India takes the BRICS chair in 2026 under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,” hosting the bloc’s 18th summit in New Delhi on September 12-13 — with Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian all expected.
BRICS’ 11 full members (expanded in 2024-25 to add Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia) now account for roughly 41% of global GDP at purchasing power parity — ahead of the G7’s ~28-30%. The bloc grew 3.4% in 2025, nearly triple the G7’s 1.2%. India, at $4.15 trillion nominal GDP and an IMF-projected 6.5% growth for 2026, is the bloc’s fastest-growing major economy.
The more interesting tension: India isn’t picking a side. Weeks before hosting this trio, it brought its US tariff rate down from a peak of 50% (imposed August 2025 over Russian oil) to 18%, after a February 2026 framework where Delhi committed to cutting Russian oil imports. By July 2026, both sides were reportedly at the “last one percent” of a full Bilateral Trade Agreement, targeting $500 billion in two-way trade by 2030 under “Mission 500.”
The real story is India running multiple tracks at once — hosting Xi and Putin together while closing its most consequential US trade deal in decades.
Sources: Wikipedia, “18th BRICS summit” · Vajiram & Ravi, BRICS 2026 · IMF World Economic Outlook (via TradingEconomics, 2026) · Axios (Feb 9, 2026) · US News (Jul 25, 2026)