BRICS 2026 Vision: Using innovative technology for water security

Source: Hindustan Times | Original Published At: 2026-03-31 11:03:52 UTC

Key Points

• BRICS has expanded to ten members, accounting for roughly 45% of the world's population and nearly one-third of global GDP in PPP terms.
• India's 2026 BRICS presidency theme focuses on Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability (R.I.C.S.).
• Water stress challenges vary across members, including droughts in South Africa, groundwater depletion in India and China, and scarcity in the UAE.
• The article advocates for decentralized, climate-smart technologies over traditional capital-intensive water infrastructure.
• Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG) technology developed in India is highlighted as a scalable solution for generating potable water from air.
• Prioritizing water innovation under BRICS could demonstrate the Global South's capacity to address shared climate and development challenges.