“ब्रिक्स (BRICS) वैश्विक शासन में एक शक्तिशाली संतुलनकारी शक्ति के रूप में कार्य करता है, जो वैश्विक दक्षिण की आवाज़ और प्रभाव को सक्रिय रूप से प्रबल बनाता है ।” ब्रिक्स (BRICS) की भूमिका को समझाइए कि वह स्वयं को अन्य समूहों के विकल्प के रूप में कैसे प्रस्तुत करता है ?
Read this question in English
“BRICS acts as a powerful counterweight in global governance, actively amplifying the voice and influence of the Global South.” Explain the role of BRICS in projecting itself as an alternative to other groupings.
🧭 How to think about this question · directive: “explain”
Decode the demand
- Directive 'explain': show how and why, with evidence; the quotation is a claim, so you must show how BRICS earns the words 'counterweight' and 'voice of the Global South'.
- The issue in one line: a grouping born in 2009 as four economies now has 11 members, its own bank and a reform agenda aimed at Western-led institutions.
- Three things to answer: how it acts as a counterweight and amplifies the South; how it projects itself as an alternative to groupings like the G7; how far the projection holds.
- The trap: listing summits and members. The examiner wants the features that make it 'alternative': no hegemon, own institutions, reform agenda, plus the honest limits.
Think in a structure
- Open with the growth from four to eleven and India's 2026 chair, then name the three legs of the counterweight claim.
- One heading per demand part: counterweight and voice; projection as an alternative (a G7 vs BRICS table does the work); limits in one short block.
- End from India's chair: concrete measures the 2026 presidency can deliver, then a constitutional anchor (Article 51) so the conclusion is India's, not a slogan.
Facts checked at source (5)· open
- PIB's New India Samachar (February 2026): BRICS brings together 11 major emerging economies.BRICS 2026 under India's Chairmanship - New India Samachar (PIB), 1-15 February 2026, p. 9 ↗“brings together 11 major emerging economies”
- The newly included BRICS members are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and Indonesia.BRICS 2026 under India's Chairmanship - New India Samachar (PIB), 1-15 February 2026, p. 9 ↗“The newly included countries are Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and Indonesia.”
- India chairs BRICS in 2026.BRICS 2026 under India's Chairmanship - New India Samachar (PIB), 1-15 February 2026, p. 9 ↗“India is set to chair the BRICS summit in 2026.”
- India approaches its 2026 BRICS chairship with a 'humanity first' and 'people-centric' approach.BRICS 2026 under India's Chairmanship - New India Samachar (PIB), 1-15 February 2026, p. 9 ↗“Promoting DPI, fintech, AI, and ‘humanity first’ and ‘people-centric’ approach”
- The New Development Bank was established in 2015 by the BRICS countries to fund infrastructure and sustainable development in BRICS and other emerging economies.About NDB - New Development Bank ↗“Established in 2015 by BRICS countries, the New Development Bank is a multilateral development bank aimed at mobilising resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other EMDCs”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2026, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Guidance: Minimalist IAS, checked 8 Nov 2026 (how we verify). ·
Model answer· 421words · Minimalist IAS
From four economies at Yekaterinburg (2009), BRICS now 'brings together 11 major emerging economies', and India chairs it in 2026. Its counterweight claim rests on three legs: a reform voice, its own institutions and a model of grouping unlike the West's clubs.
- 2009: Yekaterinburg, first summit
- 2010: South Africa joins
- 2014: CRA agreed
- 2015: NDB opens
- 2026: 11 members, India chairs
Counterweight that amplifies the Global South
- Reform voice: presses for larger IMF and World Bank quotas and UN Security Council reform, where developing countries remain under-represented.
- Own institutions: the New Development Bank (2015) funds infrastructure and sustainable development; the CRA offers liquidity without Bretton Woods conditionality.
- Wider membership: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and Indonesia now sit at the table, with a partner-country tier behind them.
- Southern agenda: local-currency settlement, food and energy security and climate justice, issues the G7 rarely puts first.
Projecting itself as an alternative to other groupings
| Feature | G7 | BRICS |
|---|---|---|
| Membership | Rich economies, closed | Large developing economies, expanding |
| Structure | Western-led, one anchor | No hegemon, no treaty, rotating chair |
| Institutions | Bretton Woods dominance | NDB and CRA |
- No hegemon, no treaty: decisions by consensus among equals, so smaller members are not bound by a leader's line.
- Reform, not revolt: India frames BRICS as non-Western, not anti-Western, a platform to reform institutions rather than replace them.
- Multiplex order: Amitav Acharya's idea of a world shaped by many actors fits BRICS better than Cold-War bloc thinking; members stay in the G20 and UN system.
How far the projection succeeds
- Rivalry inside: India–China border tension and China's economic weight blunt common positions.
- Diverse interests: Saudi Arabia and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia carry their own disputes into the room.
- Thin delivery: the NDB is small beside the World Bank, and de-dollarisation remains more slogan than settlement system.
What India's 2026 chairship can do
- Deliver projects: scale NDB lending in local currencies and fast-track approvals for the new members.
- Offer digital public goods: India's DPI and fintech stack as a BRICS public good, not a Chinese or Western one.
- India's chairship agenda lists DPI, fintech and AI with a 'humanity first', 'people-centric' approach (New India Samachar, 2026).
- Guard coherence: use the partner tier as a probation before full membership, so expansion widens voice without diluting decisions.
Article 51 directs the State to promote international peace and respect for international law; a BRICS that reforms the order rather than rejecting it, led by India's people-centric chair in 2026, is how the Global South's voice becomes one that is heard because it delivers.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 8 Nov 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
