INDIA'S BRICS PRESIDENCY
India assumed the rotating chairmanship of BRICS on January 1, 2026, taking over from Brazil. This marks India’s fourth tenure as chair after 2012, 2016, and 2021. During its presidency, India will host the 18th BRICS Summit later in 2026, along with an extensive calendar of ministerial and sectoral meetings covering commerce, connectivity, technology, fintech, education, counter-terrorism, climate action, and sustainable development.
The official theme of India’s BRICS 2026 chairship is “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,” reflecting a people-centric, humanity-first approach articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The theme emphasizes inclusive growth, shared responsibility, and collective solutions to global challenges. Together, they form the foundation of India’s vision for a more balanced, equitable, and future-ready BRICS framework.
The annual BRICS summits play a crucial role in driving the group's mission forward and strengthening cooperation among its member states. Each summit often unveils new partnerships, working groups, or joint ventures. The whole process of summit meetings sometime lasts for a week time, which is like mini–United Nations. The 2024 Russian chairmanship of BRICS hosted more than 200 meetings and cultural events with participation from 40 plus countries including non-BRICS members. This is being seen as largest gathering of leaders form global south to deliberate on challenges and find some common solutions. In 2025, Brazil hosted another round of expanded leaders summit where whole global south was present. this year it is India’s responsibility to take forward BRICS mechanism to become an institutionalized global institution and not just a discussion group.
Geopolitically, India’s BRICS chairship is positioned as a stabilizing and consensus-building effort within an increasingly multipolar world. India has emphasized South-South cooperation, reform of global governance institutions, poverty alleviation, climate transition, and development financing, while avoiding confrontational postures. With an expanded BRICS membership, India’s approach focuses on inclusivity, flexibility, and institutional cohesion, ensuring that BRICS remains effective despite its growing diversity.
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar unveiled theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, Sustainability'—deliberately mirroring India's successful G20 presidency (MEA, 2026a). PM Modi articulated vision at July 2025 Rio Summit: 'We will redefine BRICS as Building Resilience and Innovation for Cooperation and Sustainability' with 'Humanity First' approach (MEA, 2025). India's presidency comes amid significant expansion: 11 full members (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, UAE) plus 10 partners. Managing political heterogeneity poses challenges—from American allies (UAE, Saudi Arabia) to Russian client states (Belarus) to countries with internal instability (Ethiopia). India-China border tensions, Iranian domestic crisis, and intra-BRICS disputes complicate consensus-building. On de-dollarization, India supports multipolar financial order rhetorically while harboring concerns about renminbi empowerment. India champions rupee internationalization through Special Rupee Vostro Accounts but faces convertibility constraints (RBI, 2022).
A key emerging focus under India’s presidency is financial innovation, particularly the proposal to link BRICS central bank digital currencies. Other priorities expected to shape discussions include trade facilitation in national currencies, infrastructure development, sustainable finance, technological collaboration, education and skills exchange, and stronger people-to-people ties. India has also reiterated the need for reforms in multilateral institutions such as the United Nations Security Council, the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO, so that global decision-making structures better reflect contemporary economic and geopolitical realities.
This year, under the aegis of the BRICS Civil Council, we are organizing a series of roundtables and a major conference in New Delhi, focusing on issues like global governance, health, digital cooperation, and sustainable development. We expect a strong delegation from civil society and think tanks of all the BRICS Member countries. As preparations for the 18th BRICS Summit continue, India’s presidency is expected to deliver a forward-looking agenda that balances strategic ambition with practical cooperation. BRICS India 2026 seeks to reinforce the grouping’s role as a credible platform for the Global South, capable of shaping global discourse on development, resilience, and sustainable growth in the 21st century. For official updates and developments, the BRICS 2026 website, http://brics2026.gov.in, serves as the central reference point.
In the current global crisis and deinstitutionalization, Civil society organizations across the spectrum are facing sever challenges of funding and legitimacy. on the one hand they are simultaneously called upon to fill governance gaps left by weakening institutions, while facing growing constraints on funding, mobility, and political legitimacy. on the other hand they are denied basic funding and political cal support to carry out their stated mission. In this context, the role of independent media, civic networks, and international civil society platforms becomes critical—not as alternative centres of power, but as mechanisms of accountability, social resilience, and cross-border dialogue. In this context BRICS Civil forum in India will hold a significant forum for global civil society organizations. keep watching these spaces for more details.
