India’s Foreign Trade within BRICS and its Implications

The BRICS group is an important coalition of five countries that play a significant role in global economic cooperation and various political matters. The group’s strategic trade and investment policies, along with its collaborative efforts, contribute to stable economic growth and a competitive standing in the global economy. This paper focuses on India’s intra-trade relationships with the other BRICS countries ( Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa, shortly BRCS ), investigating trade sensitivity. Using three key trade indices — the Symmetric Revealed Comparative Advantage (SRCA), Trade Intensity (TII) and Trade Complementarity (TCI) indices — we identified a significant positive trade relationship between India and the other BRICS countries. Despite India’s uncompetitive position in certain products in the global market, it enjoys a comparative advantage in these products within the BRICS group. Both the TII and TCI indices demonstrate the significant importance of Indian exports to the other BRICS countries (BRCS).