultural interactions; recognition and preservation of inter-connected cultural heritage; safeguarding traditional knowledge systems, digitisation , protection and conservation of creators’ rights; BRICS Digital Center of Excellence for Smart Grids and Energy Storage; BRICS Hydrogen Value Chains, BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture; BRICS Forum on Regenerative Farming, Innovation and Investment and greater coordination among National Security Agencies in areas of capacity building, information sharing aimed at counter- terrorism and risk from cyber attacks, etc.

Challenges

BRICS countries are acutely aware of ideological polarisation, fractured and fragmented nature of polity, jockeying for supremacy among global power blocs and identity dilemma and recurring crisis in terms of diverse culture, race, and ethnicity; divergent strategic cultures and geographical priorities and imperatives, nationalist leanings, economic/debt dependencies particularly by rhe countries in the Global South , geopolitical manoeuvring , diverse national interests and core objectives including on the notion of strategic advantage, strategic autonomy and strategic hedging.

This divergence in core interests have manifested vividly in the aftermath of the Israel-US joint military strikes on Iran, a BRICS member on February 28 , 2026 and one which is currently in a state of temporary pause arising out of recent negotiated deal and tenuous truce being arrived at by the parties concerned . Although BRICS ss a multilateral forum issued a strong statement after the last year ( June 2025) US- Israel attack on Iran as a “violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations”, a joint statement by BRICS countries in the aftermath of the more recent case in February 2026 is still elusive.

This divergence in viewpoints is also reflected at the intra-BRICS level including between Iran and the UAE on the former’s attack on key energy outlets on UAE as well as between Egypt and Ethiopia over the latter’s plan to expand the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and which is opposed by Egypt due to fear of the reduced downstream flow of the Nile River, an important lifeline fir Egypt .

Within the BRICS, President Vladimir Putin of Russia has called for ‘immediate cessation’ of rising tensions in West Asia in his call with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, and for ‘abandonment of forceful solutions to problems around Iran and throughout the Middle East’ and for a swift return to the path of political and diplomatic options for resolution of the crisis. In spite of Russia being embroiled since February 2022 with nearly a five-year war over Ukraine, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been critical of Israel and US military action over Iran.

China’s foreign minister, Wang Li, is on record saying, ‘China opposes any military strikes launched by Israel and the US against Iran’. As an important founding member of BRICS, China, has supported the broad objectives of BRICS which emphasises on resolving vexed issues and differences though multilateral framework, peaceful settlement of disputes and through collective, concerted voice of the Global South.

South Africa, another key member of BRICS grouping, and its President Cyril Ramaphosa has similarly made a statement pleading for ceasefire in the Iranian crisis and has urged for ‘the madness to come to an end’ and in offering to play the role of a mediator in diffusing the escalating situation . For Saudi Arabia and UAE, Iran’s retaliatory action against the commercial infrastructure , trade and energy sectors including in the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea have only accentuated the internal cleavages as it seriously undermines rising economic concerns of affected countries in the West Asian region.

For India, as an emerging global power , it is one of restoring and balancing acts in the context of its having long historical, cultural and civilizational links with Iran including some high-profile collaborations such as over Chabahar port, the disruption of oil , trade and energy has India scrambling to look and scout for plausible alternatives in other parts of the world as part of diversified strategy.

Recent Trump Administration’s temporary waiver to allow India to purchase Russian oil with heavy subsidy amidst West Asian supply woes is a welcome relief at least in the immediate short term. However, this may change due to US Senate supporting a higher tariff on India. India is already in talks with Saudi Arabia and other gulf countries to reroute their energy supply through the Red Sea instead of the Strait of Hormuz which has become a turf battle between Iran and US.

India has other important concerns as a significant number of Indian expatriates are currently working, living, studying, researching in various Gulf and West Asian countries and their overall safety and well beings are of paramount considerations for Indian foreign ministry. India has made continuous calls for an ‘early end to the conflict’ and in emphasizing on dialogue and diplomacy to be the prudent path for ending the conflict for the sake of deescalation, stabilisation and regional solidarity .

While maintaining a balanced status in having ‘special strategic partnership’ with Israel, India’s Secretary for External Affairs, Vikram Mistri, has visited Iran Embassy in Delhi to sign in the condolence book condoling the assassination of Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hosseni Khamenei, the Supreme leader of Iran. India’s external affairs minister, S. Jaishankar has also been in frequent correspondence with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, as well as with foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and UAE for finding plausible ways aimed at cessation of hostilities at the earliest. India, too has permitted emergency docking of Iran’s naval ship, IRIS Lavan, off the coast of Kochi. India too sent a high level delegation to Iran and participated in the state funeral and mourning of Iran’s Supreme Leader. Ali Khamenei on July 3.

Apart from the Iran issue, for some within the BRICS bloc, balancing trade deficit with China which hss a huge economy with a massive USD $ 20 trillion GDP is a big challenge and as a result, Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) has yet to reach its full potential. Similarly, increasing rise of protectionism in most parts of the world, upsurge in populism, climate change and global warming and ultra nationalism in world’s major economies have posed onerous challenges and obstacles for BRICS in terms of trade, investment, and access to critical rare earth minerals.

Also, intra-BRICS trade volume which remains low and the overall global trade share need to overcome limited economic integration among the BRICS member countries due to divergent trade practices and regulatory mechanisms . Similarly, India prefers a more meaningful and tangible reforms of international financial institutions such ss IMF snd the World Bank and for providing greater representation and credible voice to the developing countries of the Global South .

While India is hesitant to have a currency shared with China or even ab unified BRICS currency , both Russia and China want to initiate the process of de-dollarization including the development of alternative payment systems such as BRICS Pay and even to the extent of exploring the possibility of a common BRICS currency for reduction of economic and financial vulnerability of western sanctions and for less dependence on US dollar as a hard currency.

For facilitating and promoting alternative trade settlement mechanisms through digital means and for faster and cheaper financial transactions, individual BRICS countries are trying to develop local currency mode such as SPFS in Russia, CIPS in China, UPI in India, Pix in Brazil, etc. China also wants to advance its political agenda through BRICS by showcasing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Global Development Initiative (GDI) which India is wary of.

The Way Forward

Aside from the current Iranian crisis that has tested the limits of resilience and of BRICS solidarity as a viable bloc, overall, BRICS, as of date, can be described as a reasonably successful and vibrant multilateral body with a potential upward trajectory operating in South-South bloc and Global South and with strategic diversification in representation in Eurasian and continental fronts as a counterweight to G-7 group of industrialized group of nations.

In the short to medium term, ine can view BRICS as a multilateral body which , through a consensual approach, is likely to make more mutually-beneficial institutional mechanisms and build economic headway among member states in areas such as supply chains, green initiative, clean energy including in niche seas such as solar energy, water security, food security, youth employability, skill development, increased women’s workforce participation, digital public infrastructure and financial resilience and empowerment .

Similarly, other measures can be made to usher in universal security, and global health governance along the lines of India’s vision of ‘One Earth, One Health’, and in establishing BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Center, BRICS TB Research Network and BRICS Integrated Early Warning Mechanism for preventing large-scale infectious diseases. BRICS developed Central Bank-regulated payment gateways, establishing centres of innovation and AI, and BRICS Skills Development Center , networking with G7, the World Bank and the IMF, collaboration for intra/ BRICS supply chains, etc.

India does have the capacity and potential in bridging internal differences substantially , and in handling geopolitical fluctuations with emphasis on respect for sovereign equality, cultural diversity, diversified consensual approach, and in providing a viable platform for dialogue and sustainable and equitable development. BRICS with India as its current chairmanship in 2026 offer tangible and viable options for shared partnership, pathway for prosperity and in overcoming onerous global challenges for inclusive, equitable growth trajectory for all stakeholders within BRICS group while complimenting and in making a level playing field for a broader, stable multilateral world order.

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