BRICS as a platform for South-South industrial cooperation: opportunities and constraints for India.

BRICS, now twenty years old and chaired by India for the fourth time in 2026 under the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability" [1], has evolved from a diplomatic forum into a working platform for South-South industrial cooperation through its Partnership on New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR). For India, it offers real industrial gains, but structural limits temper them.

Opportunities

• MSME internationalisation: the Framework for Cooperation of the BRICS SME Working Group, finalised at the Tenth BRICS Industry Ministers' Meeting in Jaipur (6 August 2026), opens partner markets for a sector contributing about 30% of GDP and nearly 46% of exports [2][3].
• Clean-energy manufacturing: Terms of Reference and an Action Plan for the Working Group on the Photovoltaic Industry help diversify solar supply chains and complement domestic PLI-driven capacity [2].
• Innovation linkages: India's proposed BRICS Incubator Network and Startup Innovation Fund, plus the Action Plan on startup-led growth, give Indian startups cross-border capital and mentoring [2].
• Agenda-setting: hosting Industry and Trade Ministers' tracks back-to-back in Jaipur, ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi (12–13 September 2026), consolidates India's role as a Global South convenor [1][2].

Constraints

• Non-binding outcomes: results are Joint Declarations, Terms of Reference and Action Plans — political commitments without treaty force or dispute settlement [2].
• Competitive asymmetry: partners in solar and electronics manufacturing are also India's biggest import competitors, making supply-chain "cooperation" a delicate balance against domestic value-addition goals.
• Enlargement and cohesion: an expanded membership with divergent industrial priorities slows consensus, while BRICS' financial arm remains modest against global needs.
• Implementation gap: working-group outputs need sustained bureaucratic follow-through beyond the chairship year.

BRICS is therefore best read as a complement to India's industrial strategy, not a substitute. Converting Jaipur's frameworks into time-bound, funded projects — with MSME and startup outcomes tracked to the next chairship — would align the platform with India's Atmanirbhar and SDG-9 goals, and make South-South industrial cooperation deliverable rather than declaratory.