BRICS has never been an easy grouping to define. What started with Brazil, Russia, India and China as a platform for major emerging economies has grown into a wider forum for countries seeking a stronger voice in global affairs.
Its members, however, do not always see the world in the same way. They have different political systems, economic priorities and foreign policy interests. For India, this makes BRICS less of a fixed alliance and more of a diplomatic platform where it can advance areas of cooperation that match its own interests.
India’s 2026 BRICS presidency gives New Delhi an opportunity to place greater attention on development, technology, sustainability and practical cooperation. The country has increasingly presented issues affecting developing nations as central to discussions about global governance rather than matters that can be left to the margins.
More than a geopolitical bloc
Much of the attention around BRICS focuses on its economic size, expanding membership and the changing balance of global power. Those issues matter, but they do not tell the whole story.
India has practical experience that could also shape the group’s work, particularly in digital public infrastructure. Over the past decade, systems such as Aadhaar and UPI have helped expand access to digital identity, payments and public services on a large scale.
UPI has become particularly notable because of its focus on fast and interoperable digital payments. Its use and adoption beyond India have also become part of New Delhi’s wider efforts to share its digital public infrastructure experience with other countries.
That does not mean India’s model can simply be copied elsewhere. Countries need reliable connectivity, appropriate regulation, cybersecurity and public confidence before similar systems can work effectively. What India offers instead is an example of how digital infrastructure can be designed around everyday economic and public needs.
The inclusion of digital public infrastructure within BRICS cooperation could therefore shift some attention from technology as a symbol of national progress to technology as a tool for wider economic participation.
Finance is another area where India’s role in BRICS has wider implications. Developing countries often face not only a shortage of investment but also high financing costs and difficulties securing funding for projects whose benefits may take years to materialise.
The New Development Bank, established by BRICS in 2015, was created to support infrastructure and sustainable development in member countries. Its role is not necessarily to replace institutions such as the World Bank, but to provide an additional source of development finance as infrastructure needs continue to grow across the Global South.
India has been among the countries to benefit from NDB financing, including support for infrastructure projects such as road development in Madhya Pradesh.
The bigger challenge is ensuring that development finance reaches beyond large government backed projects. India’s interest in areas such as MSMEs, investment cooperation and local currency financing is important because smaller businesses often face greater difficulties obtaining affordable credit and dealing with currency risks.
If BRICS financial cooperation is to have a wider impact, its success will also depend on whether smaller businesses and entrepreneurs can gain from the opportunities it creates.
Bringing everyday issues into BRICS
India’s BRICS engagement has also placed attention on areas such as health, agriculture, sustainability and innovation. These subjects may appear less dramatic than debates about geopolitics, but they directly affect the resilience of societies.
The COVID 19 pandemic showed how quickly a health emergency can become an economic and international crisis. Climate change can disrupt agriculture, livelihoods and energy supplies, while technological change is reshaping healthcare, education and farming.
India’s experience in digital agriculture, renewable energy and public health therefore gives it an opportunity to push practical issues higher on the BRICS agenda. India has also used its wider diplomatic programmes to promote digital public infrastructure, renewable energy, food security and technology based access to healthcare among developing countries.
Mental health is another area receiving attention. The proposed BRICS mental health training network involving NIMHANS reflects an effort to bring an issue that is often overlooked in strategic discussions into wider international cooperation.
At the diplomatic level, India’s approach also reflects its longstanding effort to maintain relationships with countries across different strategic groupings. New Delhi has important partnerships with the United States, Europe and Japan while continuing to engage with Russia, China and the wider BRICS framework.
This approach allows India to participate in BRICS without treating the organisation as an exclusively anti Western platform. Its interest is largely centred on creating more space for developing countries in international decision making while maintaining room for cooperation with different partners.
The expansion of BRICS has increased the group’s geographical reach, but it has also brought together countries with different priorities and interests. That makes consensus more difficult and places greater importance on areas where practical cooperation is possible.
India’s presidency cannot remove those differences. Nor can the creation of new initiatives automatically guarantee meaningful results. Declarations still have to be followed by funding, institutions and implementation.
That is ultimately where India’s BRICS presidency will face its biggest test. Its focus on technology, development finance, health and sustainability gives the grouping a practical dimension, but the lasting value of those priorities will depend on whether they continue after India hands over the presidency and whether they produce measurable results.
For India, BRICS is therefore not simply about reshaping global power. It is also an opportunity to demonstrate how cooperation among developing countries can address some of the practical challenges affecting their economies and societies.
