India Prioritises NDB Expansion to Balance BRICS Agenda

Gist India is prioritising the expansion and efficiency of the New Development Bank NDB to maximise the economic potential of the BRICS grouping. By focusing on practical measures like operationalising rupee-denominated bonds and expanding local-currency lending, India aims to strengthen the institution's lending capacity. For a civil services aspirant, this highlights India's strategic balancing act: utilising multilateral financial institutions for developmental gains while firmly resisting efforts by China and Russia to turn BRICS into an overtly anti-Western, de-dollarisation platform. Background The BRICS grouping, which came together in its five-member form in 2011 , now accounts for nearly 40% of global GDP and 55% of the world's population, yet its members continue to hold disproportionately low voting shares at Western-led institutions like the International Monetary Fund IMF . To counter this, BRICS established the New Development Bank NDB in 2015 to mobilise infrastructure and development resources for emerging economies. The NDB operates on a mandate of equal voting shares among its five founding members, and while new members can join, the founders' collective voting share cannot fall below 55% . Historically,…