Scientific Collaborations in BRICS

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