6 July 2026·PIB

BRICS Women's Working Group Meeting begins in Kochi today

In this note

1. At a Glance

BRICS Women's Working Group (WWG) Meeting commenced in Kochi, Kerala on 6 July 2026, a two-day meeting under India's BRICS Chairship 2026 [1].
Focus: women's empowerment and women-led development, with senior officials from BRICS member countries participating [1].
Chaired by Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD); opened by Shri Anil Malik, Secretary, MWCD [1].
Feeds into the larger BRICS Women Ministerial Meeting scheduled for 8–9 July 2026, also in Kerala [2].

India, holding the 2026 BRICS Chairship, hosted the WWG meeting in Kochi on 6–7 July 2026 as part of a series of preparatory and sectoral working group meetings across India through the year [1][2].

India's 2026 BRICS Chairship runs 1 January – 31 December 2026; this is India's fourth BRICS Chairship (earlier: 2012, 2016, 2021) [3].
MWCD convened a First Preparatory Meeting of the BRICS WWG on 30 April 2026 (virtual mode) [2].
A Second Preparatory Meeting was held virtually on 22 May 2026 [2].
A Third Preparatory Meeting followed to finalize preparations for the Kochi meetings [2].
These preparatory meetings culminated in the physical WWG meeting in Kochi (6–7 July 2026), ahead of the Women Ministerial Meeting (8–9 July 2026) [1][2].

Item	Detail
Nodal Ministry	Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) [1]
Host city	Kochi, Kerala [1]
Dates (WWG)	6–7 July 2026 [1][2]
Dates (Ministerial)	8–9 July 2026 [2]
Chairship theme	"Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability (BRICS)" [3]
BRICS members (2026)	Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE (11 nations) [3]
India's BRICS Chairships	2012, 2016, 2021, 2026 [3]
Key official	Shri Anil Malik, Secretary, MWCD [1]

Social

Meeting targets women-led development and women's empowerment, aligning with domestic schemes under MWCD [1].
Provides a platform for cross-country learning on gender policy among emerging economies [1].

Geopolitical / Strategic

Reinforces India's leadership role in BRICS as 2026 Chair, using sectoral working groups (Women, Employment, Health, Tourism, Youth Entrepreneurship, Energy, Agriculture, MSME) to project soft-power convening capacity [3].
Kerala hosting multiple BRICS events (Employment WG in Thiruvananthapuram, Women WG in Kochi) reflects deliberate geographic spread of Chairship events across Indian states [1][3].

Administrative

Structured through a three-stage preparatory process (virtual meetings) before the physical ministerial-level engagement — a template followed across other BRICS working groups in 2026 [2].
Reflects Centre-state coordination, with Kerala as host state for logistics [1].

30 April 2026: First Preparatory Meeting of BRICS WWG (virtual) [2].
22 May 2026: Second Preparatory Meeting (virtual) [2].
Third Preparatory Meeting held closer to the Kochi event [2].
6 July 2026: BRICS WWG Meeting begins in Kochi [1].
8–9 July 2026: BRICS Women Ministerial Meeting to follow [2].
Parallel 2026 Chairship events: 2nd BRICS Employment Working Group Meeting (Thiruvananthapuram, 6 May 2026) [4]; 11th BRICS Energy Ministers' Meeting (Gurugram, 25–26 June 2026); 16th BRICS Agriculture Ministers' Meeting (Indore, 12–13 June 2026) [3].

BRICS Women's Working Group Meeting began in Kochi, Kerala on 6 July 2026 [1].
Nodal ministry for the WWG meeting: Ministry of Women and Child Development (not Ministry of External Affairs) [1].
Meeting opened by Shri Anil Malik, Secretary, MWCD [1].
WWG meeting is a two-day event (6–7 July 2026) [1].
Followed by BRICS Women Ministerial Meeting on 8–9 July 2026 [2].
2026 is India's fourth BRICS Chairship (previous: 2012, 2016, 2021) [3].
India's 2026 BRICS Chairship theme: "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability" [3].
BRICS currently has 11 member countries [3].
2nd BRICS Employment Working Group Meeting was held in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), starting 6 May 2026 — distinct from the Women's WG in Kochi [4].
First Preparatory Meeting of BRICS WWG held 30 April 2026 in virtual mode [2].
Second Preparatory Meeting of BRICS WWG held 22 May 2026, also virtual [2].

GS-II: International relations — India and its neighbourhood/groupings; effect of policies of developed/developing countries on India's interests; BRICS as a grouping.
GS-I: Social issues — women's empowerment, gender.
Possible question stems:
"Discuss the significance of sectoral Working Groups under India's BRICS Chairship 2026 in advancing India's foreign policy objectives."
"How does the BRICS Women's Working Group contribute to gender-inclusive development cooperation among emerging economies?"
"Examine India's track record of BRICS Chairships (2012, 2016, 2021, 2026) and their evolving thematic priorities."

BRICS grouping — origin, expansion, NDB (New Development Bank) — foundational institutional context.
BRICS Chairship 2026 theme and calendar of events — umbrella topic covering all sectoral working groups.
Ministry of Women and Child Development — schemes (Mission Shakti, POSHAN, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao) — domestic policy linkage.
BRICS Employment Working Group / Health Working Group / Tourism Working Group — parallel 2026 sectoral tracks for comparison.
BRICS expansion (2024 induction of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia) — geopolitical background.
Gender budgeting in India — domestic instrument linked to women's empowerment discourse.
G20 Women's empowerment initiatives (comparative multilateral forum) — useful comparative angle.

Do not confuse nodal ministry: it is MWCD, not MEA, despite BRICS being a foreign-policy grouping.
Do not conflate the BRICS Women's Working Group Meeting (6–7 July, Kochi) with the subsequent Women Ministerial Meeting (8–9 July) — they are sequential, distinct events.
Do not confuse Kochi (WWG venue) with Thiruvananthapuram (Employment WG venue) — both in Kerala but different meetings/dates.
Note India's 2026 Chairship is its fourth, not first or second — avoid undercounting prior Chairships (2012, 2016, 2021).
BRICS membership count (11) should not be confused with older "BRICS-5" figure (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa only).