Bridge for India, Big Tent for Global South

Gist Over two decades, BRICS has transformed from a loose grouping of emerging economies into the primary geopolitical and economic platform for the Global South. This shift is driven by the perceived dysfunction of traditional Western-led institutions like the UN and WTO, prompting developing nations to seek alternative mechanisms for trade, finance, and conflict resolution. For a civil services aspirant, understanding BRICS is crucial not just as a multilateral grouping, but as a structural driver of global multipolarity, de-dollarisation, and India's strategic balancing act between the West and the developing world. Background The Global Governance Vacuum: Traditional Bretton Woods institutions and global bodies are increasingly seen as faltering. The UN is viewed as incapable of shielding sovereign states from hegemonic ambitions, the WTO faces operational dysfunction, and the IMF and World Bank WB struggle to meet the financing expectations of emerging economies. Institutionalising BRICS: To counter this Western-dominated financial architecture, BRICS established its own mechanisms: the New Development Bank NDB for infrastructure financing and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement CRA to protect against global liquidity pressures. The Paradigm Shift: Historically viewed…