The BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi concluded without a joint statement due to disagreements over the West Asia conflict, with Iran blaming the UAE for the lack of consensus. India, as the host, issued a chair's statement highlighting the differing views.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is in India for a BRICS foreign ministers' meeting, where discussions will focus on the escalating crisis in West Asia and its impact on global energy supply chains.
The BRICS Development Bank could become a World Bank in future due to the increasing influence of emerging countries, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management said on Wednesday.
India is conducting a special audit of 101 cities to assess ease of living from the citizen's perspective, Comptroller and Auditor General K Sanjay Murthy said.
India should not stay on the margins of this initiative. There should be a serious debate about what would be in India's best interests asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Borrowing from BRICS bank will help India avoid other kinds of politics emanating from the West. Overall, the BRICS institutions will necessarily adopt alternative ways of doing things based on their own cultural and socio economic needs, says M K Venu.
Meanwhile, the US refrained from making any comment on the move to set up the development bank aimed at reshaping the international financial system dominated by the West, saying that the details are yet to emerge.
The Enforcement Directorate has reported a staggering 170 per cent surge in asset attachments, reaching 81,422 crore in the last financial year (FY26), underscoring its intensified efforts against financial crimes and its significant role in restituting funds to victims.
Finance Minister of the BRICS countries had also worked on the idea at various deliberations on the sidelines of the Fund-Bank and G-20 meetings, he said.
India emerged reasonably well from 2025. But now, the oil shock and war-related supply disruptions have again driven funds out of India and significantly weakened the rupee, points out Ajay Chhibber.
...although issues like capital, membership and governance are still bogging the plan.
The business council aims to give impetus to trade.
The bank will have initial authorised capital of $100 billion
Every single one of the BRICS countries has an enormous infr deficit that simply can't be met by a single institution, says WB President.
India will have the presidency of the BRICS' $100 billion New Development Bank for six years with headquarters in China that will become operational in about two years, a major step for reshaping the international financial system dominated by the West.
India's handling of the Iran crisis reflects a growing strain between strategic autonomy and geopolitical alignment, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Taking Kharg would give the US control over virtually all of Iran's oil exports and thus provide significant leverage, notes Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War. It would also put American troops within range of Iran's remaining missiles, drones, and artillery on a piece of real estate that is just eight square miles in size, and just 15 miles from the Iranian mainland.
K V Kamath to take charge of BRICS Bank in July.
The leaders of the five emerging market economies are expected to sign a deal on Tuesday that creates the $100 billion bank and a reserves fund of the same size to challenge Western dominance over global finance.
Kv Kamath has big plans as BRICS Bank chief.
United States President Donald Trump has warned that countries aligning with the BRICS economic bloc will face additional 10 per cent tariffs on their goods, as he seeks to protect the dollar's global dominance.
The announcement of the formation of the BRICS bank will have as much an impact about how the non-G7 countries manage their economies and their foreign reserves, as it does on the intellectual discourse. The development priorities and agenda which was hitherto set by western experts responding mostly to western priorities and notions will now have to compete with an intellectual tradition that is and can be very different, says Mohan Guruswamy.
The board meeting is likely to take place later in Shanghai.
A feature of this year's BRICS summit was economic cooperation.
The fact that the Indian government has allowed the bank to be headquartered in Shanghai merely underlines the fact that this will be a largely Chinese enterprise.
The opening ceremony was held in China's financial capital.
The BRICS bank is simply too expensive a proposition for a group of developing countries that includes many who are already overspending domestically.
'After the Galwan clash, the rules of engagement changed with the army commanders allowed to use any means at their disposal as they deem fit for tactical operations.'
Modi said South America has tremendous potential.
The decision was taken at the BRICS Summit in Durban which also launched a Business Council to encourage investment and trade in member countries and to expand business cooperation.
Modi knew in his heart that India does not have the financial muscle to support the new bank with offers of co-financing international projects, something China can do from the bank's base in Shanghai. If established in Mumbai, it may have employed a few Indian bankers and satisfied the national ego but there was little financial value to be drawn from it.
Under the defence partnership, India and the UAE are eyeing defence industrial collaboration and cooperation in advanced technologies, cyberspace training, special operations, interoperability of their militaries and counter terrorism.
Sheela Bhatt, who traveled with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the BRICS Summit in Durban, gauges the buzz ahead of the event that begins Tuesday.
Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran on Wednesday said that the country is not pursuing any proposal to replace the US dollar as international currency for global trade. "No, certainly not. I think India is not part of any such initiative," he said in response to a question if India is looking at an alternative currency to the US dollar for global trade.
The grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa had in March decided to establish a new development bank -- BRICS Bank -- to finance infrastructure projects and to create a $100 billion contingency fund to tackle any financial crisis in emerging economies.
The NDB will have an initial authorised capital of $100 billion.
Kamath also served on the board of Infosys.
Finance Ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, including P Chidambaram, are likely to prepare a report for consideration of their leaders on Wednesday in which they are expected to say that launching a BRICS bank is 'feasible and workable'.
India supports dialogue and diplomacy and not war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) Summit in Kazan, Russia on Wednesday, in an unambiguous message calling for resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through peaceful negotiations.
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