Laying BRICS for highrise growth

Time of India

17 hours ago

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com .)
In an interconnected but unstable global environment, it is imperative for like-minded countries to strive for greater economic resilience through sustained cooperation and collaboration. Therefore, the role of BRICS—expanded BRICS+ actually—could scarcely be overemphasized.Having emerged as a major global force, BRICS represents around 40% of global GDP (in purchasing power parity terms) and nearly 47% of the world's population. With its recent expansion to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia, BRICS+ now reflects a diverse and influential coalition of emerging economies across continents. This expansion strengthens BRICS' role in advancing South-South cooperation and leveraging complementary strengths for shared growth.A key enabler of BRICS collaboration is the BRICS Business Council (BBC), established in 2013, with FICCI serving as the secretariat for the India chapter. The council plays a critical role in promoting trade, investment, and deeper economic ties among member countries. With nine sectoral working groups on areas like agribusiness, digital economy, and green economy, BBC serves as a vital bridge between industry and BRICS governments. The council's annual policy recommendations, presented at BRICS Summits, reflect the collective voice of businesses committed to inclusive and sustainable growth.One of them pertains to sustainability , which has emerged as a central theme across the council's initiatives. In agribusiness, precision farming, agri-biotechnology, and soil health management are prioritised, with knowledge-sharing platforms like ProAgro Lectorium helping train the next generation of climate-smart farmers. India's proposal for a BRICS agri-tech Corridor also aims to foster innovation and cross-border agri-tech collaboration.Another one focuses on the clean energy transition . There is a proposal to establish a clean energy fund within the New Development Bank . BBC is also working on a BRICS Energy Skills Atlas to ensure that human resource development keeps pace with the upcoming green infrastructure. It is also important because emerging sectors like solar, wind, and hydrogen will create a lot of jobs.The council stresses sustainable finance. The recently constituted BRICS Sustainable Development Network promotes green investments, ESG compliance, and improved financial access for SMEs, which are crucial drivers of inclusive growth . Besides, it provides an interface to experts, businesspersons, and policymakers.The council has also recommended better air connectivity among BRICS nations, which will significantly boost trade, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges. It has suggested a green transition in manufacturing. This can be done by embracing circular economy principles and adopting advanced decarbonization technologies. This shift will be supported through technical cooperation and focused investments aimed at accelerating the energy transition and building climate-resilient infrastructure.Beyond sustainability, BBC is working on enhancing trade and logistics infrastructure, expanding skills training, boosting cooperation in the digital economy, and improving trade facilitation measures like paperless transactions. The council also continues to push for increased trade in local currencies to reduce transaction costs and strengthen intra-BRICS trade. However, realizing this vision requires extensive coordination on payment systems, financial regulations, and policy harmonization.Through these multi-faceted efforts, BBC is actively shaping a more resilient, sustainable, and integrated economic future for its members.This is accompanied by the empowerment of women and the promotion of women-led businesses. In this context, the emergence of the BRICS Women's Business Alliance (WBA) as a dynamic platform was hardly surprising. Established in 2020 during Russia's Presidency of BRICS, WBA seeks to create meaningful opportunities for women across member countries.WBA plays a pivotal role in enhancing women's economic participation by unlocking cross-border business opportunities, facilitating collaboration among women entrepreneurs, encouraging knowledge sharing, and supporting capacity-building initiatives. Through these efforts, WBA helps women scale their businesses, access financing, and integrate more effectively into global value chains.Over the years, WBA has broadened its focus, intensifying dialogue across six strategic areas of cooperation: innovative development, healthcare, food security and environmental safety, creative industries, tourism, and inclusive economy. One of its flagship initiatives is BRICS Women's Startups Contest, which encourages and supports women-led businesses across six critical sectors: healthcare; agriculture and food security; education and skill development; energy, infrastructure, and mobility; commerce, services, and digital transformation; and sustainable development and climate solutions. The contest caters to businesses at various growth stages, from MVP/prototype to early traction and scale-up, providing them with valuable visibility and growth opportunities.An important milestone in promoting women's entrepreneurship within BRICS was the WEFORUM, an international conference dedicated to creating opportunities for female entrepreneurs. The latest edition was held in March in Brazil, marking the fourth successful gathering since its inception in 2022. WEFORUM has grown into a key platform for bringing together CEOs, COOs, policymakers, and business leaders from across the globe to collectively advance the cause of women's entrepreneurship and leadership. The 2025 conference attracted over 1,000 participants and representatives from at least 10 countries.BRICS symbolises cooperation, resilience, and shared future growth. Having grown in the last few years, it has the potential to script the growth story of a large part of humankind.The writer is DG, FICCI.