BRICS Summit day two to focus on technology, economic resilience
Leaders began the second and final day of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on Sunday with talks on technology, economic resilience and sustainable growth. The 11-member grouping unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration 2026 a day earlier. The open session at Bharat Mandapam covers India's four 2026 chairship priorities — resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability — including AI, fintech and digital infrastructure. The 11 full members account for about 49.5% of world population, 40% of global GDP and 26% of global trade.
Source
BRICS / G20 / SCO / Quad · read the original report ↗
Desk check · compared with the source
What the desk checked (5)
- The 11-member BRICS grouping unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration 2026 on Saturday. — Stated in source; attributed to the reporting agency, no dissent noted.
- Modi said the declaration focuses on innovation, sustainability and people-to-people ties and called BRICS 'wider in reach and stronger in purpose'. — Attributed in source to Modi's posts on X.
- The 11 full members account for about 49.5% of world population, 40% of global GDP and 26% of global trade. — Figures appear twice in source; no originating data source cited.
- BRICS has 11 full members and 10 partner countries; nine partner countries are named. — Source says 10 partners but lists only nine names — internal inconsistency editors should note.
- India assumed the BRICS presidency on January 1 under the theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'. — Stated in source without separate attribution.
Analysts’ view opinion
The unanimous adoption of the New Delhi Declaration 2026 by an expanded 11-member BRICS is a real diplomatic win for India — getting a group this heterogeneous onto a single text is not a small feat. Sunday's agenda — AI, digital public infrastructure, fintech and supply-chain resilience — is not merely economic; these are the core arenas of today's geopolitical competition. Yet the declaration's stated framing as practical and development-oriented suggests New Delhi's strategy of keeping BRICS a multi-aligned platform rather than an anti-Western bloc.
- The 49.5% of world population, 40% of GDP and 26% of trade figures are the source of the bloc's bargaining weight — but trade share lagging well behind GDP share points to still-shallow internal economic integration.
- The presence of the Russian and Iranian leaders lends the grouping a sanctions-sceptical tint, yet Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Indonesia are also inside it — that internal diversity is precisely what keeps summit language consensual and soft.
- Cooperation on AI and digital payments infrastructure implies an independent trajectory on technical standards and data governance, which is the element Western capitals will read most closely.
- The framing of 'resilience' around supply-chain disruption, health crises and climate risk tracks the wider global shift towards treating economic security as national security.
- Consensus on multilateral governance reform serves India's long-standing aims, but Beijing's positions on bodies such as the UN Security Council remain the practical ceiling on that consensus.
What to watch — Watch whether the technology and finance pledges translate into funded institutional mechanisms, or remain another year's communiqué — and how Washington and Brussels choose to respond.
The story does not set out the declaration's specific commitments, any concrete decision on currencies or payment systems, or implementation timelines, nor does it record any reaction from non-member states.
Deep dive
Research brief · 8 facts · 3 dates · exam-readyThe brief
Context
India hosted the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on 12-13 September 2026, its first as chair after assuming the BRICS presidency on 1 January 2026 under the theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'. BRICS, originally a five-nation grouping, has expanded to 11 full members and now also has 10 partner countries. On day one the leaders unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration 2026; day two at Bharat Mandapam turned to technology, economic resilience and sustainable growth.
Key facts
- The 18th BRICS Summit was held in New Delhi, with its second and final day on Sunday, 13 September 2026, under India's chairship.
- The 11-member grouping unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration 2026 on Saturday, 12 September 2026.
- India assumed the BRICS presidency on 1 January 2026 under the theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'.
- The 11 full members account for about 49.5% of the world's population, 40% of global GDP and 26% of global trade.
- BRICS full members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
- BRICS has 10 partner countries: Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
- Day two's open session at Bharat Mandapam was titled 'Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability: Shaping the Future for Inclusive Global Growth'.
- PM Narendra Modi called the outcome a reflection of a BRICS that is 'wider in reach and stronger in purpose'.
Timeline
- 1 January 2026India assumed the BRICS presidency under the theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'.
- 12 September 2026 (Saturday)Day one of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi; the 11 members unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration 2026; leaders posed for the family photo.
- 13 September 2026 (Sunday)Day two open session at Bharat Mandapam on technology, economic resilience and sustainable growth, closing the summit.
Who has a stake
- India (chair, PM Narendra Modi) — Hosting the 18th summit and shaping the 2026 agenda around resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability; credited the members for adopting the Declaration.
- The 11 BRICS full members — Collectively represent about 49.5% of world population, 40% of global GDP and 26% of global trade; seek deeper policy, finance and technology cooperation.
- 10 BRICS partner countries — Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam participate without full membership.
- Leaders present at the summit — Putin, Xi Jinping, Modi, Prabowo Subianto, el-Sisi, Ramaphosa, Pezeshkian, Abiy Ahmed, Brazil's FM Mauro Vieira and UAE's Saeed bin Mubarak Al Hajeri joined the family photo.
- Multilateral governance institutions — BRICS cooperation includes engagement on reforms to multilateral governance, per the summit agenda.
Why it matters
An 11-member BRICS covering nearly half the world's population and 40% of global GDP gives the grouping greater weight in debates on trade, technology and reform of multilateral governance. India's chairship agenda — AI, digital public infrastructure, fintech, supply-chain and climate resilience — signals where the bloc wants to build practical cooperation rather than only issue statements.
UPSC angle
Prelims pointers
- 18th BRICS Summit: New Delhi, 12-13 September 2026; New Delhi Declaration 2026 adopted unanimously on day one.
- India's BRICS chairship began 1 January 2026; theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'.
- Four priorities of India's 2026 chairship: resilience, innovation, cooperation, sustainability.
- BRICS full members (11): Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE.
- BRICS partner countries (10): Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.
- BRICS share: ~49.5% of world population, 40% of global GDP, 26% of global trade.
Mains framing
The 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi marks the consolidation of an enlarged grouping of 11 full members and 10 partner countries that together account for nearly half the world's population, 40% of global GDP and 26% of global trade. India's 2026 chairship has organised the agenda around four pillars: resilience (against global uncertainties, supply-chain disruptions, health crises and climate risks), innovation (artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure and fintech, with knowledge-sharing among members), cooperation (policy coordination, development finance, trade facilitation and engagement on multilateral governance reform), and sustainability (climate mitigation, green finance, energy transition and sustainable development while respecting each member's individual development priorities). The unanimously adopted New Delhi Declaration 2026, which Prime Minister Modi said focuses on innovation, sustainability and people-to-people ties, reflects an attempt to make BRICS cooperation "more practical, development-oriented and responsive" — the test being whether enlargement translates into deliverable projects and a credible collective voice, or dilutes consensus among a more diverse membership.
Key terms
- BRICS
- Grouping now of 11 full members — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE — plus 10 partner countries.
- New Delhi Declaration 2026
- Outcome document unanimously adopted by the 11 members on day one of the summit, focusing on innovation, sustainability and people-to-people ties.
- BRICS chairship/presidency
- Rotating leadership of the grouping; India assumed it on 1 January 2026 and hosted the 18th summit.
- Bharat Mandapam
- New Delhi venue where the summit's main open session on day two was held.
- Digital public infrastructure
- Shared digital systems listed, along with AI and fintech, under the innovation pillar of India's BRICS agenda.
- Partner country status
- Category allowing 10 states such as Belarus, Nigeria and Vietnam to participate in BRICS without full membership.
Practice questions
- Has the expansion of BRICS to 11 full members and 10 partner countries strengthened its collective bargaining power or weakened its internal cohesion? Discuss.
- Examine the four pillars of India's 2026 BRICS chairship — resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability — and assess their relevance for developing economies.
- What role can BRICS play in reforming multilateral governance, given that its members account for about 40% of global GDP but only 26% of global trade?
Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.