UPSC Key—1 September, 2023: Special session of Parliament, Nuclear Energy, Agriculture and GDP

Govt calls special session of Parliament later this month, keeps all guessing

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story– IN A surprise announcement Thursday, the government said a special session of Parliament was being convened from September 18 to September 22. It gave no reason for calling the session which would have five sittings. While sources said the agenda for the session is not clear yet, there is speculation in the BJP and official circles that the Modi government could go for a big-ticket move like initiating the process for ushering in simultaneous elections in the country or the Women’s Reservation Bill.

• What is ‘session’ of the Parliament?

• Who summons each House of Parliament to meet?

• There are usually three parliament sessions in a year, what are they?

• The government has convened a special session of Parliament for five days between 18-22 September 2023-why?

• What is special session of Parliament?

• Do You Know-This special session of Parliament will also set the tone for the forthcoming P20 summit – a meeting of Parliamentary Speakers of G20 countries – which is to be held in New Delhi in October. Speakers from more than 30 countries have already confirmed their participation at the congregation. The Modi government last convened a special session of Parliament on June 30, 2017 to mark the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). A special sitting was convened on November 26, 2015 to pay tribute to the Constitution and Dr B R Ambedkar.
In 2002, the then BJP-led NDA government got the Prevention of Terrorism Bill passed at a joint sitting of the two Houses on March 26 since the ruling alliance did not have the majority to get it cleared in Rajya Sabha. A midnight sitting was called on August 9, 1992, for the 50th anniversary of the ‘Quit India Movement’.

• For Your Information-The period spanning between the prorogation of a House and its reassembly in a new session is called ‘recess’.

• A sitting of Parliament can be terminated by adjournment or adjournment sine die-Know the difference between adjournment or adjournment sine die

• Prorogation and dissolution-Compare and Contrast

• What is ‘Quorum’?

• Which languages are permitted for parliamentary business?

• Know the devices of parliamentary proceedings like question hour, zero hour etc.

• What is meant by motion in Parliament?

• What is the meaning of resolution in Parliament?

• Substantive, Substitute and Subsidiary Motion-Compare and Contrast

• Know these terms-Closure Motion, Privilege Motion, Calling Attention Motion, Adjournment Motion, No-Confidence Motion, Motion of Thanks etc.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: A look at how and when Parliament is convened

Services give fillip to growth, GDP up 7.8% in April-June

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- INDIA’S REAL Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rose to a four-quarter high of 7.8 per cent in April-June, mainly due to a pickup in agriculture and services especially financial, real estate and professional services and contact-intensive services of trade, hotel and transportation, data released by the National Statistical Office on Thursday showed. Manufacturing and construction sectors, however, recorded slower-than-expected growth rates.

• What is the role of agriculture in gross domestic product?

• Agriculture and GDP-Connect the dots

• What do you understand by the Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP)?

• How the Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is calculated?

• What is the difference between real GDP and nominal GDP?

• For Your Information-Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran said India’s quarterly GDP growth is way higher than the GDP print of many other economies and that the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are comfortable in holding on to their FY24 GDP growth forecast of 6.5 per cent. He said the services sector has been the main driver of growth along with an uptick in capital formation. He said the government’s capital expenditure push is “paying off” and is crowding in private investment. According to the latest data, five of the eight key sectors registered over 5 per cent growth in April-June, with two sectors recording a higher growth rate than the year-ago period — ‘financial, real estate and professional services’ at 12.2 per cent as against 8.5 per cent in the year-ago period, and ‘agriculture, forestry and fishing’ at 3.5 per cent as against 2.4 per cent.
Manufacturing grew at 4.7 per cent in April-June 2023 as against 6.1 per cent in April-June 2022, while mining and quarrying grew at 5.8 per cent, lower than 9.5 per cent a year ago. Construction sector grew at 7.9 per cent in April-June this year as against 16 per cent growth in the corresponding period last year.
Economists pointed out that the manufacturing sector’s growth is skewed more towards organised sector’s growth. “Manufacturing growth at 4.7% should be viewed more from the point of view of lower performance of the unorganised sector as profit growth and hence value addition has been high for the corporate sector which gets included here. The push is provided by the services sector where both trade, transport etc. and finance and real estate have grown by 9.2% and 12.2% in high base growth rates. The relentless uptick in PMIs gets reflected here where pent up demand has kept the mood up. This will tend to taper down in the coming quarters,” Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, Bank of Baroda, said.

• Why the manufacturing sector’s growth is skewed more towards organised sector’s growth?

• What is Service Sector?

• What are examples of service sector?

• What are other Economic sector?

• What National Statistical Office (NSO) said regarding Service sector?

• What is National Statistical Office (NSO)?

• What is the main function of National Statistical Office (NSO)

• What are the Eight core sector industries in the Indian Economy?

• What is the weight/weightage of the different core sectors in the Index of Industrial Production?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: Reading GDP growth Data

GOVT & POLITICS

PM tweets in Sanskrit, asks users to follow suit

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies I: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- To mark the World Sanskrit Day on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked people to share a sentence in Sanskrit on social media, following which several Union ministers tweeted in the language. “Greetings on World Sanskrit Day. I laud all those who are passionate about it. India has a very special relation with Sanskrit. To celebrate this great language, I urge you all to share one sentence in Sanskrit,” the Prime Minister tweeted.

• World Sanskrit Day-Know more in detail

• When Is World Sanskrit Day Celebrated?

• Why Is the World Sanskrit Day Celebrated?

• For Your Information-The celebration of World Sanskrit Day aims to foster the promotion of Sanskrit, recognised as the world’s oldest language. Additionally, this occasion serves as a commemoration of the birth anniversary of Pāṇini, a renowned scholar and grammarian in the field of Sanskrit. Sanskrit is commonly referred to as Dev Vani, which translates to “the language of the Gods.” The Sanskrit language holds considerable importance within the context of Hinduism, as it serves as the medium of expression for numerous Hindu writings such as the Vedas, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita. The first World Sanskrit Day was celebrated in 1969. The day is marked on the last poornima (full moon) of the Hindu calendar month of Shravan, with an aim to raise awareness about the language used by scholars and saints in ancient India.

• Panini, the ‘father of linguistics’-Know more about him

• Is Sanskrit considered one of the classical languages?

• What are the classical languages of India?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍If Sanskrit isn’t made popular in India, it is likely to become an endangered language in its birth country

EXPRESS NETWORK

Driest August, but near normal rainfall likely in September, says IMD

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Main Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment and Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- WHILE THIS was the driest August since 1901, from when rainfall records are available, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday that rainfall is likely to be near normal in September, with a revival of monsoon conditions likely from Saturday. The country recorded 162.7 mm of rainfall in August, a deficit of 36 per cent for the month. While normal rainfall for August is pegged at 254.9 mm, the lowest so far (since 1901) was 191.2 mm in 2005. The country recorded 162.7 mm of rainfall in August, a deficit of 36 per cent for the month. While normal rainfall for August is pegged at 254.9 mm, the lowest so far (since 1901) was 191.2 mm in 2005.

• ‘The country recorded 162.7 mm of rainfall in August, a deficit of 36 per cent for the month’-Why deficit?

• For Your Information-August is the second rainiest month in India, after July. In a normal year, August sees about 255 mm rainfall over the country, accounting for about 22 per cent of the annual rainfall of 1,160 mm. July, the rainiest month, accounts for a little over 24 per cent.
But this August is set to go down as the driest since 1901, from when rainfall records of the India Meteorological Department are available. By Tuesday morning, the country as a whole had received only 160 mm of rainfall this month. That means a deficit of about 33 per cent for the month. Never has the country received less than 190 mm of rainfall in August (see accompanying charts). States like Gujarat and Kerala have had a deficit of nearly 90 per cent for the month so far. Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh also have more than 50 per cent deficiency. Tamil Nadu, which receives a bulk of its rainfall during the winter months, has a shortfall of about 23 per cent. “The influence of El Nino is very clearly visible now. We were lucky to have good rainfall in July, otherwise we would have been staring at a very difficult situation,” M Rajeevan, former Secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said.

• What is normal rainfall in India?

• What is the arrival and departure of monsoon?

• What is the all India monthly and seasonal rainfall?

• What do we mean by long period average (LPA) of rainfall?

• What is large excess, excess, normal, deficient, large deficient rainfall?

• What is meant by the “onset of the monsoon”?

• What are these conditions, which determine the onset of monsoon?

• For Your Information-IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra pointed to El Nino conditions, a warming of equatorial Pacific Ocean waters that is associated with suppression of rainfall, as a major factor for deficit rain in August. “El Nino was one of the most important factors to have caused deficient rainfall activity in August. In addition to that, there are many other factors – the Madden Julian Oscillation was unfavourable, low-pressure systems did not form (there were only nine low pressure system days against a normal of around 16.3 days in August), and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) was neutral,” he said. The Madden Julian Oscillation refers to an eastward moving system of clouds and wind along the equator, which can influence rainfall depending on whether it is in an active or weak phase. While weak to moderate El Nino conditions are prevailing over the Pacific Ocean, it is expected to strengthen and extend into the early part of next year, Mohapatra said.
An IOD that is now positive, which is marked by warming over the western Indian Ocean and cooling over the eastern Indian Ocean, could help counter the impact of El Nino conditions in September.

• What are the conditions which causes El Niño?

• EL Nino Southern Oscillation or ENSO impact on Monsoon?

• How El Niño Impacts-Know Sector and region wise

• Do You Know-El Nino refers to the unusual warming of the equatorial Pacific Ocean off the coast of northwest South America, which influences weather events across the world. Over India, it has the effect of suppressing the monsoon rainfall. A similar phenomenon in the Indian Ocean, called the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), was expected to turn favourable for the monsoon rainfall this year, but did not have much impact, Rajeevan said.
“It is only now that the IOD is getting into a positive phase. But the relationship of the IOD with the Indian monsoon is not as well established as El Nino’s. It is futile to expect that IOD would compensate for El Nino. In fact, there is some evidence to even suggest that it is the monsoon that affects the IOD, and not the other way. This is not yet a settled question,” Rajeevan said. The only regions that received good rainfall in August were east and northeast India. Incidentally, these parts had remained significantly dry in June and July, showing a deficit of 15 per cent and 32 per cent in those respective months. August rainfall brought welcome relief in this region, but even though the monthly rainfall in most of these states has been more than normal, it has not been sufficient to wipe off the seasonal deficit. “The impacts of El Nino unfold in such a manner that rainfall over almost the entire country, barring the east and northeast, is suppressed. And that is exactly what we have seen in August. Beyond El Nino, there are some other systems that can also bring about short spells of rain. Many of these were favourable during July, but unfortunately, none in August. For example, except for one feeble low-pressure event that brought some rains over Madhya Pradesh, there was a complete absence of low-pressure systems in August,” D Sivananda Pai, a senior scientist with IMD, said. Both Rajeevan and Pai said there were chances of a revival of the monsoon in the first or second week of September. “A strengthening of monsoon activity is expected around the first week of September and it is likely to last for a week or 10 days, but it is uncertain how much rainfall this will result in. As of now, under the influence of El Nino, September is expected to be deficient too,” Rajeevan said.

• But why have El Niño conditions continued for three years?

• What is Inter Tropical Convergence Zone?

• Impact of Monsoons on Life in India-Economical, Cultural and Social

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍El Nino and the monsoon

📍Express View: Monsoon worries

📍Staring at driest-ever August: Breaking down El Nino impact on the monsoon

Largest indigenously developed N-plant unit in Gujarat starts ops at full capacity

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance and General Science

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The third unit of the indigenously developed 700-megawatt electric (MWe) nuclear power reactor at the Kakrapar Atomic Power Project (KAPP3) in Gujarat has commenced operations at full capacity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on social media platform X, “India achieves another milestone. The largest indigenous 700 MWe Kakrapar Nuclear Power Plant Unit-3 in Gujarat starts operations at full capacity. Congratulations to our scientists and engineers.”

• Why is this achievement significant?

• What does achieving criticality mean?

• Do You Know-The first ‘pour of concrete’ for laying the foundation of KAPP-3 happened in November 2010 and this unit was originally expected to be commissioned in 2015. State-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), which operates the bulk of India’s nuclear power fleet, had awarded the reactor building contract of both KAPP Unit 3 and 4 to Larsen & Toubro at an original contract value of Rs 844 crore. The original cost of two 700 MWe units was pegged at Rs 11,500 crore and the tariff per unit was originally calculated at Rs 2.80 per unit (kWh) at 2010 prices (roughly a cost of about Rs 8 crore per MWe). The costing is expected to have seen some escalation, given the project delays. The capital investment for these nuclear power projects is being funded with a debt-to-equity ratio of 70:30, with the equity part of NPCIL being funded from internal resources and through budgetary support. In terms of safety features, the PHWR technology scores high, with the biggest advantage of the PHWR design being the use of thin walled pressure tubes instead of large pressure vessels used in pressure vessel type reactors. This results in a distribution of pressure boundaries to a large number of small diameter pressure tubes and thereby lowers the severity of the consequence of an accidental rupture of the pressure boundary than in a pressure vessel type reactor.

• Kakrapar Atomic Power Project (KAPP3)-Know in detail

• What is the meaning of passive heat removal system?

• For Your Information-In India’s civilian nuclear programme, this is seen as a landmark event, given that KAPP-3 is the country’s first 700 MWe unit and the biggest indigenously developed variant of the Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR). The PHWRs, which use natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as moderator, constitute the mainstay of India’s nuclear power fleet. Till now, the biggest reactor of indigenous design was the 540 MWe PHWR, two of which have been deployed in Tarapur, Maharashtra. For India, the operationalisation of its first 700MWe reactor is a significant scale up in technology, both in terms of the optimisation of its PHWR design — the new 700MWe unit addresses the excess thermal margins (thermal margin refers to the extent to which the operating temperature of the reactor is below its maximum operating temperature) — and also marks an improvement in the economies-of-scale, without significant design changes to the 540 MWe reactor.
Four units of the 700MWe reactor are being constructed at Kakrapar (KAPP-3 and 4) and Rawatbhata (RAPS-7 and 8) site in Rajasthan currently. The 700MWe reactors are slated to be backbone of a new fleet of 12 reactors that the NDA government accorded administrative approval and financial sanction in 2017 and that are to be set up in fleet mode.
As India works to ramp up its existing nuclear power capacity of 7,480 MWe to 22,480 MWe by 2031, the 700MWe capacity would constitute the biggest component of this expansion plan. Currently, nuclear power capacity constitutes around 2 per cent of the total installed capacity of 4,17,668 MW. Significantly, as India’s civilian nuclear sector gears up to its next frontier — building a 900 MWe Pressurised Water Reactors (PWRs) of indigenous design – the experience of executing the larger 700MWe reactor design would come in handy, especially with respect to the improved capability of making large-size pressure vessels, alongside India’s own isotope enrichment plants being developed to supply a part of the required enriched uranium fuel to power these new generation reactors over the next decade or so, according to DAE officials.

• What is Nuclear Energy?

• Why do we need nuclear energy?

• Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor, Light Water Reactor and Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor-Compare and contrast

• What is Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor?

• A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions-True or False?

• How does a nuclear reactor work?

• What are the Components of a nuclear reactor?

• What are the types of nuclear reactor?

• What is the current Status of Nuclear Energy and Nuclear power plants in India?

• Map Work-Mark Nuclear power plants

• Issues and Challenges with Kakrapar Atomic Power Project-Brainstorm

• The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister through a Presidential Order-True or False?

• What are the milestones in the evolution of India’s PHWR technology?

• For Your Information-PHWR technology started in India in the late 1960s with the construction of the first 220 MWe reactor, Rajasthan Atomic Power Station, RAPS-1 with a design similar to that of the Douglas Point reactor in Canada, under the joint Indo-Canadian nuclear co-operation. Canada supplied all the main equipment for this first unit, while India retained responsibility for construction, installation, and commissioning.
For the second unit (RAPS-2), import content was reduced considerably, and indigenisation was undertaken for major equipment. Following the withdrawal of Canadian support in 1974 after Pokhran-1, Indian nuclear engineers completed the construction, and the plant was made operational with a majority of components being made in India.
From the third PHWR unit (Madras Atomic Power Station, MAPS-1) onward, the evolution and indigenisation of the design began. The first two units of PHWR using indigenously developed standardised 220 MWe design were set up at the Narora Atomic Power Station.
This standardised and optimised design had several new safety systems that had been incorporated in five more twin-unit atomic power stations with a capacity of twin 220 MWe units located at Kakrapar, Kaiga, and Rawatbhata.
To realise economies of scale, the design of 540 MWe PHWR was subsequently developed, and two such units were built at Tarapur. Further optimisations were carried out when the upgrade to 700 MWe capacity was undertaken, with KAPP-3 the first unit of this kind.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: What is the significance of Kakrapar-3?

THE WORLD

After India, now Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan reject China’s latest map

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: India and its neighbourhood- relations.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have rejected as baseless a map released by China that denotes its claims to sovereignty including in the South China Sea and which Beijing said on Thursday should be viewed rationally and objectively.

• China released the 2023 edition of its “standard map” recently-What exactly is there in the Map?

• How India, Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam reacted?

• For Your Information-China released the 2023 edition of its “standard map”, staking a claim over Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin region, Taiwan and the disputed South China Sea, news agency PTI reported. The news agency referred to a tweet by the state-run Global Times, which stated, “This map is compiled based on the drawing method of national boundaries of China and various countries in the world.” The map displayed by the Global Times showed Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as South Tibet, and Aksai Chin occupied by it in the 1962 war, PTI reported. The map also incorporated Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory though the island sees itself as sovereign nation, and the nine-dash line, claiming a large part of the South China Sea, according to the news agency.

• How India responded?

• Map Work-Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam

• What is China’s stand?

• India and China-What’s the source of tension?

• What are the Causes of the India-China Conflict?

• Is there any Border Dispute Settlement Mechanisms between the two?

• How are relations between China and India currently?

• ‘China-India relations have been worse over recent months. Along their contentious border in the Himalayan area, the two nations are at odds with one another’-Discuss

• “Amid tensions between China and India, Pakistan’s political and economic turmoil, and the resurgence of great power competition, strategic stability in Asia is getting harder to manage”-Do you agree?

• Do You Know-China released the map of its famous U-shaped line covering about 90% of the South China Sea, a source of many of the disputes in one of the world’s most contested waterways, where more than $3 trillion of trade passes each year. The Philippines called on China on Thursday “to act responsibly and abide by its obligations” under international law and a 2016 arbitral ruling that had declared the line had no legal grounds. Malaysia said it had filed a diplomatic protest over the map.
China says the line is based on its historic maps. It was not immediately clear whether the latest map denotes any new claim to territory. China’s U-shaped line loops as far as 1,500 km (932 miles) south of its Hainan island and cuts into the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. “This latest attempt to legitimise China’s purported sovereignty and jurisdiction over Philippine features and maritime zones has no basis under international law,” the Philippine Foreign Ministry said. Its Malaysian counterpart in a statement said the new map holds no binding authority over Malaysia, which “also views the South China Sea as a complex and sensitive matter”. The map was different to a narrower version submitted by China to the United Nations in 2009 of the South China Sea that included its so-called “nine-dash line”.
The latest map was of a broader geographical area and had a line with 10 dashes that included democratically governed Taiwan, similar to a 1948 map of China. China also published a map with a 10th dash in 2013.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Understanding Sino-Indian border issues: An analysis of incidents reported in the Indian media

EXPLAINED

A bigger BRICS. Better too?

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies II:  Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa took a call last week to expand the BRICS grouping from five countries to 11.

The Johannesburg declaration, issued after the summit, said Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had been invited to become full members from January 1, 2024.

• BRICS-Know in detail

• Evolution of BRICS-Know in Detail

• Evolution of BRICS from Russia-China (RC) to Russia-India-China (RIC) to Brazil- Russia-India-China (BRIC) to Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS)

• For Your Information-BRICS brings together five of the largest developing countries of the world, representing around 41 per cent of the global population, around 24 per cent of the global GDP, and around 16 per cent of global trade.
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, the paper projected that the four economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China would be among the world’s largest economies in the next 50 years or so.
As a formal grouping, BRIC started after the meeting of the leaders of Russia, India and China in St. Petersburg on the margins of the G8 Outreach Summit in 2006. The grouping was formalised during the first meeting of BRIC Foreign Ministers on the margins of the UNGA in New York in 2006.
The first BRIC Summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. It was decided to include South Africa at the BRIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New York in 2010, and accordingly, South Africa attended the 3rd BRICS Summit in Sanya, China, in 2011.

• What is the Fortaleza Declaration?

• Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Economy-Key Features

• RIC (Russia-India-China) out of BRICS-Significance and Stature in World Politics?

• Why BRICS Matters?

• Map Work-Saudi Arabia, Iran, UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia and Argentina

• What is Johannesburg Declaration?

• How the decision on the new members was agreed upon?

• What are the parameters utilised for the induction of new members into the BRICS Grouping?

• What is the significance of the 15th BRICS summit?

• What are the potential benefits or advantages for India in this context?

• What BRICS expansion means for India?

• For Your Information-The Johannesburg declaration said that BRICS countries had reached a consensus on the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the expansion process, but these have not been made public. Indian officials said New Delhi took the lead in forging consensus on membership criteria and selection of new members. New Delhi’s efforts were guided by its objective to incorporate Strategic Partners as new members. India has strategic partnerships with four of the new six members — Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran and Egypt. By growing to a size of 11 members, BRICS has become larger than ASEAN (10 members) and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (9). But while many portrayed the new expanded grouping as an alternative to western blocs like the G7, Delhi doesn’t view this as an “anti-West” grouping.
In fact, France, one of the P-5 (permanent members of the UN Security Council) countries which is also a member of G7, is learnt to have expressed interest in engaging with the BRICS more actively. Whether Paris becomes a member is a question to be agreed through consensus.
The new entrants are emerging economies with the potential to scale up. Many belong to the Global South or the developing countries, and want to hedge their bets in the increasingly polarised geopolitical landscape.
From Latin America, despite Brazil’s reluctance, regional rival Argentina was selected as a new member. With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of approximately US$610 billion, Argentina is one of the largest economies in Latin America.
From Africa, Ethiopia and Egypt made the cut, over Nigeria, Algeria and Senegal.
According to the World Bank, Ethiopia is the second most populous nation in Africa after Nigeria, and one of the fastest-growing economies in the region, with an estimated 6.4% growth in FY 2021/22.
Egypt occupies a crucial geo-strategic location — 12 per cent of global trade passes through the Suez Canal — and is a key player in the region. An important economic powerhouse, it is an emerging economy with reforms brought in by the government led by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
But both Argentina and Egypt have strong economic dependency ties with China.
Early this month, Beijing lent a helping hand to Argentina so that it could avert a default with the International Monetary Fund for the second time in 30 days. The cash-strapped country tapped almost $3 billion of a Beijing currency swap line to pay the multilateral lender.
China’s bilateral trade with Egypt is currently at $15 billion, double that of India’s $7.26 billion in 2021-22. Sisi has been wooing Chinese investments, and has travelled to China seven times in the past eight years. Ethiopia, a Christian-dominated country, is seen as a careful balancer of both the US and China.

• The geopolitics of BRICS looks quite different today-how?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍The 360° UPSC Debate | Is BRICS or its expansion relevant?

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