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BRICS Presidency 2026

Kumari Sonali

BRICS Presidency 2026:

India assumed the BRICS Presidency in 2026 under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, bringing Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) to the forefront of the bloc’s agenda.

  • The expansion into BRICS+ and the 2025 BRICS Rio de Janeiro Declaration further highlight a shift towards deep-tech collaboration, governance, and technology transfer.
  • In 2011 during 3rd BRICS Summit at Sanya, China, the S&T cooperation was formally recognized and injected into the BRICS agenda, reflecting the need to explore joint research to address developmental challenges.
  • BRICS Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the field of Science, Technology and Innovation was signed in 2015.
  • Also, the BRICS Young Scientist Forum (YSF) was established in 2015 to promote collaboration and networking among young scientists.
  • BRICS Action Plan for Innovation Cooperation (2017-2020) marked an expansion from purely academic research to entrepreneurship and technology transfer.
  • BRICS Technology Transfer Centre (TTC) was established to connect science parks, incubators, and startups, facilitating the cross-border commercialization of emerging technologies.
  • BRICS Science & Technology Ministers meeting held annually to set priorities, with national agencies like Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) (India) coordinating projects and proposals.
  • India spearheaded the BRICS Innovation Action Plan (2021-2024).
  • Crucially, a landmark intergovernmental agreement was signed to share data from a BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation, bypassing reliance on Western space agencies for earth observation data.
  • The Kazan and Rio Declarations marked a major shift towards frontier technologies.
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) was elevated from a sub-theme to a central governance pillar to ensure equitable, development-oriented AI standards.
  • Simultaneously, the bloc expanded into BRICS+ bringing new capital and diverse technological capacities.
  • India assumes the chair in 2026 with a strong mandate to leverage Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and scale tech collaboration across the expanded Global South.