A Loose Bloc by Design? Judging BRICS by the Standard India Actually Wants

Weak as a Bloc, Useful as a Forum

The Tension

BRICS looks enormous on paper: 11 members, about 40% of world GDP by purchasing power, 26% of merchandise trade and 42% of oil production. India hosted its 18th Summit in New Delhi in September 2026, which adopted a declaration on reformed multilateralism, UN reform and AI governance.

Former National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan argues that BRICS is still neither cohesive nor effective. The real question is whether India should want it to be.

The Case That BRICS Is Failing Narayanan's argument is strong.

• No shared purpose. Russia calls BRICS non-western. China, in his reading, sees it as a vehicle against western dominance. India values it mainly as a platform for strategic autonomy and the Global South.
• China's weight. Take China out and the grouping counts for little. Trade within BRICS is largely Russia-China trade, which reached $227.9 billion in 2025. India's trade with China hit $151.10 billion in FY26, with an Indian deficit of $112.16 billion.
• Internal rivalries. India and China, Egypt and Ethiopia over the Nile dam, Saudi Arabia and Iran by proxy.
• Weak institutions. Full consensus, no charter, no enforcement arm, no common trade policy and no plan for a common currency. The dollar still holds 57.13% of global reserves. Judged as a bloc, BRICS falls short.

The Case That Looseness Suits India But India does not need BRICS to be a bloc.

• Consensus is India's veto. Because every decision needs agreement, BRICS cannot turn anti-western or adopt a China-led agenda unless India agrees. A tighter, charter-bound BRICS might be harder for India to steer.
• India's security lies elsewhere. India relies on the Quad and its partnership with the U.S. for security. It needs BRICS for something different: a seat at a major non-western table.
• It delivers some useful things. The New Development Bank has approved over $37 billion across about 100 projects, including India's Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS. The Delhi Declaration carried India's priorities on UN Security Council reform and the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
• Being inside matters. With dozens of countries seeking to join or partner, staying in BRICS lets India influence the Global South's agenda instead of watching China shape it.

Where TAN Stands

TAN's position is that the balance sits with BRICS as a loose forum, not a failing bloc and India should keep it that way. That does not dismiss the critique. Narayanan is right that size is not influence and that further unchecked expansion dilutes whatever cohesion exists. India should therefore:

1. Resist expansion without clear membership criteria.
2. Use the BRICS Continuity and Implementation Mechanism it proposed in 2026 to make decisions stick across rotating presidencies.
3. Keep BRICS focused on development finance, UN reform and Global South issues and away from currency or security confrontation.

What would change our view: if BRICS consensus began to produce positions India could not block, such as a push for a common currency or explicitly anti-western stands. At that point, membership would constrain India more than it helps.