Punjab Drug Row: RP Singh, Shashivir Sharma, Gautam Seth

A panel of experts and journalists discuss the contemporary relevance of the expanded BRICS grouping and India's critical strategic role ahead of the summit in New Delhi. The debate addresses opposition questions regarding the utility of BRICS in an evolving multipolar world. Panelists emphasize that India acts as a bridge builder, maintaining essential partnerships with the United States while engaging powers like China and Russia.

Key discussion points focus on the necessity of moving beyond declarations to deliver tangible economic outcomes, jobs, and financial solutions like local currency arrangements. The panelists examine the challenge of securing a consensus declaration among member nations with diverse geopolitical interests, resisting anti-Western characterizations, and preventing single-country dominance. They highlight that multilateral forums provide vital diplomatic bandwidth to navigate bilateral tensions and hedge against shifts in the global economic order.