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Table of Content

1. Polity & Governance

2. International Relations
2.1 India-China Agreement on Line of Actual Control

2.2 India - Maldives Relationship

2.3 India - Canada Relationship

2.4 ASEAN

2.5 16th BRICS Summit

2.5.1 Why in the News?

2.5.2 About the Summit

2.5.3 About BRICS

2.5.4 Key Initiatives of BRICS

2.5.5 Area

2.5.6 Initiatives

2.5.7 Relevance of BRICS in contemporary world

2.5.8 Challenges associated with BRICS

2.5.9 About IBSA

2.5.10 About BASIC

2.5.11 Way Forward Subscribe for Premium Features

 2.5.12 Conclusion

2.6 News In Shorts

3. Economics (Macroeconomics)

4. Economics (Indian Economy)

5. Security

6. Environment

7. Social Issues

8. Science & Technology

9. Art & Culture

10.Ethics

11.Schemes In News

12.Places In News

13.Geography

16th BRICS Summit

Posted 14 Nov 2024 Updated 20 Dec 2024
8 min read

Why in the News? Subscribe for Premium Features

16th BRICS Summit , and the First Summit with expanded BRICS
membership was held in Kazan (Russia).

About the Summit

Adoption of Kazan Declaration: "Kazan Declaration: Strengthening
Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security" was adopted.
Extend full support to Brazil for its BRICS Chairship in 2025 and the
holding of the 17th BRICS Summit in Brazil.

About BRICS
Genesis: British economist Jim O' Neill in 2001 coined acronym
' BRICs' representing the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India,
and China .
BRIC started functioning as a formal grouping on the margins of G8
Outreach Summit in 2006. 1st BRIC Summit was held in Russia in
2009. BRIC became BRICS with the inclusion of South Africa in 2010 .
Members (10):
Initial 5 members
(BRICS): Brazil, Russia, India,
China, South Africa and
5 new members
(BRICS+) : Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran,
Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
It represents:
45% of the world's population.
37.3% of world GDP (compared to EU's 14.5 % and the G7's 29.3%)

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Key Initiatives of BRICS

Area Initiatives

Financ New Development Bank(NDB) headquartered in

ial
Shanghai (2014): Aims to provide financial resources for
infrastructure and sustainable development projects in
BRICS & other developing countries. It has an equal
distribution of voting shares among BRICS founding
members.
Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA): A financial
safety net to provide short-term liquidity support to
member countries facing balance of payments
difficulties.
BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative (BCBPI) or
BRICS Pay: BRICS Pay is a payment service built on
blockchain technology for making settlements between
member states and provide an alternative to existing
global financial infrastructure dominated by Western
systems like SWIFT.
BRICS Grain Exchange: A Russian initiative to establish a
grain (commodities) trading platform within BRICS to
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a fair agricultural trading system."
 BRICS Clear Depositary: It is a cross-border payment
settlement and depositary infrastructure.

"BRICS Plus" Dialogue : The dialogue was hosted with

emerging markets and developing countries from
Voice Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East
to with motto "BRICS and Global South: Building a Better
Global World Together."
South Endorsed 'BRICS Partner Country': This new category'
added 13 new partner countries, including Cuba, Turkey,
and Vietnam.

BRICS Rapid Information Security Channel: P romotes

exchange of information on cyber threats among their
Securi central banks.
ty In its 14 th summit in 2022, BRICS called for finalization
and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on
International Terrorism within the UN framework

BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation:

Enhancing cooperation in space technology & remote
sensing.
BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation (STI)
Framework Programme (2015): To support excellent
S&T
research on priority areas which can best be addressed
by a multinational approach.
Recent Summit supported BRICS R&D Vaccine Center &
BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for preventing
mass infectious diseases risks.

Relevance of BRICS in contemporary world

Energy Security: With Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE as members, BRICS
countries produce about 44% of the world's crude oil.
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 Voice for global south: BRICS acts as a platform for India to raise
concerns and advocate for the rights of developing countries acting as
a leader of global south on issues such as terrorism, climate change.
Safe space for dialogue: BRICS provides neutral platform for India to
engage in dialogue and manage potential rivalries , even during times
of bilateral tensions (India-China Doklam standoff).
Boosting multilateral reform demands: It allows India to push for
reforms in institutions such as UNSC and WTO for ensuring equitable
global order.
With the exception of Ethiopia and Iran, all BRICS+ countries are
WTO members.

Challenges associated with BRICS

The formation of BRICS was rooted in the long-term common economic
interests of the member countries, but it has yet to reach its full potential
due to various challenges, including:
Underutilisation of Economic Potential: For example,
Intra-BRICS Trade : While BRICS countries collectively account for 18%
of global trade, intra-BRICS trade remains low at just 2.2% (as of
2022). Geographical separation and dominance of China in trade is a
key issue.
BRICS Credit Rating Agency (CrRA) : It was proposed in 2018 but was
not taken up due to a lack of consensus among members.
Dedollarisation: Some members like Iran, Russia, and China, now
trade in their own currencies. Although there's talk of a common
BRICS+ currency , experts see this as unlikely, especially with the
group's recent expansion.
Inability to create alternative Global Financial Institutions: NDB lacks
the funds needed to match the reach and impact of the World Bank and
IMF or the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) which was
initiated by China in 2013.
Unlike the AIIB, which co-finances projects with the World Bank, Asian
Development Bank (ADB), etc. the NDB has limited partnerships and
co-financing arrangements.
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Inability to influence Global Institutions: For example, BRICS+
countries collectively hold only about 19% of voting power within the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD),
compared to about 40% held by G7 countries and about 23% by EU-27
nations.
On the other hand, India and Brazil were the largest recipients of
IBRD loans in 2023 , yet contributed just 5 % of the capital. This
imbalance undermines BRICS+ efforts to influence international
financial standards and policies.
Inability to stand as a cohesive block : Geopolitical rivalries exist
between BRICS members such as between India and China or Saudi
Arabia and Iran which limit the group's ability to function as a unified
entity on global issues.
Member economies are no longer booming: For example, China is
struggling from economic slowdown whereas Russia h as been in
decline for years and the ongoing war will enfeeble it further.
South Africa also remains saddled with high unemployment and
profound governance and fiscal challenges.
Perception of being an Anti-West organisation potentially limiting
cooperation in areas of shared interest such as climate change, trade,
and global security.
Existence of similar groupings: For example, Unlike BRICS, which
includes a diverse range of political systems, IBSA consists of
democracies that may find it easier to establish a shared agenda and
foster cooperation.
Similarly, BASIC is also considered to be more cohesive group than
BRICS.

About IBSA
The IBSA Dialogue Forum was established in 2003 by India,
Brazil and South Africa to address global governance reforms,
WTO negotiations, climate change and terrorism, based on
shared values and goals forforglobal
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 Achievements
Development Assistance: The IBSA facility for poverty and
hunger alleviation ( IBSA Fund ) has supported various
development projects in more than 30 countries for fighting
against poverty and hunger in the Global South .
Defence Cooperation : A joint naval exercise IBSAMAR is
carried out between member countries.
Partnerships in key areas: E.g., IBSA Educational Program to
promote professional knowledge in the field of Reproductive
Medicine and Endocrinology, IBSA Science, Technology, and
Innovation Partnership to foster research collaboration, etc.

About BASIC
BASIC, comprising Brazil, South Africa, India and China, was
formed in 2009 to address climate issues in alignment with G77
and developing countries' interests.
Member countries put together has one-third of the world's
geographical area and nearly 40% of the world's population
Achievements
Unified Stance on Climate Change: BASIC countries
emphasizes that the principles of equity and common but
differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities
(CBDRRC) must be at the centre of the Global Stocktake.
Copenhagen Accord: The BASIC group was instrumental in the
negotiations leading to the Copenhagen Accord, which
included voluntary emission reduction pledges from major
economies for the first time.
Promoting South-South Cooperation: They are committed to
sharing best practices and supporting each other through
south-south cooperation as they further develop their
domestic climate policies and actions.

Way Forward
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 Develop Clear and Shared Vision: Outlining long-term goals and
objectives will help align diverse interests of member states and foster
a sense of unity. Setting up of a permanent secretariat is also needed .
Such vision should facilitate the larger BRICS to challenge the
dominance of existing global institutions, such as the World Bank and
the International Monetary Fund, that are strongly influenced by the
West.
Defining membership criteria: Advocating a clear membership
criterion for BRICS will help ease India's concerns about who could be
future members of the BRICS.
Consensus-Building: Prioritize diplomacy and dialogue to resolve
differences and build consensus among member states.
Enhanced Institutional Capacity: Strengthen the institutional capacity
of BRICS+ to support its operations and making its initiatives including
NDB, BRICS-Pay etc. more effective.
Checking Chinese influence: India needs to balance the strategic
influence that China exerts in the BRICS grouping with its economic
diplomacy and its relations with Russia and Iran.

Conclusion
The success of BRICS+ will depend on how well members overcome
internal differences, find common ground, and leverage their strengths.
While expansion offers more greater representation in global governance,
realizing its potential will require strong cooperation and effort.
Tags : BRICS Kazan Declaration 16th BRICS Summit

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