BRICS

Why in news?

• The Indian Prime Minister is in South Africa for the 15th BRICS Summit to be held in Johannesburg.

About BRICS:

• BRICS is an acronym for the informal grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
• The BRICS mechanism aims to promote peace, security, development and cooperation towards establishing a fair and equitable world.
• BRICS accounts for 41% of the world’s population, 30% of the land area, 24% of global GDP and 16% of international trade.
• It has its headquarters at the BRICS tower in Shanghai, China.

About New Development Bank:

• The New Development Bank (NDB) is a multilateral development bank (MDB) established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS)
• It was established in 2014, at the 6th BRICS Summit at Fortaleza, Brazil.
• The prime objective of NDB is financing infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries.
• It is headquartered in Shanghai, China.

Voting:

• Unlike the World Bank and IMF, which assign votes based on capital share, in the New Development Bank each participant country will be assigned one vote, and none of the countries will have veto power.

Add on:

• In 2018, the NDB received observer status in the United Nations General Assembly, establishing a firm basis for active and fruitful cooperation with the UN.
• Bank’s Articles of Agreement specify that all members of the United Nations could be members of the bank, however the share of the BRICS nations can never be less than 55% of voting power.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements regarding ‘New Development Bank’:

1. It has observer status in the United Nations General Assembly

2. Each participant country has one vote

3. It is formed under ASEAN

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 3 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1,2 and 3

Answer