BRICS and BRICS+: Members, Economy, Trade, Objectives & 2026 India Chairship

BRICS and BRICS+ have evolved from a theoretical economic concept into one of the most influential geopolitical and economic frameworks of the 21st century. Originally conceived as an acronym for emerging markets, BRICS is today a formidable platform for political, economic, financial, technological, and developmental cooperation, serving as the primary voice for the Global South.

The grouping began with Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC). The inclusion of South Africa in 2011 transformed it into BRICS. The geopolitical landscape shifted significantly following the Johannesburg Summit of 2023, initiating a major expansion phase. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates were invited to join, and with Indonesia formally becoming a member in January 2025, the bloc now boasts 11 full BRICS member countries.

In 2026, India holds the prestigious BRICS Chairship for the fourth time—following successful tenures in 2012, 2016, and 2021. Driving this year’s agenda is the India BRICS Chairship 2026 theme: “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.” This presidency places a profound emphasis on a people-centric, humanity-first approach while securing highly practical cooperation across technological, environmental, social, and economic sectors.

This comprehensive guide covers everything from the historical formation of BRICS to its complex economic structures, global trade impact, institutional achievements like the New Development Bank, and a detailed breakdown of India’s 2026 Chairship.

What is BRICS? Understanding the Framework

To understand BRICS and BRICS+, one must first understand its structural nature. BRICS is an intergovernmental grouping rather than a conventional international organization (like the United Nations, the World Bank, or the World Trade Organization).

Crucially, BRICS does not have a permanent secretariat. Instead, the operational presidency rotates annually among its members. The chair country assumes the responsibility of coordinating all meetings, working groups, ministerial tracks, and the highly anticipated annual BRICS summit.

The grouping operates primarily through a multi-layered architecture:

• Annual BRICS Summit: The apex meeting of member state leaders.
• Ministerial Meetings: Dedicated tracks for Foreign Ministers, Finance Ministers, and Central Bank Governors.
• Sectoral Ministerial Tracks: Covering distinct areas such as agriculture, health, education, environment, and infrastructure.
• Working and Expert Groups: Technical bodies driving niche policy cooperation.
• Business and Academic Forums: Including the BRICS Business Council and the BRICS Academic Forum.
• People-to-People Mechanisms: Facilitating cultural, youth, and sports exchanges.
• Financial Institutions: Independent entities born from the bloc, most notably the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA).

To illustrate the sheer scale of engagement, the Brazilian central bank’s overview highlights that BRICS conducts more than 100 meetings annually, which includes roughly 20 high-level ministerial meetings tackling global economic, health, and infrastructural challenges.

Formation and Evolution of BRICS

The Origin of the BRIC Concept

The term “BRIC” was not born in a diplomatic corridor but in the financial sector. It was coined in 2001 by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill in his landmark paper, Building Better Global Economic BRICs. The original idea was purely an economic classification highlighting four rapidly industrialising economies—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—that were projected to dominate the global economy by 2050.

The Transition to a Political Grouping

The concept quickly gained geopolitical gravity. Recognizing their shared potential, the four countries began formal diplomatic coordination in 2006 on the margins of the UN General Assembly.

Here is a chronological look at the evolution of the bloc:

BRICS Members in 2026: The 11-Nation Bloc

Following the monumental expansions between 2023 and 2025, BRICS now represents a vast geographic, cultural, and economic footprint. As of 2026, the official full membership comprises 11 nations:

Important Note on Saudi Arabia’s Status: Some international datasets have differed in recording Saudi Arabia’s formal status due to transition mechanics post the 2023 invitation. However, for current BRICS 2026 purposes, Indian government material and official BRICS literature emphatically treat Saudi Arabia as one of the 11 full BRICS member countries.

What is BRICS+? Expanding the Ecosystem

The term BRICS and BRICS+ frequently appears in international discourse, but it requires careful definition. BRICS+ is not a separate international organization with a fixed legal charter.

Instead, “BRICS+” is an umbrella term describing the expanded ecosystem of the grouping. It encompasses:

• The 11 full BRICS members.
• Officially designated BRICS partner countries.
• Other invited nations participating in BRICS-related forums (like the “Outreach” summits).
• Broader Global South nations actively engaging with BRICS development and financial initiatives.

The BRICS Partner Country Category

To accommodate the massive global interest in joining the bloc without diluting the core consensus-driven mechanism of the full membership, the Partner Country Category was established at the 2024 Kazan Summit.

As of mid-2025, there are exactly 10 designated BRICS Partner Countries:

• Belarus
• Bolivia
• Cuba
• Kazakhstan
• Malaysia
• Nigeria
• Thailand
• Uganda
• Uzbekistan
• Vietnam (joined June 2025)

Full Members vs. Partner Countries

Understanding the operational differences between the two tiers is vital:

Partner countries are integrated into the bloc’s collaborative ecosystem. They may endorse certain BRICS outcome documents, participate in supply chain initiatives, and engage deeply in technical working groups subject to consensus by the core 11 members.

BRICS and BRICS+: Population and Global Economic Weight

The geopolitical leverage of BRICS and BRICS+ stems directly from its unprecedented demographic mass and sheer economic gravity. The grouping essentially represents the majority of the developing world’s economic engine.

According to 2026 official BRICS and Indian government data, the 11-member bloc commands:

Critical Distinction (The PPP Trap): The frequently quoted figure that BRICS controls “~40% of global GDP” refers to GDP measured using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). It does not mean nominal GDP at market exchange rates. For context, UNCTAD data shows the BRICS share of global GDP in constant-dollar (nominal) terms was roughly 26.9% in 2024, whereas its PPP share hovered around 39% to 40.7%.

Economic Profile of the BRICS Nations

The strength of BRICS and BRICS+ lies in its immense diversity. It is not a monolith of similar economies but a highly complementary network of distinct economic powerhouses driving emerging markets forward:

• China: The undisputed manufacturing and trading anchor of the group. It operates as the world’s factory and a primary driver of global supply chains.
• India: A global leader in services, information technology, digital public infrastructure (DPI), pharmaceuticals, and one of the fastest-growing major economies globally.
• Russia: A dominant force in global energy (oil and gas), critical minerals, metals, and agricultural production (wheat and fertilisers).
• Brazil: A powerhouse of agricultural exports (soybeans, sugar, meat), mining (iron ore), and renewable energy.
• Saudi Arabia & UAE: Global heavyweights in energy production, petrochemicals, and increasingly vital nodes for global investment, sovereign wealth, and logistics.
• Indonesia: A booming Southeast Asian economy boasting a massive consumer market, critical minerals (like nickel for EV batteries), and rapidly expanding manufacturing.
• Iran: Controls vast, strategically vital energy reserves and occupies a crucial geopolitical bridge linking the Middle East, Central Asia, and Europe.
• South Africa: The traditional gateway to Africa, possessing highly advanced financial markets and rich mineral resources.
• Egypt & Ethiopia: Key African strategic and demographic centers. Egypt offers vital trade routing (Suez Canal) and manufacturing, while Ethiopia brings a fast-growing demographic base and agricultural capacity.

BRICS GDP Structure in 2025/2026

To understand the internal economic dynamics of BRICS, it is essential to look at how much each member contributes to the bloc’s overall weight. Using IMF-based Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) estimates (frequently cited by the official BRICS platforms in 2025/2026), the breakdown of the BRICS share of global GDP (~40.7%) is as follows:

Note: These are PPP-based metrics reflecting the actual domestic purchasing power of these nations, highlighting why BRICS represents such a massive internal consumer market.

BRICS Trade: Complementary Economies Driving Growth

Trade facilitation is a cornerstone of the BRICS agenda. Since the grouping’s inception, intra-BRICS trade has skyrocketed. According to India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, intra-BRICS merchandise trade surged from a mere US$84 billion in 2003 to an astounding US$1.17 trillion in 2024—a roughly thirteen-fold increase.

The secret to this growth is economic complementarity:

• Energy Exporters (Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran) supplying Energy Importers (China, India).
• Agricultural Giants (Brazil, Russia) feeding Food-Importing Economies (Egypt, China, UAE).
• Technology & Capital Providers (China, India, UAE) financing Infrastructure Needs in emerging markets (Ethiopia, South Africa).

Major Trade Items by Member

• China: Machinery, electronics, precision chemicals, and manufactured intermediate products.
• India: Pharmaceuticals, refined petroleum products, IT/business services, engineering goods, and agricultural products.
• Russia: Crude oil, natural gas, refined petroleum, fertilisers, base metals, and wheat.
• Brazil: Soybeans, iron ore, crude oil, meat, and processed food products.
• Middle Eastern Members: Crude oil, natural gas, petrochemicals, aluminium, and sovereign investment capital.

Why Intra-BRICS Trade Matters for the Global South

The explosive growth in trade among BRICS nations is reshaping global commerce through several strategic initiatives:

1. Greater Use of Local Currencies: To insulate their economies from dollar-dominance and geopolitical sanctions, BRICS nations actively explore a local currency trade framework (utilizing the Rupee, Rouble, Yuan, and Dirham). This reduces currency conversion transaction costs. Note: This is not a common “BRICS Currency,” but rather local-currency settlement.
2. BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiatives: The BRICS Payment Task Force is heavily focused on ensuring cross-border payment interoperability among national payment systems (e.g., India’s UPI, Brazil’s PIX, Russia’s Mir). The 2025 Rio Declaration prioritized making cross-border transactions cheaper, safer, and faster.
3. Trade Finance & MSMEs: During India’s 2026 Chairship, heavy emphasis has been placed on unlocking trade finance for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The Jaipur Consensus established guiding principles to ensure smaller businesses can access international credit.
4. Resilient Global Value Chains (GVCs): By integrating logistics, energy, and critical mineral supply chains internally, BRICS nations are shielding themselves from the supply-shock vulnerabilities exposed during recent global crises.

Major Areas of BRICS Cooperation

BRICS cooperation operates on three primary pillars: Political, Economic, and People-to-People.

Political and Diplomatic Cooperation

BRICS serves as the loudest voice advocating for the Global South. The bloc consistently pushes for:

• A multipolar world order.
• Comprehensive reform of global governance institutions (UN, WTO).
• Expansion and reform of the UN Security Council.
• Cooperation on counter-terrorism and international peace.
• Protection of true multilateralism against unilateral sanctions.

Economic and Financial Cooperation

Beyond physical trade, the financial ecosystem of BRICS includes:

• Customs and trade facilitation.
• Foreign direct investment (FDI) frameworks.
• Local-currency financing mechanisms.
• Contingent liquidity support to prevent sovereign defaults.
• Massive infrastructure and sustainable development financing.

The New Development Bank (NDB)

The New Development Bank (NDB) is widely considered the crown jewel of BRICS institutional achievements. Established at the 2014 Fortaleza Summit and headquartered in Shanghai, it serves as an alternative to traditional Western-led institutions like the World Bank.

Objectives and Capacity

With an authorised capital of US$100 billion, the NDB focuses explicitly on the Global South, providing vital infrastructure finance for:

• Transport and logistics infrastructure.
• Renewable energy and climate adaptation.
• Water, sanitation, and public health infrastructure.
• Sustainable urban development.

NDB Membership

The founding members were Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Demonstrating the concept of BRICS+, the NDB expanded to include Bangladesh, the UAE, Egypt, and Algeria, with Uzbekistan officially joining as a new member in June 2026.

Important Institutional Trap: Becoming a BRICS member does not automatically grant membership in the NDB, and vice-versa. The NDB operates with its own independent charter and accession procedures.

BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA)

Parallel to the NDB, the 2014 Fortaleza Summit established the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA). Also sized at US$100 billion, the CRA acts as a financial safety net (similar to the IMF) to protect member states facing short-term balance-of-payments crises or rapid currency depreciation.

The initial capital commitments highlight the economic structure of the founding five members:

The CRA is designed to complement existing international financial safety nets while ensuring BRICS nations have sovereign, unconditional liquidity support in times of crisis.

Sectoral Cooperation Deep-Dives

BRICS is highly active across multiple developmental sectors. India’s 2026 Chairship has particularly elevated the following areas:

Science, Technology and Innovation (STI)

Cooperation is expanding rapidly in Artificial Intelligence (AI), biotechnology, space exploration, smart cities, smart grids, and Industry 4.0. During the 2026 BRICS Science Academies Forum, India led initiatives on AI for sustainable development, pushing for shared Global South computing infrastructure and multilingual AI models to bridge the digital divide.

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)

India is the global pioneer of DPI—foundational digital systems covering digital identity (Aadhaar), fast payments (UPI), and secure data exchange. Through the 2026 BRICS ICT and governance tracks, India has successfully positioned DPI as a scalable, open-source export to help emerging nations formalise their economies efficiently.

Energy Cooperation

With major producers (Russia, UAE, Iran, Saudi Arabia) and consumers (China, India) under one roof, the BRICS energy agenda is critical. Focus areas span oil, gas, nuclear energy, green hydrogen, and critical minerals for the EV transition. At the 11th BRICS Energy Ministers’ Meeting in Gurugram (25 June 2026), India officially launched the BRICS Digital Centre of Excellence for Smart Grids and Energy Storage.

Climate and Environment

At the 12th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi (18 August 2026), ministers adopted a Joint Ministerial Statement addressing biodiversity, circular economies, forest management, and disaster resilience, alongside launching four extensive environmental knowledge compendiums.

Agriculture and Food Security

BRICS dominates global production of cereals, oilseeds, meat, and fertilisers. India’s 2026 Agriculture Track prioritized climate-resilient farming and food security. The 16th BRICS Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting in Indore (12–13 June 2026) concluded with a Joint Declaration to secure agricultural supply chains against climate and geopolitical shocks.

Health Cooperation

Focusing on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), affordable medicines, and pandemic preparedness, India hosted the 16th BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting in Chandigarh (July 2026). It resulted in the BRICS Health Ministerial Declaration, bolstering the BRICS TB Research Network and cross-border medical-product regulation.

Education and Skills

The 13th BRICS Education Ministers’ Meeting in Bhubaneswar (August 2026) prioritized the mutual recognition of academic qualifications, digital education, student mobility, and technical/vocational training for the youth of the Global South.

Culture and People-to-People

BRICS fosters deep cultural ties through museums, films, literature, and civil society. The XI BRICS Culture Ministers’ Meeting in Bhopal (August 2026) delivered the landmark Bhopal Declaration to systemise cultural exchanges.

Youth Cooperation

Recognizing demographic dividends, India’s Department of Youth Affairs heavily invested in the BRICS Youth Council and Youth Summit in Gandhinagar (19–20 August 2026), followed by the Youth Ministers’ Meeting in Visakhapatnam (22 August 2026), focusing on entrepreneurship and social innovation.

Tourism Cooperation

Emphasizing sustainable tourism and seamless travel facilitation across the bloc, the 2nd BRICS Tourism Working Group and Ministers’ Meeting took place in Jaipur (19–22 August 2026). Discussions highlighted integrating AI into tourism logistics.

Disaster Risk Reduction

BRICS nations are highly susceptible to floods, droughts, cyclones, and heatwaves. The BRICS Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Risk Reduction in New Delhi (24 July 2026) cemented the BRICS Disaster Risk Reduction Work Plan 2025–2028.

Trade and Industry

Under the Partnership on New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR), the 10th BRICS Industry Ministers’ Meeting in Jaipur (6 August 2026) saw India formally propose the creation of a BRICS Incubator Network and a BRICS Startup Innovation Fund to supercharge MSMEs and resilient manufacturing.

BRICS and Global Governance Reform

A fundamental geopolitical pillar of BRICS and BRICS+ is the democratization of global governance. The bloc argues that institutions created in the post-WWII era no longer reflect modern economic realities.

BRICS collectively advocates for:

• Overhauling the UN Security Council to include permanent representation from Africa, Latin America, and India.
• Reallocating voting quotas in the IMF and World Bank to reflect the GDP weight of emerging markets.
• Creating a fairer global financial architecture less weaponized by unilateral sanctions.

Crucial Clarification: Despite its geopolitical weight, BRICS is not a military alliance. It does not operate as a formal defence bloc comparable to NATO; its domain is strictly economic, developmental, and diplomatic.

BRICS and the Global South: A New Paradigm

BRICS has become synonymous with South-South Cooperation. Its expansion from 5 to 11 members—bridging Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America—has solidified its role as the premier negotiating bloc for developing nations.

Collectively, BRICS seeks to increase development finance, improve technology transfers (free from Western IP monopolies), promote regional trade, and export development models specifically tailored to the realities of developing-country infrastructure.

Major Challenges Facing BRICS

Despite robust growth, the bloc faces several internal headwinds:

1. Massive Economic Diversity: The priorities of a massive manufacturing exporter (China) differ wildly from a resource-dependent economy (South Africa) or a rapidly developing nation (Ethiopia).
2. Political and Bilateral Frictions: Unresolved border tensions between India and China, alongside Russia’s complex relations with the West, create intricate diplomatic hurdles for the bloc’s unity.
3. Consensus-Based Decision Making: Because BRICS requires unanimous consensus, executing rapid institutional changes is notoriously slow.
4. Trade Imbalances: China represents a disproportionately massive share of intra-BRICS trade, leading to trade deficits for other members.
5. Institutional Limitations: Lacking a formal treaty-based framework like the European Union, turning political summit declarations into binding domestic economic laws remains difficult.
6. The Currency Debate: While media often hypes a “BRICS currency,” progress is actually grounded in realistic goals like local-currency settlement and payment-system interoperability, not replacing fiat currencies entirely.

India and BRICS: A Strategic Vision

For India, BRICS is a masterclass in strategic autonomy. It allows New Delhi to champion the Global South, push for UN reform, and secure its energy and developmental needs, all without abandoning its robust partnerships with the West (like the Quad).

India’s primary priorities within BRICS include counter-terrorism, advancing Digital Public Infrastructure, energy security, food security, championing MSMEs, and pushing for Women-led development. Having chaired the bloc in 2012, 2016, and 2021, India’s 2026 presidency marks its fourth leadership term.

India’s BRICS Chairship 2026: A Detailed Overview

India assumed the 2026 BRICS Chairship with a powerful, forward-looking vision. The India BRICS Chairship 2026 theme is:

“Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”

This theme breaks down into four actionable pillars:

• Resilience: Fortifying societies, economies, and supply chains against global shocks.
• Innovation: Leveraging technology, DPI, and AI to solve grassroots challenges.
• Cooperation: Deepening intra-BRICS trade, payments, and standardisation.
• Sustainability: Driving climate action, renewable energy transitions, and green finance.

India’s explicit goal for 2026 has been to move BRICS away from mere rhetoric toward practical, implementation-oriented deliverables.

Major BRICS Meetings Hosted by India in 2026

India has executed an exhaustive, meticulously planned calendar of events across the country to democratize the BRICS experience. Here is the official roster of major ministerial and track meetings for 2026:

Key Outcomes of India’s 2026 Chairship So Far

India’s sectoral presidency has successfully transitioned policy into practice:

• Energy: Operationalized the BRICS Digital Centre of Excellence for Smart Grids and Energy Storage.
• Trade: Formulated the Jaipur Consensus, establishing guiding principles on MSME credit access and progressing the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2030.
• Industry: Pushed the creation of a BRICS Incubator Network and Startup Innovation Fund to democratize entrepreneurial capital.
• Labour: Launched the BRICS CONNECT platform for technical cooperation and knowledge exchange in global labour markets.
• Health: Adopted a binding declaration to integrate early-warning pandemic systems and accelerate the BRICS TB Research Network.
• Environment & Culture: Delivered four new environmental compendiums and the foundational Bhopal Declaration for cultural synergies.

Latest Development: 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi

The grand culmination of the 2026 calendar is the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, scheduled for 12–13 September 2026.

Two major economic agendas are anticipated to dominate the leaders’ summit:

1. The BRICS Grain Exchange: Heavily backed by Russia, this proposed agricultural commodity trading platform aims to bypass traditional Western-dominated exchanges, improving pricing transparency and food security for the Global South.
2. BRICS Cross-Border Payments and Financial Interoperability: A major push toward finalizing technical standards for cross-border payment integration. The goal is clear: utilize technological interoperability (connecting national real-time payment architectures) to make transactions cheaper and less reliant on the US Dollar and SWIFT.

BRICS vs G7: A Comparative Analysis

As BRICS expands, comparisons to the G7 (Group of Seven) are inevitable. However, they are fundamentally different entities:

BRICS: Important Institutions and Mechanisms

To function effectively, BRICS has spun off several independent and semi-independent mechanisms:

Static GK: BRICS at a Glance

A quick-reference guide for the core structural facts of the bloc:

Prelims Traps: Common Misconceptions to Avoid

For analysts and students navigating competitive exams, navigating the nuances of BRICS and BRICS+ requires precision. Avoid these common traps:

• Trap 1: “BRICS is just an economic grouping.” False. It began economically but is now a sweeping political, diplomatic, and developmental framework.
• Trap 2: “BRICS has launched a common currency.” False. There is no physical or digital unified “BRICS Euro-style currency.” The focus is strictly on local-currency settlement and payment interoperability.
• Trap 3: “BRICS Membership = NDB Membership.” False. They are separate legal entities. Non-BRICS nations (like Bangladesh and Algeria) are in the NDB, while new BRICS members still have to apply separately to the NDB.
• Trap 4: “BRICS+ means there are 21 BRICS members.” False. There are exactly 11 full members. The 10 Partner Countries fall under the “BRICS+” expanded ecosystem but lack full membership status/veto power.
• Trap 5: “BRICS holds 40% of Nominal Global GDP.” False. The ~40% figure represents GDP measured by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). The nominal share is significantly lower (~26.9% in 2024).
• Trap 6: “Indonesia is just a partner country.” False. Indonesia crossed over and officially became a full, 11th member in January 2025.
• Trap 7: “Vietnam is a full member.” False. Vietnam joined as the 10th BRICS Partner Country in June 2025.

Conclusion: The Overall Significance of BRICS

BRICS and BRICS+ represent a seismic shift in global geopolitics. What started as a catchy acronym in a Goldman Sachs whitepaper has manifested into a robust institutional platform representing half of the world’s population, forty percent of its economic output (at PPP), and a vast majority of its energy and critical mineral reserves.

The true significance of BRICS lies in its compounding synergy: combining demographic youth, boundless natural resources, dominant manufacturing capacity, and massive technological aspirations into a cohesive framework for South-South cooperation.

However, the future trajectory of BRICS will depend heavily on its ability to navigate its internal contradictions. Overcoming the immense economic diversity among members, managing bilateral political disputes (such as India-China relations), and transforming ambitious summit declarations into binding institutional reality remain its greatest challenges.

India’s 2026 Chairship is acting as a crucial pivot point in this journey. By focusing on highly practical, scalable deliverables—ranging from Digital Public Infrastructure exports and MSME financing to the creation of smart grids and disaster risk frameworks—India is ensuring that the bloc delivers tangible value to its citizens. As the world turns its eyes to New Delhi for the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12-13, 2026, the test will be whether this newly expanded 11-nation powerhouse can truly reshape global governance and build a more equitable, resilient, and multipolar world order.

One-Line Final Revision:

BRICS = 11 emerging economies + ~49.5% of world population + ~40% of global GDP at PPP + ~26% of global trade + NDB/CRA institutions + South-South cooperation advocacy + India Chairmanship 2026.

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