The most demanding test of India’s leadership of the Global South begins after the visiting delegations leave. Following the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, the question is how its ambitions will change the choices available to developing countries. Can they borrow on better terms, build industries and retain more of the value their economies generate? India’s influence will deepen if its diplomacy helps answer these questions. The changing world order is often described through the rise and decline of great powers.

Yet power also resides in less visible places: the lender deciding whether a project can proceed, the company controlling a critical component, or the institution defining an export standard. More countries may gain a place in diplomatic negotiations while these practical sources of dependence remain concentrated. India’s opportunity is to turn demands for a greater say into the capacity to finance, produce and negotiate on better terms. This requires a precise understanding of the Global South. It brings together countries with different political systems, resources and vulnerabilities. A small island state seeking protection against climate damage has different priorities from an oil exporter or a manufacturing economy.

Their common ground is a desire for greater influence over decisions affecting their development. Cooperation becomes possible when it addresses a specific shared constraint, without demanding agreement on every geopolitical dispute. The New Delhi Declaration offers an opening. It welcomed the establishment of the India Centre for BRICS Industrial Competencies and supported developing a solar photovoltaic cooperation roadmap. These commitments matter because the ability to manufacture, maintain and improve technology shapes a country’s bargaining position. They also require careful interpretation. An institution’s establishment is a starting point; a proposed roadmap still needs financing, participating firms and a route to implementation.

Clean energy reveals what is at stake. A country can install solar panels rapidly while depending on imported........

© The Statesman