Context:
Argentina formally rejected BRICS membership recently.
- 15th BRICS summit invited 6 new members — Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from West Asia; Egypt and Ethiopia from Africa, and Argentina from Latin America.
About BRICS:
- An acronym for the grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies
- BRICS Countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
- South Africa joined BRIC in December 2010 after which the group adopted the acronym BRICS.
- Objectives –
- To promote peace, security, development and cooperation in the world.
- Making a positive impact on the development of humanity and establishing a more equitable and fairer world.
- Representation of BRICS –
- 41% of the global population
- 24% of the global GDP
- 16 % share of the global trade
- 29.3% of the total land surface
- Chairmanship – Rotation basis (in accordance with the acronym B-R-I-C-S)
- India – Chair for the 2021 BRICS Summit.
Initiatives:
- Established New Development Bank during 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza (Brazil) in 2014, at Shanghai (China).
- In 2014, the BRICS governments had signed a treaty on the setting up of the contingent reserve arrangement.
- Customs agreements were signed to coordinate and ease trade transport between BRICS countries
- 5 space agencies signed an agreement on the Cooperation on BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation.
- Made up of 6 existing satellites: Gaofen-6 and Ziyuan III 02, both developed by China, CBERS-4, jointly developed by Brazil and China, Kanopus-V type, developed by Russia, and Resourcesat-2 and 2A, both developed by India.
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements about G-20:
1. The G-20 group was originally established as a platform for the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to discuss international economic and financial issues.
2. Digital public infrastructure is one of India’s G-20 priorities.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2023 Prelims]
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (c)
