No fire & brimstone: Delhi pushes back against making BRICS a geopolitical bloc

Source: The Indian Express | Original Published At: 2026-09-12 16:12:54 UTC

Key Points

• The Delhi BRICS declaration reaffirms the forum's political diversity and does not create a collective political front against the United States or the West.
• The declaration emphasizes practical cooperation in supply chains, health, food security, climate adaptation, digital systems, small enterprises and development finance.
• India supported faster, cheaper and more reliable cross-border payments instead of a common BRICS currency or de-dollarisation as a political project.
• The declaration recognizes no one-size-fits-all approach and preserves members' rights to reduce financial vulnerabilities without committing BRICS to monetary separation from the West.
• India's digital public infrastructure experience is reflected in attention to inclusive digital systems, digital public goods and AI capacity-building.
• The declaration covers broad areas, including global governance, wars, terrorism, health, agriculture, energy, trade, finance, climate, technology, culture, education and sport.
• The article notes that BRICS has not resolved conflicts among members or ended competition for influence.