Goa summit: India unveils 5-pronged plan for bolstering BRICS

In the run up to the BRICS summit of emerging powers in October, India unveiled the logo for the summit of the five-member grouping it will host in the seaside resort of Goa, and unveiled a five-pronged plan for bolstering strategic and economic content of the BRICS. External Affairs Minister Sushma  Swaraj  launched the website for the BRICS summit in New Delhi on March 22 and shared India’s plans for reinvigorating the grouping which include Institution Building, Implementation, Integration, Innovation, and Continuity with Consolidation.  The 8^th BRICS summit is scheduled to be hosted in Goa on October 15-16 this year.   “We will adopt a five-pronged approach during our Chairmanship. It will comprise of Institution Building, Implementation, Integration, Innovation, and Continuity with Consolidation (IIIIC or I4C). Our emphasis would be on institution building, implementation of previous commitments flowing from the past Summits, and exploring synergies among the existing mechanisms,” Mrs Swaraj said. Mrs Swaraj also said that over fifty meetings and events, at the Ministerial, Senior Officials, Working Groups, Technical, and Track-II levels, are proposed to be organised during India’s BRICS Chairmanship through the year.  The BRICS summit for 2015 was held in Ufa, Russia. During the Ufa summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had shared a 10-point plan for the future of the BRICS. India will focus on institution-building, implementing past commitments, and exploring innovative solutions in a spirit of continuity with consolidation under its chairmanship. The logo was selected from the entries in the BRICS logo-contest, which received over five hundred and seventy entries from across the country.  The winners of the contest received a cash reward of Rs 50,000 from Mrs Swaraj. During India’s chairmanship of BRICS, the primary focus will be on widening people-to-people base of the grouping of emerging powers, which have launched a path-breaking New Development Bank to plug the infrastructure gap in developing countries.  Promoting people-to-people interactions, business, youth, and sports will be the key priority areas. India will also host BRICS Under-17 Football Tournament, BRICS Film Festival, BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave, BRICS Wellness Forum, BRICS Trade Fair, BRICS Youth Summit, BRICS Think-Tank Forum, BRICS Academic Council during its chairmanship. Various BRICS events will be organised in different states across the country, and participation of people will be encouraged from all states.