Uzbekistan has become the 10th member and shareholder of the New Development Bank (NDB) after ratifying the NDB Articles of Agreement (AoA). This marks the first entry of a Central Asian nation into the NDB.
Uzbekistan has become the 10th member and shareholder of the New Development Bank (NDB) after ratifying the NDB Articles of Agreement (AoA). This marks the first entry of a Central Asian nation into the NDB.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has concluded the 13th BRICS Urbanisation Forum at Sushma Swaraj Bhavan in New Delhi. Held under the BRICS Chairship of India 2026, the forum was themed "Cities for People: BRICS Cooperation for Inclusive and Resilient Urban Futures".
The event resulted in the adoption of a 'Ministerial Declaration' and the proposal for a 'BRICS Urban Research and Knowledge Network' to strengthen urban cooperation among member nations. Two publications, "India's Urban Transformation: Stories of Change" and "Cities for People: Urban Stories from BRICS Nations", were also showcased.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has chaired the 16th BRICS Agriculture Ministers' Meeting in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Held under India’s 2026 BRICS Chairship, this was the first-ever BRICS agricultural summit to include both Member and Partner Countries.
The BRICS Agriculture Working Group identified 4 priorities: Food Security and Nutrition (focusing on smallholder farmers, women, and youth), Agricultural Trade, Regenerative Farming (promoting climate-resilient practices), and Investment and Innovation.
The summit concluded with the adoption of the ‘Indore Declaration’, which emphasises a farmer-centric global food system and rejects unilateral trade restrictions that threaten food security.
To implement the declaration, the member nations established 5 institutional networks: the BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence on Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture (coordinated by the ICAR-Indian Institute of Farming System Research (IIFSR), Modipuram), Network on Digital Agriculture (coordinated by the IIT Delhi), BRICS Agro-Inputs, Genetic Resources, and Information Network (BRICS AGRIN Framework), Knowledge-to-Action Hub (by strengthening the BRICS Agricultural Research Platform (BARP)), and the Global Forum on Farmers' Rights in Seed Systems.
The Observer Research Foundation (ORF), in partnership with the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), has hosted the inaugural ‘BRICS Academic Forum’ in New Delhi. The event is a key Track II initiative under the Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) Chairship of India for 2026. The forum serves as an advisory platform for diplomacy and summit preparation to generate policy recommendations for the 18th BRICS Summit. The summit is themed “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.
Discussions are based on 4 core pillars—Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability—aligning with the priorities of the chairship. The initiative involves 13 international speakers and a series of meetings held in India and abroad to develop recommendations for the leaders.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has hosted the inaugural BRICS Health Working Group (HWG) meeting virtually in New Delhi. The session was held under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.
The meeting was chaired by Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava and saw participation from delegates representing 9 nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, UAE, and Indonesia. During the event, India proposed the “BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyles” as a key priority to improve public health outcomes among the member states.