Trace the evolution of BRICS from an economic grouping to a broader platform encompassing social and cultural cooperation.

BRICS began as a convergence of large emerging economies seeking a stronger voice in global trade and finance. Over two decades it has widened into a multi-sectoral platform where youth, education, sports and cultural exchange now sit alongside its economic core, reflecting a shift from interest-based to people-centred cooperation.

Phase I: The economic core

• Early cooperation centred on coordinating positions in global economic governance; BRICS continues to press for IMF quota realignment favouring emerging and developing economies [1].
• The creation of the New Development Bank gave the grouping its own financing arm, institutionalising the economic agenda.

Phase II: Widening into governance, security and technology

• India's 2021 Chairship ("BRICS@15") delivered a Counter-Terrorism Action Plan, an agreement on remote-sensing satellite cooperation, and the first BRICS Digital Health Summit [2].
• Sectoral ministerial tracks multiplied — for instance the 10th BRICS Industry Ministers' Meeting at Jaipur under India's 2026 Chairship [3].

Phase III: The social and cultural turn

• India's BRICS Chairship 2026, themed "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability", is explicitly people-centric and humanity-first [4].
• The 13th BRICS Education Ministers' Meeting at Bhubaneswar extended cooperation into human-capital formation [5].
• The Youth and Sports Ministers' Meetings at Visakhapatnam (22–23 August 2026) adopted a Joint Declaration on sports cooperation, using sports diplomacy as soft power [4].

Phase IV: Enlargement broadening the canvas

• Expansion to 11 members — Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Indonesia joining the original five — widens the cultural and civilisational base on which such cooperation rests [4].

BRICS has thus matured from a bloc of economic convergence into a fuller Global South platform combining hard economic bargaining with soft, people-to-people engagement. Sustaining this requires converting declarations into measurable exchanges in sport, education and youth mobility. Anchored in India's humanity-first vision, this broadened agenda strengthens BRICS as a durable vehicle for inclusive, sustainable multipolar cooperation.