India's Balancing Act: Navigating BRICS Summit Amidst Global Tensions

Hosted by India, the 18th BRICS summit is scheduled to be held at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on September 1. The main objective of the conference, themed "Building Strength, Innovation, Cooperation and Stability," is to promote practical cooperation. However, in this expanded organisation, where there are superpowers like Russia and China on one side, the eyes of the West are fixed on India's stance. The biggest question before India is whether it can balance its relations with Russia and China without losing the trust of the West. Russia has been India's historical and most trusted strategic partner. This relationship is not limited to the memories of the Cold War, but is currently the backbone of India's energy security and defence supplies. According to India Today, India buys about 40% of its total crude oil ($2 out of every 5 dollars) from Russia on the economic front. Both countries have now developed a "bilateral ruble-rule" payment system to avoid Western sanctions. Moscow now has a "almost 96%" payment system in place.