BRICS Development Bank in pipeline, assures PM

Confident about India and other BRICS countries' emergence as global 'economic powerhouses', Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said that agreements are in the pipeline for setting up of a BRICS Development Bank and a contingency reserve arrangement for the benefit of five nations.

Stressing on a need for greater economic and political coordination among BRICS -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- Singh also said these countries face common challenges, such as those emanating from global uncertainties.

"Monitoring and managing speculative capital flows is a challenging task in times of global uncertainty," Singh said while addressing the third BRICS International Competition Conference in New Delhi.

"Maintaining a sustainable fiscal policy, while incurring significant public expenditures to raise the standards of living of a large population, is also a task that we have to grapple with continuously," he added.

"Developing infrastructure at a pace that supports the growth of industry and the increasing aspirations of the people is yet another challenge before us.

“Last, but by no means least, there is the need for building credible institutions for sustained and equitable growth," Singh said.

The Prime Minister said that BRICS has created structures for cooperation at different levels, in various areas and "two of the most significant agreements in the pipeline are those that will result in the setting up of a BRICS Development Bank and a Contingency Reserve Arrangement."

Singh said the BRICS countries have chosen differing growth paths suited to their macroeconomic conditions and varied institutional strengths.

"Yet, I have no doubt that their emergence as economic powerhouses is now an inescapable secular trend which will have a powerful impact on the world," he added.

Image: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh