• Union Minister of State for Labour & Employment Shobha Karandlaje led the Indian delegation at the BRICS Labour & Employment Ministers’ Meeting held in Brasilia on April 25. 

• The meeting was convened under the slogan “Strengthening the Cooperation of the Global South for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance”.

It adopted a declaration addressing two pivotal themes: 

i) Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Future of Work

ii) The Impacts of Climate Change on the World of Work and a Just Transition.

• The concept of a “just transition” is being redefined to ensure that no worker is left behind in this transformation process.

• The Declaration underlines the growing urgency of universal social protection in a rapidly changing world of work. The protection gap is increasingly widening, including for platform workers with no safety net and the 83 per cent of people living in climate-vulnerable countries lack basic coverage. 

The declaration commits BRICS nations to:

i) Promote inclusive AI policies that balance innovation with worker protection.

ii) Advance social dialogue to ensure fair climate transitions.

iii) Strengthen South-South cooperation on labour governance, digital inclusion, and green job creation.

What India highlighted at the meeting?

• Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje highlighted India’s human-centric approach to technological transformation. She also pointed out about India’s National Strategy for AI, which prioritises ethical adoption, workforce upskilling, and sectoral applications in agriculture, healthcare, and education. 

• The National Career Service (NCS) platform, powered by AI, was showcased as a model for bridging skill gaps and connecting millions to employment opportunities.

• On climate action, India emphasized its just transition framework, ensuring green growth translates into equitable job creation. 

• The Sector Skill Council for Green Jobs (SSCGJ) and Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) were highlighted as transformative initiatives driving skilling and sustainable practices. 

• India’s achievement of reduction in GHG emissions (2020–2019) and its net-zero by 2070 pledge reinforced its climate leadership. Collaborative efforts with the ILO to protect workers’ rights during this transition were also emphasized.

The BRICS nations

• The BRICS nations or Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa form the key pillars of south-south cooperation and are the representative voice of emerging markets and developing countries in the global forums such as the G20.

• The grouping has become a 11-nation body now with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia joining it as new members.

• The acronym BRIC was first used in 2001 by Goldman Sachs in their Global Economics Paper, ‘The World Needs Better Economic BRICs’ on the basis of econometric analyses projecting that the four economies would individually and collectively occupy far greater economic space and would be amongst the world’s largest economies in the next 50 years or so.

• The leaders of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries met for the first time in St. Petersburg, Russia, on the margins of the G8 Outreach Summit in July 2006. Shortly afterwards, in September 2006, the group was formalised as BRIC during the First BRIC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which met on the sidelines of the General Debate of the UN Assembly in New York City.

• After a series of high level meetings, the first BRIC summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia on June 16, 2009.

• It was agreed to expand BRIC into BRICS with the inclusion of South Africa at the BRIC Foreign Ministers meeting in New York in September 2010. Accordingly, South Africa attended the third BRICS Summit in Sanya on April 14, 2011. 

• In 2014, the BRICS nations established the New Development Bank (NDB). It has an initial authorised capital of $100 billion and initial subscribed capital of $50 billion of which $10 billion is paid-in capital.

Expansion of BRICS

• BRICS leaders have left the door open to future enlargement as dozens more countries voiced interest in joining a grouping.

• Around 40 countries had shown interest in joining BRICS out of which 23 formally applied for the membership.

• In August 2023, the top BRICS leaders at the grouping’s summit in Johannesburg approved a proposal to admit six countries, including Argentina, into the bloc with effect from January 1, 2024. However, Argentina’s President Javier Milei announced withdrawing his country from becoming a member of the BRICS.

• The decision to expand the bloc is seen as an effort to reshape global governance while putting the voices of the Global South as a key priority area to advance the overall development agenda.

• Brazil assumed the presidency of BRICS on January 1, 2025.

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store