India's Global South Leadership

India continues to position itself as the principal interlocutor for the Global South, building on the legacy of its 2023 G20 presidency (during which the African Union was admitted as a permanent G20 member). Its 2026 BRICS chairship is being explicitly framed around inclusive development, technology access and representing developing-nation interests in global decision-making — even as BRICS itself faces criticism for lacking a permanent secretariat and strong institutional machinery, which slows consensus and implementation. How India threads BRICS's China/Russia-driven de-dollarisation push against its own US ties, while genuinely delivering for smaller Global South economies, will be one of the year's key diplomatic tests.