FM Nirmala Sitharaman reviews BRICS Finance Track outcomes ahead of Mumbai meet
The Union Finance Ministry reviewed the outcomes of the BRICS Finance Track and preparations ahead of the BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting scheduled for 9-10 September in Mumbai
The review involved senior officials of the Department of Economic Affairs
The Mumbai FMCBG meeting is among the final high-level engagements of India's year-long BRICS chairship before the 18th BRICS Summit
India's BRICS Finance Track for 2026 has been organised around the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability"
The 18th BRICS Summit itself is scheduled for 12-13 September 2026 in New Delhi, hosted at Bharat Mandapam
BRICS — Origin, Composition, and India's 2026 Chairship
BRICS is a grouping of major emerging economies that coordinates positions on global economic governance, financial architecture reform, and South-South cooperation, operating outside traditional Western-led institutions like the G7.
The Mumbai FMCBG meeting is a Finance Track event under India's ongoing BRICS chairship, feeding directly into the 18th Summit that India is hosting immediately afterward.
BRICS Finance Track and the New Development Bank (NDB)
The "Finance Track" is the strand of BRICS cooperation dealing with macroeconomic coordination, financial regulation, and development finance, running in parallel to the political/security "Sherpa Track," and culminates each year in a Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting.
Key Details
- The New Development Bank (NDB), BRICS's flagship financial institution, was established in 2015 at the Fortaleza Summit to fund infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging and developing economies; it is headquartered in Shanghai
- The NDB has approved over 120 projects across sectors including clean energy, transport, water/sanitation, and digital infrastructure
- The NDB is distinct from the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), a separate BRICS mechanism (also set up in 2014-15) that provides short-term liquidity support to members facing balance-of-payments pressures, similar in function to a mini-IMF safety net among BRICS states
- The Finance Track discusses themes such as local-currency trade settlement, financial market development, and NDB membership expansion (with countries such as Colombia and Uzbekistan having joined the NDB as members in 2025)
The FMCBG meeting in Mumbai is the annual capstone event of the BRICS Finance Track, where finance ministers and central bank governors finalise the Track's work for the year — including matters like NDB expansion and financial cooperation — before the political leaders' summit.
India's BRICS Chairship 2026 — Institutional Significance
Hosting the BRICS Summit and its associated ministerial tracks is a marker of India's diplomatic weight within South-South and multilateral economic forums, and reflects India's approach of engaging simultaneously with Western-led (G20, G7 outreach) and non-Western (BRICS, SCO) groupings.
The Finance Ministry's review of Finance Track outcomes is direct preparatory work for India's responsibilities as the 2026 BRICS chair, ensuring the ministerial-level financial agenda is settled before leaders convene in New Delhi.
- BRICS FMCBG meeting: 9-10 September 2026, Mumbai
- 18th BRICS Summit: 12-13 September 2026, Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi
- India's 2026 BRICS Finance Track theme: "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability"
- BRICS founded: 2009 (as BRIC); South Africa joined 2010
- Current full BRICS membership: 11 countries (with 2024-25 expansion adding Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Indonesia)
- New Development Bank (NDB): established 2015, headquartered in Shanghai
- India's BRICS chairship in 2026 is its fourth (after 2012, 2016, and 2021)