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New Delhi, September 11, 2026: A debate has emerged within the Congress over the tangible benefits India derives from the BRICS grouping, with senior leader P. Chidambaram questioning the concrete outcomes of recent summits and party colleague Shashi Tharoor offering a broader defence of the bloc’s strategic importance.
Speaking ahead of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, Tharoor said the grouping provides India with an important platform to engage with the Global South and demonstrates the country’s ability to bring major countries together.
Tharoor points to BRICS’ global reach
Tharoor argued that BRICS has significance because its 11 members collectively account for a substantial share of the world’s population and around 41 per cent of global GDP.
According to Tharoor, the grouping gives India an opportunity to represent and engage with a wide range of developing countries. He also described India’s hosting of the summit as a matter of diplomatic prestige.
The Congress MP said the presence of heads of state and government from BRICS countries and other participating nations demonstrates India’s “diplomatic convening power” on the world stage.
Chidambaram questions tangible results
The discussion follows comments by former Union finance minister P. Chidambaram, who questioned whether India’s participation in recent BRICS summits had delivered significant practical benefits.
Chidambaram said he had not seen major tangible outcomes from the previous two or three BRICS meetings. He also pointed to India’s membership in several international groupings, including the BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, G20 and Quad, and questioned what concrete gains had emerged from them.
His remarks triggered criticism from the BJP, which accused him of failing to recognise India’s growing international influence.
Tharoor also acknowledges challenges
While defending the strategic value of BRICS, Tharoor did not dismiss the concerns about the grouping’s effectiveness.
He pointed to differences among member countries on major international issues as one of BRICS’ biggest challenges. In particular, he referred to difficulties in reaching a common position on the Iran conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war.
At the previous BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi, member countries failed to agree on a joint statement, leading India, as chair, to issue a chair’s declaration instead. Tharoor said another such outcome could raise questions about the group’s ability to find common ground.
Trade imbalance remains a concern
Tharoor also highlighted an economic concern: India’s trade relationship with BRICS members.
He noted that although trade within the grouping has increased, India’s exports to BRICS countries have declined while imports have risen. This, he said, means the growth in trade has not necessarily worked entirely in India’s favour.
The larger question for India
The debate highlights two different ways of measuring the value of BRICS.
For Chidambaram, the key question is whether participation produces measurable economic and diplomatic outcomes. Tharoor, meanwhile, has emphasised the broader strategic advantages of having India at the centre of a grouping representing a major share of the Global South.
The challenge for India will be to convert its diplomatic influence into concrete outcomes, particularly in areas such as trade, investment, global governance and cooperation among developing economies.
As India hosts the BRICS summit, the effectiveness of the grouping—and the country’s ability to bridge differences between its members—is likely to remain a major focus of attention.
