Kolkata, Sep 9 (PTI) India’s BRICS chairship in 2026 has adopted a “people-centric” approach, with its priorities focused on innovation, cooperation and sustainability, former foreign secretary and Rajya Sabha member Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Wednesday.
Addressing a programme on BRICS at a university here, Shringla said India’s effort is to make the grouping more relevant to the needs of developing countries and the Global South.
“India’s approach to the BRICS chairship is people-centric. The emphasis on innovation, cooperation and sustainability reflects India’s effort to make it more relevant to the needs of developing countries and the Global South,” he said.
India assumed the BRICS chairship on January 1, 2026, under the theme ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’. It will host the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12-13, its fourth time as chair of the grouping.
“Our government has reiterated the priorities in fields including trade, investment and technology,” he said.
“India has an opportunity through its BRICS chairmanship to strengthen cooperation in areas that directly affect people, including technology, investment and sustainable development,” Shringla said.
BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, expanded in 2024. Indonesia joined the grouping in 2025.
India’s role as chair has been to facilitate dialogue and seek areas of convergence rather than allow differences to undermine the grouping, Shringla said.
“BRICS has emerged as an influential grouping of major emerging economies, with its members accounting for majority of the global population,” he said.
“The grouping today has considerable economic and demographic weight. India can use its chairmanship to reinforce the voice of the Global South and promote cooperation while maintaining strategic autonomy,” Shringla said.
The former chief coordinator for India’s G20 Presidency also stressed the importance of consensus-building within the expanded grouping.
“With its expanded membership, BRICS is more representative but also more diverse. India’s success as chair will depend on its ability to build consensus on issues where members have shared interests while managing differences on contentious geopolitical questions,” he said.
Shringla said around 350 BRICS meetings on issues such as healthcare and agriculture had been held in recent times.
Asserting India’s role as chair of BRICS, he said, “As chairman, we had stressed the role of innovation, quality, sustainability and entering into multilateral arrangements.” “At the Glasgow summit five years ago, our PM Narendra Modi had vowed to reduce dependence on fuel and explore alternative renewable energy resources,” he said.
Highlighting that 65 per cent of the country’s population is below the age of 35, Shringla said India has a young workforce.
“Now with improvement in education, healthcare, public utilities and better infrastructure, the ease of living, standard of living and quality of life will improve by 2040,” he said.
“BRICS 2026 is the case study of consensus diplomacy. We are protagonists of BRICS in the midst of confrontation. India’s BRICS presidency should secure an outcome acceptable for the members,” he said.
Shringla, whose West Bengal links as a resident of the Darjeeling Hills were flagged by university Vice Chancellor and historian Suranjan Das at the seminar, said India has an opportunity to play a larger role in shaping the global economy and addressing major challenges such as climate change through the platform.
He said India’s growing international influence should be backed by stronger economic capabilities at home, while the country should continue working with both developed and developing nations to promote a more balanced global order. PTI SUS MNB
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