Recent Current Affairs related to BRICS

India hosted the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Heads of Anti-Drug Agencies Meeting in Guwahati, Assam.

During the meeting, member nations adopted the 'Guwahati Declaration', and India proposed the establishment of a dedicated BRICS Virtual Working Group (VWG) to address evolving drug trafficking trends and enhance cross-border training initiatives.

India also organized the 'GO-BRICS India-Russia Energy-o-thon 2026' in Bengaluru, which is the world's first hackathon involving BRICS nations. Additionally, the BRICS Academic Thematic Conference, themed 'Strengthening BRICS Connectivity: Fostering Cooperation', was jointly organized by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and the BRICS Expert Council Russia in Moscow, Russia.

India hosted the BRICS Women Ministerial Meeting (WMM) in Kochi, Kerala under its BRICS Chairship 2026. During the meeting, member nations reached a consensus on two initiatives proposed by India: the 'BRICS Digital Repository of Best Practices' and 'BRICS Digital Capacity Building'.

India also hosted the 3rd BRICS Transport Ministers' Meeting (TMM) in Nagpur, Maharashtra, chaired by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. The meeting concluded with the unanimous adoption of the Ministerial Declaration.

The 16th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) National Security Advisers' (NSA) meeting was held in New Delhi.

The meeting was chaired by the National Security Advisor (NSA) of India, Ajit Doval. The summit was conducted under the theme 'Non-Traditional Security Challenges Confronting the World Today'.

The BRICS Heads of Space Agencies (HOSA) meeting was held in Bengaluru. It was hosted by the ISRO and the Department of Space (DoS) with support from the Ministry of External Affairs, featuring participation from all BRICS member nations.

The 11th BRICS Energy Ministers’ Meeting was held in Gurugram, Haryana, under the BRICS Chairship of India for 2026. The meeting was conducted under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,” with the Energy Track focusing on the theme “Energy for All.”

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) has hosted the First BRICS MSME Forum and the Third SME Working Group Meeting in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. The event was held under the theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'.

The Third SME Working Group Meeting deliberated on the theme 'Building MSME Ecosystem - Sustainable Roots to Global Routes'.

Uzbekistan has become the 10th member and shareholder of the New Development Bank (NDB) after ratifying the NDB Articles of Agreement (AoA). This marks the first entry of a Central Asian nation into the NDB.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has concluded the 13th BRICS Urbanisation Forum at Sushma Swaraj Bhavan in New Delhi. Held under the BRICS Chairship of India 2026, the forum was themed "Cities for People: BRICS Cooperation for Inclusive and Resilient Urban Futures".

The event resulted in the adoption of a 'Ministerial Declaration' and the proposal for a 'BRICS Urban Research and Knowledge Network' to strengthen urban cooperation among member nations. Two publications, "India's Urban Transformation: Stories of Change" and "Cities for People: Urban Stories from BRICS Nations", were also showcased.

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has chaired the 16th BRICS Agriculture Ministers' Meeting in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Held under India’s 2026 BRICS Chairship, this was the first-ever BRICS agricultural summit to include both Member and Partner Countries.

The BRICS Agriculture Working Group identified 4 priorities: Food Security and Nutrition (focusing on smallholder farmers, women, and youth), Agricultural Trade, Regenerative Farming (promoting climate-resilient practices), and Investment and Innovation.

The summit concluded with the adoption of the ‘Indore Declaration’, which emphasises a farmer-centric global food system and rejects unilateral trade restrictions that threaten food security.

To implement the declaration, the member nations established 5 institutional networks: the BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence on Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture (coordinated by the ICAR-Indian Institute of Farming System Research (IIFSR), Modipuram), Network on Digital Agriculture (coordinated by the IIT Delhi), BRICS Agro-Inputs, Genetic Resources, and Information Network (BRICS AGRIN Framework), Knowledge-to-Action Hub (by strengthening the BRICS Agricultural Research Platform (BARP)), and the Global Forum on Farmers' Rights in Seed Systems.

The Observer Research Foundation (ORF), in partnership with the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), has hosted the inaugural ‘BRICS Academic Forum’ in New Delhi. The event is a key Track II initiative under the Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) Chairship of India for 2026. The forum serves as an advisory platform for diplomacy and summit preparation to generate policy recommendations for the 18th BRICS Summit. The summit is themed “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.

Discussions are based on 4 core pillars—Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability—aligning with the priorities of the chairship. The initiative involves 13 international speakers and a series of meetings held in India and abroad to develop recommendations for the leaders.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has hosted the inaugural BRICS Health Working Group (HWG) meeting virtually in New Delhi. The session was held under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.

The meeting was chaired by Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava and saw participation from delegates representing 9 nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, UAE, and Indonesia. During the event, India proposed the “BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyles” as a key priority to improve public health outcomes among the member states.