We face hard options on the BRICS architecture

India must resist Beijing's attempts to use this platform to advance its geopolitical agenda as the world turns increasingly bipolar. New Delhi should retain its space to manoeuvre

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The latest summit of the BRICS group of countries starts on Tuesday in South Africa, the only add-on member of what began as a quartet of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which formed the original 'BRIC' coined by Goldman Sachs two decades ago by clubbing together hot emerging markets for global investors to bet on. Such summitry has been a regular feature since 2009, and its most notable achievement has been the Shanghai-based New Development Bank set up by the group as a multilateral lender, an alternative to the West-led World Bank and International Monetary Fund. What's new is the context: a geopolitical upheaval is underway in the post-Ukraine-war world. Last year's meeting, held online, was too soon after that war's eruption to hake others sit up, though a reserve currency was proposed. This time, Western capitals are watching how BRICS may try to enlarge its role and itself. More than 20 countries are reportedly keen to join the club amid signs of Beijing eyeing it as a platform to exert greater influence across the globe. As tha