Delhi’s test: make BRICS work without making it work against India

Source: South China Morning Post | Original Published At: 2026-09-09 12:30:09 UTC

Key Points

• BRICS leaders are scheduled to meet in New Delhi on September 12-13, placing India at the center of the grouping's agenda.
• The article argues that BRICS' expanded membership makes consensus and coherence more difficult.
• India's summit approach is framed as focusing on making BRICS practically useful rather than proving it can replace the Western-led order.
• Managing relations with China is described as a central challenge for India within BRICS.
• BRICS is presented as economically relevant through trade, investment, payments and supply-chain linkages, even without a common currency or a break with the US dollar.
• India's potential benefit is described as gaining strategic choices and leverage by turning BRICS into a network that eases intra-group commerce and finance.