Why in the news
The farm ministers of BRICS countries agreed a joint charter at Indore, which marked the high point of India’s 2026 BRICS presidency.
Key facts
- Name: BRICS Indore Declaration; place: Indore, Madhya Pradesh; time: June 2026.
- Nature: a unanimous joint agricultural charter that keeps farmers at the centre of policy.
- Aims: food security, sustainable farming, farmer welfare, innovation, digital agriculture, climate-resilient farming and trade.
India-led initiatives
| Initiative | Focus |
|---|
| Network of Centres of Excellence on Agro-Ecology and Regenerative Agriculture (BRICS) | Research, training and knowledge-sharing on natural, organic and regenerative farming; climate resilience |
| BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture | AI, geospatial technology, DPI and data-driven farming; faster technology transfer |
| Global Forum on Farmers’ Rights in Seed Systems | Protecting indigenous seeds, traditional knowledge and farmers’ seed rights |
| BRICS AgriN (Agro Inputs, Genetic Resources and Information Network) | Exchange of inputs, genetic resources, seed varieties and expertise; capacity-building |
About BRICS
- Members’ initials: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa; a grouping of major emerging economies.
- First BRIC summit in 2009; South Africa joined in 2011.
- The 15th summit (Johannesburg, August 2023) invited six new members from 1 January 2024: Saudi Arabia (status pending, not formally joined as of 2026), Iran, UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia and Argentina (later declined). Indonesia joined in January 2025.
- The presidency rotates yearly and sets the agenda: 2023 South Africa, 2024 Russia (Kazan, October), 2025 Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, July), 2026 India, 2027 China (planned).
- India’s 2026 presidency has stressed agriculture, food security and climate resilience.
BRICS institutions
| Body | Details |
|---|
| New Development Bank (NDB) | Set up 2014 at Fortaleza Summit, operational 2015, HQ Shanghai; capital USD 50 bn expandable to USD 100 bn; first president K.V. Kamath (2015-2020), now Dilma Rousseff since 2023; funds infrastructure and sustainable development |
| Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) | Safety net from 2014 with USD 100 bn pool; short-term liquidity in balance of payments crises; alternative to the IMF |
Exam angle
- Declaration venue: Indore; 2026 BRICS chair: India.
- Acronym to know: AgriN.
- NDB headquarters: Shanghai.