About BRICS

• BRICS brings together five major emerging economies- China, Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. These 5 countries host 41% of the world population, contributing 31% of the world GDP and over 16% share in world trade.
• The grouping was formalised during the first meeting of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) Foreign Ministers on the margins of the UNGA meet in New York in September 2006.
• 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 Chairship 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 the national governments
  • Track II: Engagement through government-affiliated institutions, e.g. state-owned enterprises and business councils
  • Track III: Civil society and “people-to-people” engagement.

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.

BRICS Expansion

• In a landmark decision, members of the BRICS declared expansion of the grouping in 2023 by welcoming six new countries into the fold.
• During the 15th BRICS summit in Johannesburg, the grouping had invited six new members — Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from West Asia; Egypt and Ethiopia from Africa, and Argentina from Latin America Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — to join as full members.

Implications of the expansion

• The expansion presents an enlarged BRICS as a way for the global south to have a stronger voice in world affairs.
• BRICS challenges this West-led world order: it promotes intra-BRICS economic and political cooperation, builds institutions outside western control, and agitates robustly for wide-ranging reforms to accommodate the presence and interests of emerging economies. 
• The expansion of BRICS’s membership has shaped a grouping that is aligned in terms of global perceptions and interests, and collectively provides considerable economic clout to the enlarged conclave. 
• With the expansion, BRICS will have 46% of world population, while its share of the global GDP will go from 31.5% in PPP terms to 37%, far ahead of the GDP of 30.7% of the G-7. 

Why in News?

• The BRICS ministers of Foreign Affairs met in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod and held a plethora of discussions.
• The meeting was the first ministerial meeting following BRICS expansion in 2023 when Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE joined Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa as full-fledged BRICS members.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/brics-calls-for-enhanced-use-of-local-currencies-in-trade-between-member-countries/article68275867.ece