Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability - in other words, the acronym BRICS - will therefore be closely monitored. The grouping has grown beyond a talk shop and is now focusing on real issues to propel trade and economic growth for shared prosperity.

The BRICS bloc represents 49.5 % of the global population, around 40% of the global GDP and more than a quarter of global trade. In several BRICS nations, more than 50% of the population is below the age of 35. India alone has nearly 65% of its population below 35.  

Chinese Premier Xi Jinping is slated to visit India after a gap of seven years at a time when the world has been hit by the US tariff war and the ongoing West Asia crisis. Russian President Vladimir Putin too is expected to arrive in the capital on Friday. Apart from Xi and Putin, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, among others, will also be in New Delhi to attend the summit. 

Unsurprisingly, this grouping, also a voice for the Global South, will play a key role in shaping the global economy and set the agenda for future growth. 

“It took BRICS about 20 years to get into the fast-track mode, but now there is no looking back as the global framework is changing fast, leading to erosion of the older order,” an official with the Ministry of External Affairs said.  

BRICS Bloc

The concept, initiated in the 2001 research paper ‘Building Better Global Economic BRICs’, gained traction when four foreign ministers (from Brazil, Russia, India, and China) met on the margins of the UN General Assembly in 2006, leading to the first BRIC summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. South Africa joined in 2011, transforming BRIC into BRICS. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE became full members from 1 January 2024. Indonesia joined in 2025 as a full member.

In 2024-25, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam were roped in as Partner Countries. The only country that declined the offer was Argentina.

From humble beginnings in 2026, BRICS has become an important global forum with 21 nations on board. It represents a significant share of the world’s population, landmass, and economic output, with members spanning Latin America, Eurasia, Africa, and West Asia. This geographic and demographic breadth makes BRICS a strong voice for the Global South. 

One of the major achievements of BRICS was the creation of the New Development Bank (NDB) in 2015 to fund infrastructure and sustainable development projects in member countries.

Mineral Wealth

BRICS collectively is a resource powerhouse, be it energy, metals, or critical minerals. Russia is a major producer and exporter of crude oil, natural gas, coal, nickel, and palladium, while Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iran add substantial oil and gas resources.

Brazil is rich in iron ore, bauxite, manganese, niobium, and rare earths, while South Africa is a major source of platinum-group metals, manganese, chromium, gold, and coal.

China dominates the global supply chain for several critical minerals. It is particularly important for rare earths, graphite, tungsten, and the processing of minerals required for batteries and advanced manufacturing. Indonesia brings major nickel resources and is also an important producer of cobalt and copper. 

India has significant reserves of iron ore, bauxite, manganese, chromite, and coal. Egypt has gold, tantalum, iron ore, and copper, while Ethiopia has substantial untapped mineral potential. 

Intra-BRICS Trade

Merchandise trade among the BRICS nations has expanded significantly over the past two decades, reaching about US$ 1.17 trillion in 2024, according to UNCTAD and India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry. This represents more than a 13-fold increase from just US$ 84 billion in 2003, reflecting deeper economic linkages among Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and the other newer member countries.

However, despite this rapid growth, intra-bloc trade remains modest as a share of global commerce. In 2024–25, trade among BRICS members accounted for only about 5% of world trade, or roughly 20% of South–South trade, even as the expanded grouping now represents close to a quarter of global GDP and exports. 

According to a Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) analysis, India's total goods trade with BRICS more than doubled from US$ 203.1 billion in FY21 to US$ 417.5 billion in FY2025-26.

India's exports to BRICS increased 48.8%, from US$ 64.3 billion to US$ 95.7 billion. On the other hand, imports rose 131.8%, from US$ 138.8 billion to US$ 321.8 billion, leaving a huge trade deficit. India’s trade deficit with BRICS more than tripled from US$ 74.5 billion to US$ 226.1 billion.

"India should seek better market access in China, Russia, and Indonesia, address non-tariff barriers, promote higher-value exports and reduce excessive dependence on a few BRICS suppliers. Without stronger export growth, deeper intra-BRICS trade could further widen India's already large trade deficit," GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava said.

India As Chair

India held the BRICS Chairship in 2012, 2016, and 2021 and assumed the mantle for the fourth time on 1 January from Brazil. Also, the year 2026 marks a significant milestone as BRICS completes 20 years since its establishment.

The Chairship has come to India at a time when significant global transformation is taking place. The West Asia crisis is re-escalating and the international system is experiencing economic fragmentation, technological disruption, and geopolitical uncertainty. Climate change and resource pressures are adding to further complexity. These interconnected challenges require cooperation that is inclusive, practical, and responsive to diverse national circumstances.

Under India’s Chairship, over 350 meetings and high-level engagements have been held in over 25 cities across India to further strengthen the BRICS strategic partnership across three fundamental pillars: political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

Through these engagements, and business-to-business and people-to-people initiatives, India's BRICS Chairship has contributed to advancing cooperation through practical and development-oriented outcomes. The endeavour of New Delhi has been to reshape trade, finance, and supply chains across the Global South through a host of initiatives.

BRICS provides an important avenue for addressing these challenges through dialogue and coordinated action. Its expanded membership brings diverse perspectives from major emerging economies. The grouping can help advance cooperation on development, climate action, technology, energy and financial resilience. It can also contribute to discussions on reforms in global institutions.

For India, the objective extends beyond expanding the grouping’s scale. It is about converting greater representation into meaningful cooperation and tangible outcomes. India’s Chairship seeks to build consensus across diverse members while strengthening the effectiveness of existing mechanisms. India aims to reinforce BRICS as a constructive force for a more inclusive global order.

The Summit

As world leaders converge for the two-day summit in New Delhi, the real test will be how BRICS finally moves beyond the rhetoric of multipolarity and becomes an economic instrument grouping ensuring cheaper finance, smoother payments, stronger supply chains, and greater market access across the Global South.

For India, the stakes are particularly high. If its proposals on trade finance, digital payments and value chains translate into concrete mechanisms, this summit could mark a decisive shift in BRICS - from a forum that talks about changing the global economic order to one that actually brings about the change.