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India Seeks Practical BRICS Agenda Beyond Confronting West
BRICS is a group of countries that work together on economic and global issues.
India will host its next big meeting in New Delhi in September 2026.
The group has grown from four countries to 11 members.
Together, its members produce a large share of the world’s economy, but average incomes are still much lower than in the G7 countries.
China and Russia want BRICS to challenge Western influence more strongly.
India and Brazil prefer using BRICS mainly for economic cooperation and reform.
Members are trying to trade more with one another using their own currencies instead of the US dollar.
They are also discussing payment systems that could connect countries’ existing financial networks.
Disagreements between members, including Iran and the UAE, may make it difficult to reach joint decisions.
India wants to make BRICS more practical by focusing on development, climate finance, health, trade and technology.
India will host the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, 2026, as the grouping marks 20 years since its formalisation.
The expanded 11-member BRICS accounts for about 36.8% of global GDP on a purchasing-power-parity basis, compared with less than 29% for the G7.
BRICS faces internal disagreements over whether it should confront Western institutions or focus on economic cooperation and reform.
Members are pursuing bilateral trade in national currencies and interoperable payment systems rather than creating a single BRICS currency.
India’s summit priorities include supply chains, financial-institution reform, the New Development Bank, intra-BRICS trade and cooperation on development issues.
- Who
- India and the other 10 BRICS members, including China, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Indonesia.
- What
- India is preparing to host the 18th BRICS Summit and promote a practical, development-focused agenda while managing disagreements over the group’s geopolitical purpose.
- Where
- New Delhi, India.
- When
- The summit is scheduled for September 12 and 13, 2026; BRICS was formally established in 2006.
- Why
- The summit aims to strengthen cooperation on trade, finance, supply chains, development and global-institution reform while addressing divisions within the expanded grouping.
Economic Cooperation and Reform
Counterweight to Western Influence
BRICS’s central purpose
Economic Cooperation and Reform
India and Brazil see BRICS primarily as an economic and reform-oriented grouping focused on development and changes to global institutions.
Counterweight to Western Influence
China and Russia increasingly present BRICS as a counterweight to Western dominance and US-led institutions.
Approach to the US dollar
Economic Cooperation and Reform
India favors practical bilateral settlement in national currencies and interoperable digital payment systems rather than a single BRICS currency.
Counterweight to Western Influence
Some members have promoted a stronger challenge to dollar dominance, although the idea of a common BRICS currency has largely been shelved after opposition and tariff threats from US President Donald Trump.
Expansion and consensus
Economic Cooperation and Reform
Supporters of practical cooperation argue that a broader membership can increase BRICS’s economic reach and representation of the Global South.
Counterweight to Western Influence
Critics point to conflicts between members, including Iran and the UAE, and argue that expansion makes consensus on geopolitical issues more difficult.
Key facts
- Summit host
- India
- Summit date
- September 12-13, 2026
- BRICS membership
- 11 full members, after Indonesia joined in January 2025
- BRICS GDP share
- Approximately 36.8% of global GDP on a purchasing-power-parity basis in 2024
- Intra-BRICS trade
- $1.17 trillion in merchandise trade in 2024
- New Development Bank
- Approximately $44 billion approved across 141 projects by mid-2026
- Payment initiative
- BRICS Pay is scheduled to link national payment systems at the September 2026 summit
Sources
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