In this week’s round-up:
- BRICS could become a new pillar of global governance if its rapid growth doesn’t erode its newfound clout
- India’s health and education spending lags BRICS peers despite economic growth
- Dharamshala to host BRICS business conclave in March 2026
- Salwa Bakr receives first BRICS literature award in Cairo
BRICS’ digital payments push could redefine how the world moves money
Instead of launching a shared currency, BRICS nations are quietly building a digital payments framework that could weaken dollar dominance and reshape cross-border trade for the Global South.
India’s health and education spending lags BRICS peers despite economic growth
India’s budgetary allocation for health and education has remained largely stagnant as a percentage of GDP over the past six years, with both sectors significantly trailing spending levels among BRICS peers and global averages.
Dharamshala to host BRICS business conclave in March 2026
The proposed conclave will bring together industry leaders, investors, and trade bodies from BRICS member nations and partner economies to explore opportunities in co-investment, technology transfer, supply-chain partnerships, and export market access.
BRICS could become a new pillar of global governance if its rapid growth doesn’t erode its newfound clout
BRICS has come a long way since Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill thought it up in 2001. As of January, it now comprises ten countries: the original five of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and five new additions in Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.
Salwa Bakr receives first BRICS Literature Award in Cairo
Egyptian writer and novelist Salwa Bakr has been named the inaugural laureate of the BRICS Literature Award, an international honour established to foster intercultural dialogue and promote shared humanistic values through literature.
