वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् — The world is one family.
For centuries, this simple Sanskrit phrase has reflected an Indian understanding of the world as a larger community connected by shared interests and responsibilities.
Today, as India assumes the BRICS Chairship in 2026, this idea feels particularly relevant.
The world is changing. Economic power is becoming more distributed, developing countries are demanding a stronger voice, technology is reshaping economies, and global challenges such as conflicts, climate change and supply-chain disruptions are crossing national borders.
And somewhere at the centre of this changing landscape is India.
India’s BRICS Chairship is not simply about leading an international group. It is more about understanding what leadership means when the countries sitting at the same table do not always see the world in the same way.
That is where the real story of BRICS 2026 begins.
BRICS has come a long way from its original form. What began with Brazil, Russia, India and China and later included South Africa, has expanded into a much broader platform. The BRICS 2026 currently lists 11 member countries, making the grouping significantly more diverse than it was at its beginning. A larger group means a larger collective voice but it also means more interests to balance. Because bringing more countries into a room is one thing, getting them to move in the same direction is another.
This is where India’s Chairship becomes significant.
India has chosen “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability” as the theme for 2026.
Starting with Resilience
The last few years have shown how quickly a crisis in one part of the world can affect everyone else. Conflicts can disturb energy markets. Disruptions in shipping can affect supply chains. Global health emergencies can expose weaknesses in national systems. For developing countries, resilience is therefore not simply an economic word. It means reliable food and energy supplies, stronger healthcare systems, secure supply chains and infrastructure capable of withstanding disasters. And most importantly economies that can recover when global circumstances change.
India’s Chairship has already begun addressing this through sectoral cooperation. In July, BRICS ministers responsible for disaster-risk reduction adopted a joint declaration focusing on early-warning systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, financing and the exchange of expertise.
This is important because it shows what practical BRICS cooperation can look like.
Second is Innovation
India today is increasingly recognised for its digital public infrastructure and startup ecosystem
b, but perhaps the greater opportunity lies not simply in showcasing Indian innovation; it lies in sharing knowledge.
Imagine researchers collaborating across BRICS countries, young entrepreneurs accessing new markets, universities building partnerships, digital solutions developed in one country being adapted to solve problems in another, etc. That is when diplomacy becomes more than meetings.
And India’s Chairship has already moved beyond an announcement on paper.
The first meeting of BRICS Sherpas and Sous-Sherpas under India’s Chairship was held in New Delhi on 9–10 February 2026, helping establish the institutional groundwork for the year ahead.
This was followed by the BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting in New Delhi on 14–15 May, chaired by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. The meeting discussed global and regional issues and reaffirmed support for India’s Chairship and its four-pillar theme.
The issues discussed around those tables eventually reach ordinary people. Trade affects businesses, technology affects employment, energy affects household costs, climate policy affects communities,s etc. But international cooperation can create a stable and sustainable world.
This is why Sustainability becomes another part of India’s agenda.
Developing countries face a difficult balancing act. They need economic growth, employment and infrastructure, while also dealing with climate change and environmental pressures.
The question is how development can happen without making future generations pay the price for today’s growth.
Then comes perhaps the most difficult theme: Cooperation.
BRICS countries do not always agree. They have different political systems, economic structures, regional priorities and relationships with other major powers. They may cooperate on one issue while holding very different positions on another. But perhaps BRICS does not need complete uniformity to be successful. Its strength lies in creating cooperation despite differences.
India’s diplomatic responsibility, therefore, is not necessarily to make every member think alike. It is to find the areas where their interests overlap and turn those areas into practical cooperation.
This also connects with India’s larger engagement with the Global South.
Developing countries have increasingly demanded greater representation in global institutions and a stronger voice in decisions that affect their economies and societies. But being a voice for the Global South also means listening to it. Listening to countries facing development challenges, to economies seeking technology and investment, to nations vulnerable to climate change and listening to young people who will inherit the future being shaped today.
Because the youth of the world understand that these conversations are questions that directly affect our generation.
Where will our future jobs come from?
Who will shape the technologies that define our future?
How will climate change affect the economies we inherit?
And will young people from developing countries have greater opportunities to study, innovate and collaborate across borders?
These are not merely foreign-policy questions; rather, they are questions about our future.
This is why India’s BRICS Chairship should not be viewed simply as another diplomatic achievement. It is an opportunity to demonstrate a different kind of leadership.
Leadership that does not mean speaking the loudest. But simply, it means bringing different voices to the table, finding common ground without pretending differences do not exist and leadership that produces something beyond photographs and declarations.
Because the success of BRICS 2026 will not ultimately be measured by the number of meetings conducted. It will be measured by what remains after those meetings.
Perhaps this is where “वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्” becomes more than an ancient Sanskrit phrase.
In a world divided by borders, interests and competing ambitions, it can become a principle of cooperation.
India has reached a point where the world is no longer simply watching its rise. It is expecting something from it. BRICS 2026 is therefore not merely India’s year to chair a grouping. It is India’s opportunity to demonstrate what responsible leadership can look like in a changing world.
Because the world order is evolving and India is sitting at the centre of that transformation.
The question is whether India can turn resilience into preparedness, innovation into opportunity, cooperation into action and influence into responsibility. Because simply occupying the centre of a changing world order is not an achievement. What India does from there will be.