BRICS Summit 2026: Shashi Tharoor Explains India’s Gains as P Chidambaram Questions the Benefits
India’s role in BRICS has come under an unusually sharp political spotlight just ahead of the 2026 BRICS Summit in New Delhi. Congress leader P Chidambaram recently questioned whether India has received enough concrete benefits from its participation in the grouping. His party colleague Shashi Tharoor, however, offered a broader assessment, arguing that BRICS provides India with diplomatic influence, a platform for the Global South and an opportunity to bring major countries together.
The disagreement is important because it raises a larger question: How should India measure the success of international groupings such as BRICS? Should the answer be based primarily on trade, investment and economic agreements, or should diplomatic influence and global positioning also count?
With India hosting the BRICS summit on September 12 and 13, 2026, the debate arrives at a particularly significant moment.
Why P Chidambaram Questioned BRICS Benefits
P Chidambaram, a senior Congress leader and former Union minister, questioned the tangible outcomes India has obtained from recent BRICS meetings.
His argument focused on the practical results of multilateral organisations. India is simultaneously part of several influential international groupings, including BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the G20 and the QUAD. Chidambaram questioned whether membership in these organisations has translated into sufficient benefits for India.
He also suggested that earlier BRICS meetings had produced more identifiable outcomes, while he had not seen comparable results from the more recent summits.
The comments triggered a political response from the BJP, which accused the Congress of undermining an important international event.
But the debate does not necessarily have to be reduced to a simple political disagreement. There is a legitimate policy question behind Chidambaram's criticism: What measurable outcomes should India expect from BRICS?
Shashi Tharoor Offers a Different Perspective
Shashi Tharoor presented a different way of evaluating India's BRICS participation.
According to Tharoor, one of BRICS' major advantages is that it provides a platform for important countries of the Global South. He pointed out that the grouping brings together 11 countries with diverse political and economic interests and collectively accounts for a substantial share of the world's population and global economic output.
This matters because India's foreign policy increasingly involves engagement with multiple centres of power rather than dependence on one particular bloc.
For New Delhi, BRICS offers a setting in which India can engage with countries that have different relationships with the United States, Europe and other major powers.
Diplomatic Convening Power
Tharoor also highlighted what could be called India's diplomatic convening power.
Hosting a major international summit gives the host country an opportunity to bring several heads of government and senior leaders to the same location. For India, this can strengthen its image as a country capable of facilitating high-level international dialogue.
The significance goes beyond photographs and ceremonial meetings. When leaders from countries with competing interests gather in India, New Delhi gets an opportunity to discuss bilateral issues on the sidelines of the main summit.
That diplomatic access can itself have strategic value.
BRICS Is More Than an Economic Club
BRICS originally developed around cooperation among major emerging economies, but its role has expanded considerably.
The grouping has increasingly become part of discussions about the Global South, international financial institutions and the structure of the global economy. Its members have also advocated a more multipolar international system.
BRICS has created institutions such as the New Development Bank and established mechanisms aimed at strengthening financial cooperation among member countries. These initiatives demonstrate that the organisation is not simply a forum for annual political meetings.
However, institutional achievements do not automatically translate into immediate benefits for every member.
For India, the real test is whether participation can eventually improve trade opportunities, investment flows, financial cooperation and diplomatic influence.
The Trade Problem India Cannot Ignore
Interestingly, Tharoor himself acknowledged an important weakness in India's BRICS relationship: trade.
He pointed out that trade among BRICS countries has expanded, but India's position has not necessarily benefited equally from that growth. According to his comments, India's exports to BRICS countries have declined while imports have increased.
This is a crucial point.
A multilateral grouping can become more economically important while individual members experience very different results.
If Indian businesses import substantially more from BRICS partners than they export to them, the country needs to ask why. Possible explanations could include differences in competitiveness, market access, supply chains, tariffs, product demand and industrial capacity.
Therefore, simply increasing intra-BRICS trade should not be considered sufficient. India would ideally want more balanced and sustainable trade growth.
Why Exports Matter
Higher exports can support manufacturing, employment, foreign-exchange earnings and the expansion of Indian companies into international markets.
If BRICS becomes a larger trading platform but Indian exporters struggle to gain market share, membership alone will not solve the problem.
That makes market-access negotiations and business-to-business connections especially important during India's BRICS chairmanship.
The Challenge of Finding Consensus
Another major issue raised by Tharoor is the difficulty of reaching consensus among BRICS members.
The expanded grouping includes countries with very different foreign-policy priorities. India, China, Russia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia and other members do not necessarily have identical positions on international conflicts.
This creates a structural challenge.
Tharoor noted that BRICS foreign ministers were unable to reach an agreed joint statement on major conflicts involving Iran and Russia-Ukraine issues during their May meeting in New Delhi. India consequently issued a chair's declaration rather than an agreed joint declaration.
This illustrates the limits of BRICS.
The larger the grouping becomes, the greater its economic and political weight may be. But greater membership diversity can also make consensus more difficult.
Why the 2026 Delhi Summit Matters
India assumed the BRICS chairship on January 1, 2026, with the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.” The country is now preparing to host the summit in New Delhi on September 12-13.
The timing gives India an opportunity to demonstrate that BRICS can produce practical outcomes.
The summit can potentially focus attention on areas such as trade, technology, development finance, infrastructure, energy, innovation and cooperation among emerging economies.
At the same time, India will have to manage disagreements between member states.
That balancing act could become one of the defining diplomatic tests of the summit.
India’s BRICS Strategy Needs Both Diplomacy and Results
The debate between Chidambaram and Tharoor highlights two different standards for judging international diplomacy.
The first is transactional: What agreements did India secure? How much investment came in? Did exports increase? Did Indian companies gain market access?
The second is strategic: Does membership increase India's diplomatic options? Can India influence international discussions? Can New Delhi build relationships with countries that may become increasingly important?
In reality, India needs both.
Diplomatic prestige is valuable, but prestige alone cannot be the final measure of success. Similarly, economic benefits are important, but international relationships cannot always be evaluated within a single financial year.
India's challenge is therefore to convert diplomatic visibility into measurable economic and strategic outcomes.
What Could the BRICS Debate Mean for India?
The current discussion could actually be useful for India's foreign-policy debate.
Rather than asking whether BRICS is simply “good” or “bad” for India, policymakers could establish clearer benchmarks.
These might include:
- Growth in Indian exports to BRICS markets
- Improved access for Indian businesses
- Greater investment flows
- Cooperation in emerging technologies
- Development-finance opportunities
- Progress on payment and financial mechanisms
- Stronger diplomatic coordination
- Greater representation for developing countries in international institutions
Such benchmarks would make it easier to determine whether India's BRICS participation is delivering results.
A More Balanced Approach
India does not need to choose between BRICS and other partnerships.
Its participation in BRICS exists alongside relationships with the QUAD, G20, SCO and other international platforms. This reflects India's broader foreign-policy approach of maintaining strategic flexibility.
BRICS can serve one purpose, while another grouping serves another.
The important question is whether India can use each platform effectively without allowing one relationship to undermine another.
FAQs
What is BRICS?
BRICS is a grouping of major emerging and developing economies that has evolved into an important platform for economic and geopolitical cooperation. The expanded grouping currently includes 11 members, according to the NDTV report.
Why did P Chidambaram question BRICS?
Chidambaram questioned whether India's recent participation in BRICS had produced enough tangible benefits and results. He compared India's BRICS membership with its participation in other international groupings.
What benefits did Shashi Tharoor highlight?
Tharoor highlighted BRICS' importance as a Global South platform and India's ability to bring major international leaders together. He described hosting the summit as diplomatically significant for India.
What is India's biggest BRICS-related economic concern?
Trade imbalance is one important concern. Tharoor noted that India's exports to BRICS countries have declined while imports have increased.
When is India hosting the 2026 BRICS Summit?
India is scheduled to host the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, 2026.
Can BRICS become more important for India?
Yes, but its long-term value will depend on India's ability to turn diplomatic engagement into stronger trade, investment, financial cooperation and strategic influence.
Conclusion
The disagreement between P Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor captures a much bigger debate about India's place in a changing world.
Chidambaram's question about tangible outcomes is relevant because international diplomacy should ultimately produce practical advantages for the country. Tharoor's response is equally important because the value of a global grouping cannot always be measured through immediate financial gains.
For India, BRICS represents both an opportunity and a challenge. Its growing membership gives the grouping greater global weight, while differences among members make consensus more difficult. India's 2026 chairmanship therefore provides an important test.
The real success of the Delhi summit will not simply be measured by the number of leaders attending. It will be judged by whether India can use its diplomatic convening power to advance practical cooperation, expand opportunities for Indian businesses and strengthen its voice on issues affecting the Global South.
In that sense, the BRICS debate is not merely about whether India has benefited from the grouping in the past. It is ultimately about what India can achieve through BRICS in the years ahead.