About

• BRICS brings together five major emerging economies- China, Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. 
• The grouping was formalised during the first meeting of BRIC (Brazil, Russia,China and India) Foreign Ministers on the margins of the UNGA in New York in 2006.
• The first BRIC Summit was held in Russia, in 2009.
• South Africa was added to the grouping in 2011 creating “BRICS”.
• BRICS cooperation is aimed at complementing and strengthening existing bilateral and multilateral relations among member countries.
• The Chairmanship of the forum is rotated annually among the members, in accordance with the acronym B-R-I-C-S.
• Cooperation among members is predicated on three levels or “tracks” of interaction, namely:
  • Track I: Formal diplomatic engagement between national governments
  • Track II: Engagement through government-affiliated institutions, such as state-owned enterprises and business councils
  • Track III: Civil society and people-to-people engagement

BRICS Expansion

• After the summit in South Africa in 2023 6 countries were invited to join BRICS. They were Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 
• Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates joined the grouping in January 2024.
• Saudi Arabia has accepted the invitation but delayed formal joining. 
• Argentina has declined the invitation.
• The organisation now represents almost half the world’s population and almost one quarter of the world’s economy.

Significant developments of BRICS

New Development Bank

• The New Development Bank (NDB) was established by the BRICS countries. It formally came into existence at the Ufa Summit (Russia) in 2015.
• It was established with the objective of financing infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries, complementing the efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions toward global growth and development.
• In 2018, the NDB received observer status in the UN General Assembly.
• The Bank’s membership is open to members of the United Nations. 

Contingency Reserve 

• The BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) is a framework for the provision of support through liquidity and precautionary instruments in response to actual or potential short-term balance of payments pressures.

Why in news?

• The 16th BRICS Summit was held in Kazan city of Russia between October 22-24, 2024.