India prepares for its 2026 BRICS presidency by outlining strategic priorities focused on multipolarity, Global South leadership, institutional reform, sustainability, and people-centric development, mirroring its successful G20 model and strengthening BRICS as a global geopolitical force.
India has already begun shaping the future direction of BRICS well ahead of assuming its presidency in 2026, signaling a proactive and structured diplomatic approach similar to its highly regarded G20 leadership. As a founding member of BRICS, India is positioning itself to strengthen the bloc’s role as a leading geopolitical and economic force within the Global South amid a rapidly evolving multipolar world order.
According to a recent report highlighted by Modern Diplomacy, India has outlined a comprehensive framework of priorities for its upcoming BRICS presidency, reflecting long-term strategic thinking rather than short-term agenda setting. The report was authored by Kester Kenn Klomegah, an independent researcher and writer on African affairs in the Eurasian region, who emphasized India’s preparedness and vision for the grouping.
BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has expanded significantly over the years. As of 2025, the bloc includes 10 member nations: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. Brazil currently holds the BRICS presidency for 2025, having taken over from Russia, while India is set to assume leadership the following year.
Klomegah noted that India’s presidency in 2026 is expected to be a “comprehensive and promising” period for BRICS, much like its G20 presidency, which received international recognition for inclusivity, efficiency, and a people-centric agenda. He stressed that India will need to carefully balance the diverse political, economic, and strategic interests of member and partner countries while fostering mutual trust within an increasingly multipolar global system.
BRICS operates on a rotational presidency model, with annual leaders’ summits and multiple ministerial meetings hosted by the presiding country. These include meetings of foreign ministers, finance ministers, central bank governors, trade ministers, and energy ministers. India’s experience in managing large-scale multilateral engagements positions it strongly to coordinate such extensive diplomatic activities.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consistently articulated India’s vision for BRICS reform and global governance. Speaking at the BRICS Summit in 2014, he emphasized that reforming global governance institutions has been central to the BRICS agenda since its inception. In later remarks ahead of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Modi clarified that BRICS is a non-Western platform but not an anti-Western one, cautioning against portraying the group as a replacement for existing global institutions.
At the 2025 BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Prime Minister Modi announced that India would give a “new form” to BRICS during its 2026 presidency. He proposed redefining the BRICS acronym to stand for “Building Resilience and Innovation for Cooperation and Sustainability,” underlining a people-first and development-oriented approach. This vision closely mirrors India’s G20 theme of inclusive growth and shared global responsibility.
Modi has also called for advancing BRICS with a “humanity first” philosophy, urging collective international action to address shared challenges such as pandemics, climate change, and economic inequality. He has repeatedly advocated reforms in global institutions like the United Nations Security Council and the World Trade Organization, arguing that their structures no longer reflect 21st-century realities or adequately represent the Global South.
Since its establishment, BRICS has evolved through multiple stages of expansion and institutional development. The bloc has increasingly been viewed as a consensus-based platform aimed at promoting multipolarity, economic cooperation, and political coordination among emerging economies. Areas of collaboration now span politics, economic development, education, energy, and scientific research.
A key institutional pillar of BRICS is the New Development Bank, which finances infrastructure and sustainable development projects across member countries. Its role has grown as developing nations seek alternatives to traditional Western-dominated financial institutions.
On January 1, 2024, BRICS formally welcomed five new members: Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia. Later, at the Kazan Summit in October 2024, BRICS leaders agreed to introduce a new category of partner countries. Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan became the first BRICS partners, marking a significant expansion of the bloc’s global outreach.
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Today, BRICS accounts for over a quarter of the global economy and nearly half of the world’s population. The expanded BRICS+ grouping contributes approximately 36 percent of global GDP. According to projections by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the combined economies of BRICS+ are expected to surpass those of the G7 by 2045, underscoring the bloc’s growing global influence.
As India prepares to lead BRICS in 2026, its early articulation of priorities signals continuity, ambition, and a commitment to reshaping global governance through cooperation, inclusivity, and sustainable development.
