Reports & Papers
Ep 72| Beyond the Statutes: Strengthening the Pillars of Women’s Safety in India
March 13, 2026
Kerala assembly elections: D Dhanuraj analyses Kerala polls: UDF likely to struggle with compressed campaign period
March 18, 2026India’s BRICS Presidency, South Asia and Future of Regional Cooperation
BRICS represents a substantial share of the world’s population and economic output. As India assumes the BRICS rotational presidency in 2026, it is expected to promote a people-centred agenda focused on digital public infrastructure, climate action, clean energy transitions, and reforms to global governance institutions. Importantly, India is likely to pursue these priorities while avoiding an explicitly anti-Western stance.
India’s approach to BRICS expansion remains cautious and gradual, differing from the strategies of China and Russia, which often view the grouping as a platform to challenge Western influence. These differing perspectives reveal the diverse strategic interests within BRICS and shape how the grouping makes decisions.
Across South Asia, countries outside BRICS largely perceive India’s presidency as an opportunity—though a conditional one—to diversify development financing. Engagement with the BRICS+ framework and access to the New Development Bank could help support infrastructure development, climate initiatives, and local-currency lending in the region. At the same time, neighbouring states remain attentive to the possibility that India may use its leadership position to strengthen its regional influence, particularly amid the ongoing strategic rivalry between India and China.
The New Development Bank holds significant potential to promote inclusive and sustainable development in South Asia. However, realising this potential will require stronger project pipelines, improved environmental and social safeguards, and better coordination with other development institutions.
India’s presidency may also position New Delhi as a bridge between BRICS and Western partners, especially in its engagement with Europe. This could expand cooperation in areas such as trade, technology, climate action, and connectivity, even as differences remain on issues related to Russia, China, and the global financial system.
Overall, India’s leadership in 2026 could strengthen regional and interregional cooperation through BRICS. Yet the extent of these benefits will depend on policy choices that maintain the group’s development focus and prevent deeper geopolitical polarisation.
The paper was originally published by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.
Gazi Hasan is a Research Scholar (International Relations) at the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR), Kochi, India.
Views expressed by the authors are personal and need not reflect or represent the views of the Centre for Public Policy Research.
Views expressed by the authors are personal and need not reflect or represent the views of the Centre for Public Policy Research.
Gazi Hassan is a Research Scholar of International Politics at CPPR, focused on Indo-Pacific dynamics. He has an MPhil in International Studies (Jamia Millia Islamia) and an MA in Peace Building and Conflict Analysis (Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution, JMI).
