Second Preparatory Meeting of BRICS Women’s Working Group convened by the Ministry of Women and Child Development
1. At a Glance
- Virtual preparatory meeting under India's BRICS Chairship 2026, convened by Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) on 22 May 2026, chaired by Secretary Shri Anil Malik [S1].
- A working-group track feeding into the BRICS Women's Ministerial Meeting at Kochi, 8-9 July 2026 [S1].
- Useful for GS-II (international groupings, women-related institutions) and Prelims (BRICS architecture under Indian chairship).
2. Why in the News
- Second preparatory meeting held on 22 May 2026 to firm up the Repository of Best Practices and a Capacity Building Framework for Women's Digital and Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship [S1].
- Comes ahead of India-hosted 18th BRICS Summit (September 2026); chairship assumed 1 January 2026 [S2].
3. Background & Evolution
- BRIC coined 2001 (Goldman Sachs); first leaders' summit 2009 (Yekaterinburg); South Africa joined 2010 making BRICS [S3].
- 2024 expansion: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE became full members from 1 January 2024; Indonesia joined January 2025 [S3].
- BRICS Women's Business Alliance launched in 2020 (Russian chairship); women's track institutionalised through dedicated Working Group and Ministerial Meetings.
- Under India 2026, 1st Preparatory Meeting held virtually on 30 April 2026; 2nd Preparatory Meeting on 22 May 2026 [S1][S4].
4. Core Static Facts
- Convening ministry: Ministry of Women and Child Development (Union Cabinet Minister: Smt. Annpurna Devi) [S1].
- Chair of meeting: Shri Anil Malik, Secretary, MoWCD [S1].
- India's BRICS 2026 theme: "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability" [S1][S2].
- Key deliverables under discussion:
- Repository of Best Practices [S1].
- Capacity Building Framework for Women's Digital and Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship [S1].
- Upcoming: BRICS Women's Ministerial Meeting, Kochi, 8-9 July 2026 [S1].
- BRICS members (2026): Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, Indonesia [S3].
- Format of 2nd Prep Meeting: Virtual [S1].
5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis
- Social / Gender — Frames women's empowerment as a multilateral priority; emphasis on digital + financial inclusion + entrepreneurship, dovetailing with domestic schemes like Mission Shakti, Stand-Up India, MUDRA [S1].
- Geopolitical / Strategic — Reinforces India's positioning as Global South convenor; uses chairship to set normative agenda on gender within BRICS plus [S2].
- Economic — Capacity-building framework targets women MSME entrepreneurs; complements parallel BRICS Youth Entrepreneurship and MSME tracks of India's 2026 chairship [S5].
- Administrative — Demonstrates MoWCD's lead-ministry role in a Track-1 multilateral working group; coordination with MEA's BRICS desk for outcome documents.
- Ethical / Governance — "Outcome-oriented cooperation" rhetoric flags shift from declaratory to deliverable-based BRICS engagement [S1].
6. Recent Developments (last 12-18 months)
- 30 April 2026: 1st Preparatory Meeting of BRICS Women's Working Group (virtual) [S4].
- 14-15 May 2026: BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting, New Delhi (Chair's Statement issued) [S3].
- 22 May 2026: 2nd Preparatory Meeting of Women's Working Group [S1].
- 6-7 July 2026 (scheduled): BRICS Women Working Group Meeting, Kochi [S4].
- 8-9 July 2026 (scheduled): BRICS Women's Ministerial Meeting, Kochi [S1].
- September 2026 (scheduled): 18th BRICS Summit in India [S2].
7. Prelims Hooks
- 2nd Preparatory Meeting of BRICS Women's Working Group held on 22 May 2026 [S1].
- Chaired by Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development (Anil Malik) [S1].
- India's BRICS 2026 theme: "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability" [S1].
- Two flagship deliverables: Repository of Best Practices and Capacity Building Framework for Women's Digital and Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship [S1].
- BRICS Women's Ministerial Meeting venue: Kochi, Kerala; dates 8-9 July 2026 [S1].
- Convening ministry: MoWCD, not MEA [S1].
- India assumed BRICS Chairship on 1 January 2026 [S2].
- 18th BRICS Summit: scheduled in India, September 2026 [S2].
- 1st Preparatory Meeting was held 30 April 2026, virtual [S4].
- BRICS membership (2026) = 10 countries: BRICS-5 + Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, Indonesia [S3].
8. Mains Relevance
- GS-II: "Important International Institutions, agencies and fora — their structure, mandate." Bilateral/multilateral groupings; India's role.
- GS-I / GS-II: "Role of women and women's organisation; issues related to women."
- Possible question stems: 1. "Examine how India's 2026 BRICS Chairship leverages women's empowerment as a vector of Global South solidarity." 2. "Discuss the relevance of BRICS sectoral working groups in translating summit declarations into deliverables, with reference to the Women's Working Group." 3. "Digital and financial inclusion of women is increasingly a multilateral agenda. Evaluate in the context of BRICS Capacity Building Framework, 2026."
9. Related Topics to Study Next
- BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) — financial arm headquartered in Shanghai; relevant to women-financing instruments.
- BRICS Women's Business Alliance (WBA) — parallel non-state women's track since 2020.
- Mission Shakti (MoWCD) — domestic counterpart for women's empowerment.
- G20 Empower / W20 — comparable gender tracks in G20 architecture.
- UN CSW (Commission on the Status of Women) — global multilateral benchmark.
- India's BRICS 2026 Chairship priorities — pillars of resilience, innovation, sustainability.
- Stand-Up India / MUDRA / SHGs (DAY-NRLM) — domestic financial inclusion schemes feeding the framework.
- Beijing Declaration & Platform for Action, 1995 — foundational gender-equality instrument.
10. Common Errors / Trap Areas
- Wrong ministry: convened by MoWCD, not MEA or Ministry of External Affairs.
- Wrong venue/date: Ministerial Meeting is Kochi, 8-9 July 2026 (often confused with Summit in September).
- Membership count: BRICS in 2026 has 10 members (Iran included; Saudi Arabia did not formally join; Argentina declined).
- Theme verbatim: word order matters — Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, Sustainability (acronym RICS), not "Sustainability, Innovation…".
- Working Group vs Business Alliance: WWG is intergovernmental (state) track; WBA is business/civil track — distinct.
11. Sources
- [S1] Second Preparatory Meeting of BRICS Women's Working Group convened by MoWCD — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2264402 — (tier 1)
- [S2] BRICS India 2026 official portal / Chairship priorities — https://www.brics2026.gov.in/brics-india-2026/ — (tier 1, gov.in)
- [S3] Brief on BRICS / Chair's Statement BRICS FMs Meeting (May 2026) — https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/BRICS-2025.pdf — (tier 1)
- [S4] First Preparatory Meeting of BRICS Women's Working Group — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2257180 — (tier 1)
- [S5] BRICS Youth Entrepreneurship Working Group, Indore — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2263798 — (tier 1)