Discuss the relevance of BRICS in advancing the discourse on reformed multilateralism. Examine India's role as BRICS Chair in 2026.

"Reformed multilateralism" seeks to realign post-1945 institutions — the UNSC, IMF and WTO — with contemporary economic and demographic realities. BRICS, now a ten-member grouping, has emerged as the principal plurilateral vehicle carrying this demand, though its capacity to deliver reform remains uneven.

Relevance of BRICS to the reform discourse

• Agenda-setting: the 18th Summit at Bharat Mandapam devoted a dedicated session to "Inclusive Global Governance and Strengthening Multilateralism", culminating in the BRICS New Delhi Declaration (12 September 2026) [1].
• Institutional alternatives: the New Development Bank and Contingent Reserve Arrangement demonstrate that Global South capital can be pooled outside Bretton Woods conditionalities.
• Representational legitimacy: expansion to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and Indonesia widens the coalition demanding voice and quota reform.
• Normative pressure: sustained collective advocacy for UNSC expansion and a rules-based, non-discriminatory trading system [1].

Limitations

• Consensus deficit in an enlarged, heterogeneous grouping; India–China divergence blunts common positions.
• No permanent secretariat or binding mechanism — outcomes remain declaratory.
• De-dollarisation rhetoric outpaces institutional capacity, inviting external pushback.

India's role as Chair, 2026

• Set the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability", extending the people-centric, "humanity-first" framing India articulated at Rio (2025) [1].
• Economic agenda: the 16th Trade Ministers' Meeting at Jaipur advanced the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2030 covering the multilateral trading system, digital economy and financial cooperation [2].
• Technical convergence: the Bengaluru meet moved BRICS towards a common standardisation framework, and a Health Working Group addressed affordable medicines and pandemic preparedness [3][4].
• Innovation diplomacy: the Bharat Innovates Exposition projected India's deep-tech strengths as a Global South public good [5].
• Bridging role: India kept BRICS reformist rather than confrontational, complementing its G20 Presidency and Voice of Global South Summits.

BRICS thus legitimises the reform demand without yet being able to enforce it. India's 2026 Chairship — its fourth [6] — converted that rhetoric into sectoral deliverables. Sustained coalition-building with the G4, IBSA and the African Union, anchored in SDG-16's call for inclusive institutions, can turn this discourse into structural change.