Mains: GS II – International Relations
Why in News?
The BRICS grouping—comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, Conceived as a platform to promote a multipolar world order, has expanded its agenda beyond finance and macroeconomics to include Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) as a key pillar of cooperation.
What is the evolving global STI landscape?
- Role of BRICS in STI context – Global scientific collaboration is increasingly influenced by strategic competition, sanctions, and export controls.
- In this context, BRICS provides:
- A platform for coordinated research and innovation strategies
- An avenue to reduce technological dependencies on Western nations
- Institutional support through mechanisms like the New Development Bank
- The expansion into BRICS+, including countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Iran, reflects an effort to create a more inclusive and development-oriented scientific ecosystem.
- Institutionalisation of STI cooperation – STI cooperation within BRICS has evolved systematically:
- 2011 – Formal recognition of STI collaboration.
- 2015 – Memorandum of Understanding establishing STI as a strategic pillar.
- Creation of institutional frameworks for joint research and capacity-building
- The BRICS Science, Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Partnership (STIEP) has played a central role in implementing collaborative programmes.
- In India, agencies such as the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) coordinate national participation.
What are the key initiatives and areas of collaboration?
- Innovation and technology transfer
- Establishment of the BRICS Technology Transfer Centre (TTC)
- Promotion of cross-border technology commercialisation
- Initiatives like iBRICS to strengthen innovation ecosystems
- Socially relevant research areas – BRICS has gradually shifted from basic science to addressing developmental challenges, including:
- Energy security
- Water management
- Public health
- Environmental sustainability
- The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated cooperation in, Vaccine development, Biosecurity and Digital health systems.
- Frontier technologies – Recent collaborations focus on:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- High-Performance Computing (HPC)
- Advanced materials
- Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
- Space research (boosted by the 2021 intergovernmental agreement)
- The 2025 AI Declaration marked a shift towards making AI a central pillar of BRICS cooperation, emphasising equitable and inclusive governance.
- Progress and achievements
- Establishment of institutions such as the BRICS Institute of Future Networks.
- Strengthening of ICT and HPC collaboration.
- Expansion of joint research calls and thematic networks.
- Increased emphasis on innovation-driven ecosystems.
- These developments indicate a transition from theoretical collaboration to applied innovation frameworks.
What are the challenges and limitations?
- Uneven innovation capacity – Gross Domestic Expenditure on R&D (GERD) remains low across most BRICS nations, except China
- Significant gap compared to innovation leaders like South Korea
- Heterogeneity among members – Diverse economic and scientific capacities complicate consensus-building
- As noted by Irina Dezhina, aligning interests within BRICS+ is challenging
- Limited funding and scale
- Research funding remains modest
- Large-scale commercialisation of innovations is limited
- Institutional constraints
- Absence of a permanent institutional mechanism
- Rotational leadership model limits long-term continuity
- Slow progress in certain domains
- Mega-science projects
- Ocean and polar research
- Infrastructure-intensive collaborations
- limited research on STI cooperation
- Lack of systematic, data-driven evaluation frameworks
- Insufficient academic focus on BRICS STI mechanisms
- Significance for INDIA – As a key member and 2026 Chair of BRICS+, India has a strategic opportunity to:
- Strengthen its leadership in global science diplomacy
- Promote South-South cooperation
- Enhance domestic innovation capacity
- Address challenges like digital divide, public health, and climate resilience
What steps should be taken?
- Establish a permanent institutional mechanism
- Creation of a BRICS STI Secretariat.
- Modelled on frameworks like the EU’s Horizon Programme.
- Ensure continuity, monitoring, and evaluation.
- Promote mega-science projects – Joint long-term initiatives in:
- Climate science.
- Space exploration.
- Biotechnology.
- Strengthen innovation systems
- Increase investment in R&D.
- Build capacity in new BRICS+ members.
- Encourage public-private partnerships.
- Foster targeted collaborations – Develop “paired linkages” between countries with complementary strengths.
- Expand scope to STI governance
- Research on ethical, regulatory, and societal impacts of emerging technologies.
- Build capacity for international negotiations.
- Enhance funding and scale
- Increase pooled funding mechanisms.
- Support large-scale commercialisation of innovations.
What lies ahead?
- Scientific collaboration within BRICS has evolved significantly since 2015, transitioning from basic cooperation to a more structured and innovation-driven framework.
- However, challenges related to funding, institutional capacity, and coordination persist.
- As global scientific cooperation becomes increasingly fragmented, BRICS has the potential to emerge as a credible alternative platform for inclusive and equitable innovation.
- India, as the 2026 Chair, is well-positioned to lead reforms that make the framework more effective, agile, and impactful, thereby strengthening BRICS’ role in shaping the global STI landscape.
Reference
The Hindu| BRICS and Its Scientific Collaboration
