India in BRICS: Power, Pressure & Possibility: Decoding India's Rise, Rivalries, and Role in Shaping a New Global Order

BRICS is where emerging powers converge and where India stakes its claim as a global shaper, not a spectator.

The advent of the 21st century ushered in shifting power dynamics, with emerging nations asserting greater influence in global governance. BRICS stands out as a leading group among new global power structures as it represents over 40% of the global population, 25% of global GDP, and nearly 20% of world trade, giving it significant leverage in shaping global economic and geopolitical trends. BRICS is a plurilateral grouping of Brazil.

Illustration by The Geostrata

The BRICS membership presents India with both strategic benefits and geopolitical challenges.

THE BRICS VISION: A PLATFORM FOR MULTIPOLARITY

The BRICS group was formed as an opposing force to challenge the IMF and World Bank authority and create a new global leadership structure. Since its establishment, India has maintained its commitment to a world system which provides equal representation to emerging economies. Through its BRICS membership, India works to reform the global financial system and advance fair trade practices and development priorities for Southern nations.

Through BRICS, India aims to reshape the global order by promoting multipolarity, reducing Western dominance, and leading Global South-driven institutions like the New Development Bank. India uses the platform to build a more democratic global institutional framework, which opposes dominant structures that have traditionally excluded Asian, African and Latin American perspectives.

ECONOMIC ASPIRATIONS: TRADE, INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

BRICS caters to India’s economic needs that include trade prospects, investment promotion and development enhancement.  

The main benefit of BRICS membership for India is its access to various financial frameworks.

The initiative has enabled India to secure funding for renewable energy projects and urban development initiatives. Example: Word Bank: $625M for India's rooftop solar program. BRICS member states have the opportunity to boost their mutual trade relations and investment activities.

The Indian government seeks to develop its pharmaceutical trade with Brazil while building agribusiness relations and energy partnerships with  Russia. Further, the BRICS Payment System supports India's goal to reduce its financial dependence on Western payment systems. The system serves as an essential requirement because of growing dollar dominance concerns and geopolitical sanctions.

A STRATEGIC BALANCING ACT: NAVIGATING CHINA AND RUSSIA

The main difficulty for India to join BRICS arises from its relationship with China. BRICS functions as a unifying platform for emerging economies, but India-China relations pose challenges to the partnership. The border disputes at Ladakh and Galwan Valley and China’s increasing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific, especially through its Belt and Road Initiative’s expansion into India’s maritime sphere, have raised strategic concerns for New Delhi. The BRICS framework serves India well because it allows the country to work with China during times of tension while maintaining international cooperation.

Through its foreign policy framework, India implements a dual approach of competitive and cooperative relations with other nations. Through BRICS, India maintains a diplomatic platform to guide Chinese actions while leading the Global South and preserving its strategic Western alliances through the Quad. The BRICS organization provides the basis for India's historical and strategic partnership with Russia. The Ukraine crisis together with Western sanctions on Russia have not altered India's diplomatic stance. India has sustained BRICS unity through its ongoing relations with Russia for energy and defense sectors despite rising worldwide political divisions.

TECHNOLOGY, HEALTH AND CLIMATE: EXPANDING THE BRICS AGENDA

Through BRICS, India can address global challenges which include health matters, technology development and environmental protection. During its BRICS presidency in 2021 India promoted vaccine fairness alongside digital progress and environmental sustainability which align with its national objectives.

The BRICS alliance benefits from India's support for health supply chain resilience and collaborative vaccine research and medical product equity. The COVID-19 pandemic made health cooperation vital and demonstrated India’s capability to function as a net provider of public goods through its Vaccine Maitri initiative.

India maintains its established position in climate talks to support climate justice and differentiated responsibilities. BRICS leadership under India enables developing countries to achieve their climate finance and technology transfer goals in the global climate regime. Internal Challenges and Structural Limitations-

The BRICS faces multiple obstacles that limit India's ability to achieve its maximum potential within the bloc. The fragmented institutional structure of BRICS stands as the primary challenge. BRICS stands apart from the European Union and ASEAN because it operates without a formal charter and lacks defined decision-making authority and enforcement capabilities. The varied political systems, economic models and diplomatic objectives of member states generate obstacles for achieving unified agreements.

The competitive dynamics between India and China act as a barrier which hinders the attainment of common objectives of the BRICS. The Indian government has correctly pointed out that China's economic power and diplomatic leadership in BRICS creates problems for the grouping. BRICS requires India’s support to prevent China from using the organisation as a tool for expansion, especially through the Belt and Road Initiative, which India strongly opposes.

Western allies remain doubtful about BRICS because they believe that the group supports Russian and Chinese resistance against Western interests. The Indian government needs to uphold its BRICS commitments while building stronger ties with convergent partners like the US to support India’s efforts to counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific. and Indo-Pacific democratic nations.

THE BRICS EEXPANSION AN EXCITING NEW POSSIBILITY AND A STRATEGIC CHALLENGE

The proposed BRICS expansion through membership applications from Argentina, Iran and Egypt brings intricate problems to the organization. The process presents India with two conflicting results. The expansion initiative aligns with India's mission to establish a world system with multiple power centers. However, such expansion may simultaneously lead to reduced Indian control over the organization as China and Russia will make strategic decisions about new member countries.

India should take a calibrated approach to the expansion process to welcome new members that bring diverse perspectives without sacrificing the group's strategic direction. The group requires institutional reforms which India should support to maintain effective functionality among its expanded membership.

THE FUTURE OF BRICS ACCORDING TO THE INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

The future of BRICS for India depends on its capacity to preserve its independence through multilateral engagements that bring national advantages. India seeks to maintain the current global framework but desires democratic changes to establish a new international system. BRICS serves India as a platform to display its soft power while promoting its economic outlook and demonstrating its leadership abilities.

The best way for India to position itself is through coalition development combined with diplomatic consensus-building and leadership focused on specific issues.

BRICS needs to develop its economic and people-to-people relationships between member states to transform from a diplomatic arrangement into something more substantial. BRICS presents India with both an opportunity to elevate its global influence and a challenge to demonstrate its strategic mastery in the current fragmented geopolitical environment. India can achieve its goal of becoming a leading world order architect by addressing its current challenges and making BRICS serve its development goals.

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BY PRATHAM SINGH

TEAM GEOSTRATA

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