Context: India hosts the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12–13, 2026, while chairing the grouping, prompting debate over whether BRICS provides sufficient strategic and economic benefits to India.
- The article argues that India should increasingly prioritise economic and strategic partnerships with the United States and Europe over dependence on BRICS.
Origin and Evolution of BRICS
- Origin: BRICS began as an acronym coined by Goldman Sachs in 2001 to highlight the growth potential of Brazil, Russia, India and China for global investors; the four countries institutionalised the grouping at the 2009 Yekaterinburg Summit.
- Its originator, Jim O’Neill, later clarified that he had not intended BRICS to become a political grouping.
- The subsequent expansion of BRICS has increased its geopolitical significance but has also made consensus on common interests more difficult.
Limited Gains for India
United Nations Security Council Reform
- BRICS declarations have repeatedly expressed support for the aspirations of Brazil, India and South Africa to play a greater role in the United Nations, including the Security Council, but have stopped short of explicitly supporting their permanent membership.
- In September 2024, BRICS foreign ministers failed to issue a joint statement after Egypt and Ethiopia reportedly did not endorse language supporting permanent seats for Brazil, India and South Africa, reflecting disagreement over African representation.
- Thus, despite India's long-standing demand for permanent membership of the UN Security Council, BRICS has provided limited concrete diplomatic support.
New Development Bank
- India contributed $2 billion in paid-in capital and committed another $8 billion as callable capital to the New Development Bank (NDB).
- In roughly a decade, the NDB approved around $40 billion in financing for all its members, considerably below the $81 billion committed by the World Bank in fiscal 2025 alone.
- India also committed $18 billion to the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), established in 2014 as a financial safety mechanism analogous in purpose to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) support facility.
- No member had drawn funds from the CRA in the 11 years cited, raising questions about the opportunity cost of India's contribution.
BRICS and India’s Strategic Constraints
- Russia: India's BRICS partnership does not resolve the strategic complications created by the Russia–Ukraine war, which Russia initiated and which remains unresolved.
- China: BRICS has not effectively addressed India's concerns regarding Chinese mercantilism, trade imbalances, supply-chain dependence and China's stance on issues such as the origins of COVID-19.
- Limited leverage: Even when India chairs BRICS, declarations have often repeated broad formulations about India's “aspiration” for a greater UN role rather than explicitly endorsing India's permanent candidacy.
- The article therefore argues that BRICS can sometimes function more as a symbolic diplomatic platform than an instrument for advancing India's concrete national interests.
China: Economic Imbalance
- China's economic model has been criticised for relying heavily on export-oriented growth, suppressed domestic consumption and persistent trade surpluses.
- China's domestic consumption is cited at around 40% of GDP, compared with a global average of approximately 64%, reflecting the continued importance of its export-led model.
- India's trade deficit with China reached a record $112 billion in 2025–26, highlighting the asymmetry in bilateral economic relations.
- China has also restricted supplies of rare-earth magnets and affected the availability of engineers for Apple's iPhone manufacturing ecosystem in India, highlighting supply-chain vulnerabilities.
BRICS Members and the Middle-Income Challenge
- The article questions whether BRICS countries provide appropriate models for India's ambition of becoming a high-income economy by 2047.
- The World Bank's cited high-income threshold from July 2026 is $14,375 per capita.
- Russia: Per-capita income increased only marginally from about $15,160 in 2013 to $15,330 in 2024, with its recent return to the high-income category influenced heavily by war-related spending.
- Brazil: Per-capita income declined from approximately $12,950 to $9,930 over the cited period.
- South Africa: Per-capita income declined from around $7,930 to $6,110.
- China: At about $13,660 per capita, China remained below the cited high-income threshold in July 2026.
- India: Per-capita income is around $2,550, requiring sustained rapid growth to achieve high-income status by 2047.
- The article identifies South Korea, Poland and Vietnam as more relevant examples of economies that have successfully upgraded productive capabilities or are currently moving rapidly towards higher income levels.
India’s Stronger Economic Linkages with the West
- The United States accounts for around one-fifth of India's merchandise exports and more than half of India's software exports.
- The U.S. contributes around 28% of India's remittance inflows, holds approximately $390 billion of Indian securities, and has invested around $100 billion in India through foreign direct investment.
- By comparison, China's cumulative direct investment in India is cited at only around $2.5 billion, despite the much larger bilateral trade relationship.
- Russia supplied India with around $47 billion of oil while importing only about $4.9 billion of goods, illustrating the limited diversification of the bilateral economic relationship.
Why the West Matters More for India
- Market access: The U.S. and European markets provide significant opportunities for India's manufacturing and services exports.
- Investment and technology: Western economies are important sources of foreign investment, technology, capital and access to global value chains.
- Services advantage: India's software and other services exports have particularly strong links with the U.S. and European economies.
- Strategic diversification: Stronger economic integration with the West can reduce excessive dependence on individual markets and supply chains, particularly China.
Way Forward
- India should pursue multi-alignment rather than exclusive dependence on any single bloc, while giving greater economic weight to partnerships with the U.S. and Europe.
- BRICS can continue to serve as a platform for Global South cooperation and diplomatic engagement, but India should assess the grouping primarily through concrete outcomes rather than symbolism.
- India should prioritise trade agreements, technology partnerships, investment flows, resilient supply chains and access to high-value markets that directly support its development objectives.
- The central objective should be to build productive capabilities similar to successful economies such as South Korea, Poland and Vietnam, rather than simply deepening membership in geopolitical groupings.
