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Relevance: GS-II (International Relations: Global Groupings & India’s Interests)
Source: The Hindu / The Indian Express

The News: As New Delhi hosts the 18th BRICS Summit, critics claim the expanded group has become a tool against the West. In reality, the members are deeply divided. While Iran confronts Washington, India and Brazil only want fairer global rules without breaking their Western partnerships.

1. The Three Camps Inside BRICS

BRICS is not a single unified team. Its member nations have completely different goals and fall into three distinct groups.

  • The Anti-West Camp: Countries like Iran view open opposition to US power as a core part of their foreign policy.
  • The Power Seekers: Russia and China compete directly with the West, but their primary goal is gaining equal global status and influence rather than fighting an ideological war.
  • The Pragmatic Friends: Nations like India, Brazil, and the UAE have strong trade, technology, and defense ties with Western nations and firmly reject turning BRICS into an anti-Western alliance.

2. India’s Delicate Balancing Act

Hosting the summit in New Delhi requires clever diplomacy to protect India’s independent foreign policy.

  • Resisting China’s Control: India values BRICS for trade and dialogue, but New Delhi will not let Beijing hijack the group as an anti-American platform.
  • Walking the Tightrope: India is an active partner with the US in the Quad while sitting with Russia and China in BRICS. Balancing both sides gets harder as global tensions rise.
  • Reforming, Not Replacing: India wants developing countries to have a louder voice in the UN and IMF, not to tear down the world order entirely.

Value Box: Key Institutional Anchors
Johannesburg II (2023) The landmark summit that invited new members like Iran and the UAE, expanding the group’s economic size but also bringing in regional rivalries.
Strategic Autonomy India’s core foreign policy principle: making independent decisions based purely on national interest without joining any binding military bloc.
Local Currency Trade Settling bilateral trade directly in Indian Rupees to lower exchange fees and save foreign reserves, which is different from trying to destroy the US dollar.

Practice MCQ

Q. Consider the following statements regarding the expanded BRICS grouping:

  1. The expansion has turned BRICS into a single, unified anti-Western military bloc.
  2. India’s doctrine of Strategic Autonomy allows it to partner with the US in the Quad while remaining an active member of BRICS.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only     (b) 2 only     (c) Both 1 and 2     (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (b) 2 only
Hint: Statement 1 is incorrect because member countries like India, Brazil, and the UAE maintain close ties with the West. Statement 2 is correct because Strategic Autonomy enables India to pursue issue-based cooperation across competing global platforms.
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