“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.
Approach · directive: “explain”
What it asks · Explain how BRICS presents itself as an alternative to Western-led groupings and institutions, and how far it succeeds.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Explain how BRICS acts as a counterweight in global governance and amplifies the voice of the Global South
- Explain how it projects itself as an alternative to other groupings, and how far it succeeds
Open with · From four emerging economies meeting at Yekaterinburg in 2009, BRICS has grown into an expanded forum of major economies of the Global South.
Cover
- Voice: pushes for reform of the IMF, World Bank quotas and the UN Security Council to reflect emerging economies.
- Institutions: the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement offer alternatives to Bretton Woods lending.
- Expansion: new members such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and Indonesia, and a partner-country category, widen its reach.
- Agenda: local-currency trade, development finance, food and energy security, and climate justice for the South.
- Limits: India–China rivalry, different regime types and interests, and China's economic weight within the group.
- India's line: 'non-Western, not anti-Western' — BRICS as a reform platform, not a bloc against the G7; India chairs BRICS in 2026.
Close with · BRICS amplifies the Global South's voice, but its strength as an alternative depends on internal cohesion and credible institutions.
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2026, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 208 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
From four emerging economies meeting at Yekaterinburg in 2009, BRICS has grown into an expanded forum that claims to speak for the Global South within a Western-led order.
Counterweight and voice
- Reform agenda: larger IMF and World Bank quotas for emerging economies and reform of the UN Security Council.
- Own institutions: the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (agreed in 2014) offer development finance and liquidity outside Bretton Woods conditionality.
- Expansion: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and Indonesia have joined, with a partner-country tier, widening the group's demographic and energy weight.
- Southern agenda: local-currency trade, food and energy security, climate justice and technology access.
Projecting an alternative
- Against the G7's exclusivity, BRICS presents itself as a forum of large developing economies without a hegemon or treaty obligations.
- India's framing is 'non-Western, not anti-Western': a reform platform, not a bloc against the G7; India chairs BRICS in 2026.
- Limits: India–China rivalry, differing regimes and interests, and China's economic dominance make a common position hard.
- Its institutions remain small beside the IMF and World Bank, and de-dollarisation is more slogan than system.
BRICS amplifies the Global South's voice, but its credibility as an alternative rests on cohesion and institutions that deliver, not on the size of its membership.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.