Staff Correspondent
India’s hosting of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi has once again highlighted its growing stature on the international stage. Prime Minister Narendra Modi underscored this shift, saying BRICS has reached a “coming of age” moment and urging the Global South to act as a proactive “rule-shaper” in global governance rather than a passive observer. Representing nearly half of the world’s population and roughly 40 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the BRICS bloc provides a vital platform for this economic and geopolitical rebalancing.
For New Delhi, participation in BRICS involves a carefully managed strategic balancing act. India maintains its active role in non-Western multilateral forums while preserving deep military and strategic ties with Western nations. Through transactional diplomacy and its push for indigenous defence manufacturing under the Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) initiative, New Delhi continues to leverage international partnerships to build domestic capability. At the same time, India relies on Russian hardware, joint technology development, and industrial transfers to maintain its frontline military readiness, a dynamic reinforced by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s focus on furthering bilateral business and defence ties during the summit.
Crucially, India approaches BRICS as a mechanism to amplify the voice of the Global South, resisting any movement to convert the forum into an explicitly anti-Western or China-centric bloc. Instead, New Delhi uses the venue to position itself as a reliable, cost-effective provider of advanced military hardware and technical capacity. On the sidelines of summit proceedings, Indian leadership actively advanced security dialogue with regional partners, such as Malaysia and Ethiopia, offering equipment supply, joint training programs, and defence sector integration.
Geopolitical Realities and Multi-Alignment
BRICS remains a diverse grouping of democratic nations and authoritarian regimes. While leaders like Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping utilize bilateral sidebar meetings to manage relations and de-escalate border friction, core geostrategic tensions persist. Despite significantly expanding its defence budget past $90 billion, making it the fifth-largest defence spender globally, India’s expenditure remains eclipsed by China’s defence budget, which exceeds $330 billion.
To navigate these regional dynamics, India pairs soft-institutional collaboration within BRICS with hard-security engagement alongside Western partners through the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), comprising the US, Japan, and Australia. New Delhi views BRICS as a valuable instrument for multi-alignment, exploring local-currency trade mechanisms, and promoting multilateral governance reform, rather than as a mutual defence pact or formal military alliance.
Accelerating Aerospace and Defence Partnerships
The recent summit deliberations in New Delhi generated meaningful momentum for India’s aerospace, aviation, and defence partnerships, particularly with Russia and Brazil.
Russia-India Aerospace Initiatives
- Regional Aviation Expansion: Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) advanced discussions regarding the potential supply of up to 105 regional passenger aircraft to Indian carriers, including Pinnacle Air, Air Kerala, and Sleek Aviation.
- Domestic Production & Assembly: Deliberations centred on establishing licensed local production of the Il-114-300 turboprop and setting up assembly lines for the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SJ-100) to support domestic regional connectivity initiatives under the government’s UDAN scheme.
Brazil-India Strategic Defence Ties
- Transport Aircraft Program: Brazil renewed its push for the Embraer C-390 Millennium airlifter to meet the Indian Air Force’s requirements for its Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) program, which seeks up to 80 aircraft. Embraer has partnered with the Mahindra Group to establish a local Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility, alongside a raw material supply agreement with Bharat Forge.
- Industrial & Manufacturing Ecosystem: Embraer leadership engaged in talks with Indian government officials regarding aerostructures production, local component integration, and potential assembly operations for E-Jets in the Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR) in Gujarat, in collaboration with domestic industrial partners.
Strengthening the India-Brazil Defence Axis
While the India-Brazil Strategic Partnership has historically developed quietly due to geographical distance, bilateral alignment is deepening across several key defence vectors. By linking Atmanirbhar Bharat with Brazil’s defence industrial complex, both nations are uncovering significant space for joint design and co-production.
Beyond aviation, maritime collaboration has emerged as a cornerstone of this relationship. A trilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) involving Mazagon Dock Limited and both navies covers the maintenance of Scorpene-class submarines and other naval assets. Furthermore, both countries have expanded strategic cooperation into space technology—covering satellite design, launch systems, and academic data sharing—while continuing joint efforts in UN Peacekeeping Operations and security governance.
This summit brilliantly highlighted India’s ingenious defence strategy: it’s not about picking a team, but about turning a kaleidoscope of global partnerships into rock-solid domestic capabilities! Imagine the sheer brilliance of it – leveraging Russian aviation expertise, forging even deeper industrial bonds with Brazil, and strengthening security ties with Western allies, all to construct an aerospace-defence powerhouse that’s technologically cutting-edge, commercially dominant, and utterly autonomous! BRICS isn’t just a stage; it’s a phenomenal platform for India to showcase this transformative project, as long as it continues its masterful tightrope walk between seizing opportunities and safeguarding its independence in our ever-evolving global landscape!
