India’s Role in BRICS: New Prospects for Global Diplomacy

I remember sitting in a crowded café in Johannesburg during the BRICS Summit in 2018. At one table, young South African students were debating whether BRICS was really delivering jobs. At another, an old Russian expat was explaining to his friends that India was “the real growth engine” of the bloc. It struck me then: BRICS may often look like a bureaucratic acronym thrown into headlines, but for many, it represents the possibility of an alternative world order. And at the center of that possibility sits India.

The Origins: From Acronym to Arena

When Goldman Sachs first coined the term “BRIC” in 2001, it was just shorthand for four fast-growing economies. Brazil, Russia, India, China — nations too big to be ignored, too uneven to be treated as outliers. South Africa joined in 2010, turning it into BRICS and giving the bloc more continental legitimacy.

What started as an investment banker’s acronym quickly became a political forum. Leaders saw an opportunity to break free from Western-dominated institutions — the IMF, World Bank, WTO — where their voices were often reduced to footnotes. For India, it meant a seat at the table where the world’s power balance could be rewritten.

India’s Balancing Act Inside BRICS

India’s position in BRICS has always been unique. Unlike Russia and China, it’s not looking to confront the West directly. Unlike Brazil and South Africa, its economy has the heft to influence global trade flows.

The Indian approach to BRICS is often described as “strategic ambiguity.” On the one hand, India aligns with calls for reforming international financial institutions, reducing dependence on the US dollar, and giving the Global South a bigger voice. On the other, it maintains strong partnerships with the US, EU, Japan, and Australia through forums like the Quad. It’s a delicate dance — sometimes uncomfortable, but necessary.

That balancing act often frustrates critics who want India to “choose a side.” But for New Delhi, the point of BRICS isn’t choosing. It’s about multiplying options, diversifying partnerships, and ensuring no single bloc dominates its destiny.

The Economic Story: Growth and Tensions

Let’s be clear: BRICS economies aren’t equals. China towers over the bloc with its $18 trillion GDP, while South Africa hovers around $400 billion. India sits in the middle, closer to China in population but closer to Brazil in per capita terms.

For India, the economic opportunity inside BRICS lies in three areas:

1. Development finance. The New Development Bank (NDB), set up by BRICS in 2014, offers loans without the usual IMF-style austerity. India has tapped it for infrastructure and renewable energy projects, and it sees the bank as a hedge against Western-dominated lenders.

2. Trade partnerships. Intra-BRICS trade has grown, though unevenly. For India, Russia has become a crucial oil supplier post-Ukraine war, while Brazil is a source of agri-imports. China remains its biggest partner, though also its biggest rival.

3. Tech and digital economy. With its IT sector and UPI-based digital payments revolution, India positions itself as the bloc’s innovation hub — a counterbalance to China’s manufacturing weight.

But economic cooperation isn’t smooth sailing. The elephant in the room is China. India and China’s border tensions make collaboration uneasy. Delhi is wary of Beijing dominating BRICS the way it dominates the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. This is why India insists on making BRICS less about one leader, more about collective voice.

Diplomacy and Global South Solidarity

What India brings to BRICS is credibility with the Global South. Unlike China, India doesn’t arrive with debt traps. Unlike Russia, it doesn’t bring sanctions baggage. Unlike Brazil or South Africa, its scale gives it leverage.

At the Johannesburg summit in August 2023, when BRICS expanded to include six more nations — Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, UAE, Ethiopia, and Argentina — it was India that argued most strongly for balanced criteria. The idea was to make sure expansion didn’t just serve China’s agenda but reflected real diversity.

For many developing countries, India is the “bridge.” A democracy that can talk to Washington and Moscow, that can do business with Riyadh and Tehran, that can advocate for African debt relief while negotiating digital trade with Europe. That’s a rare position to be in — and India knows it.

The Dollar Question

One of the loudest debates inside BRICS is de-dollarization — reducing reliance on the US dollar in trade. Russia, under sanctions, pushes hardest for it. China is open to it because of its yuan ambitions. India? Careful, cautious.

The Reserve Bank of India has allowed rupee trade settlements with over a dozen countries, but New Delhi isn’t eager to dethrone the dollar overnight. Why? Because its own economy is deeply tied to dollar-based markets. Instead, India pushes for “currency pluralism”: use the rupee where possible, encourage local currencies, but don’t burn bridges with the greenback.

It’s a pragmatic approach. Less revolutionary, more evolutionary.

BRICS vs. Other Forums

Critics often dismiss BRICS as “just talk.” And yes, summits often end with grand communiqués that sound repetitive. But the bloc’s influence becomes clearer when you compare it to alternatives.

• G20: India’s presidency in 2023 showed how it could bring the Global South’s concerns — food security, debt, climate finance — onto a global stage.

• Quad (US, Japan, Australia, India): Balances China’s Indo-Pacific power, but excludes the Global South.

• SCO: Security-heavy, with Russia and China dominant, India less comfortable.

• BRICS: Development-focused, with space for multiple voices, even if uneven.

In this crowded alphabet soup of forums, BRICS gives India something distinct: leadership among peers who don’t automatically see the world through Washington’s or Beijing’s lens.

The Road Ahead: Opportunities and Dilemmas

The future of BRICS will likely be shaped by how India and China manage their rivalry. If cooperation wins, the bloc could push serious alternatives to Western-dominated trade and finance. If competition escalates, BRICS risks being another stage for great power jostling.

India’s opportunity lies in three big areas:

1. Climate and green finance. Position itself as the voice of renewable energy for the Global South.

2. Digital standards. Export its UPI model as a BRICS-wide payments platform.

3. Peace broker. Use its credibility to mediate in conflicts where others can’t — whether it’s Russia-Ukraine or tensions in West Asia.

But dilemmas abound. How far can India align with Russia without angering the West? How much can it cooperate with China without undermining its security interests? How ambitious should it be in pushing the rupee globally without destabilizing its markets?

These are not academic questions. They’re the trade-offs that shape every summit, every handshake.

Final Reflections

When people ask whether BRICS matters, I think back to that café in Johannesburg. To the students debating jobs, to the Russian expat praising India’s role, to the way ordinary people see in BRICS not just diplomacy but the possibility of a fairer system.

For India, BRICS isn’t a perfect platform. It’s messy, uneven, often frustrating. But it’s also a stage where India isn’t just a participant — it’s a shaper. A voice that can amplify the South, balance the East, and negotiate with the West.

And in a century where the old order is fraying, that role may matter more than any headline suggests.