Is India really leaving BRICS?

The potential for India to exit the BRICS bloc has indeed been a subject of speculation and discussion, reflecting tensions within the group and India's evolving geopolitical strategy. BRICS, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, was initially formed with the goal of fostering cooperation and collaboration among emerging economies. However, as the global geopolitical landscape evolves, each member nation's priorities and alliances may shift.

The expansion of BRICS to include six more nations, including heavyweight voices like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, at the 2023 summit indeed seemed to signal a significant milestone for the bloc. However, beneath this surface-level growth, underlying tensions and fault lines persisted, particularly concerning India's role and rapport within the group.

India's position within BRICS has been a subject of scrutiny and debate, reflecting its complex relationships with other member nations and its evolving strategic priorities. India's purported drift away from BRICS and warming up to the West could signal a strategic realignment driven by several factors. One significant factor could be India's desire to strengthen its ties with Western nations, particularly the United States, in pursuit of economic opportunities, technology partnerships, and security cooperation.

India's growing concerns over China's assertive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region could also influence its strategic calculations and lead to a recalibration of its relationships within BRICS.

This financial tangle was further complicated by India’s decision to purchase oil from the United States, a move reported by Bloomberg. Considering BRICS’ often anti-Western stance, this development didn’t exactly elicit cheers from the other members. Here we see the crux of the problem: India’s balancing act between its traditional BRICS partners and its Western engagements, a maneuver fraught with geopolitical implications.

As India treads this complex geopolitical and economic landscape, the question of its allegiance to BRICS versus a pivot towards the West remains pertinent. The balance between sustaining growth, managing international relations, and navigating internal economic policies underscores the multifaceted challenges the nation faces on this global stage.