" The term'BRICS'is an acronym made from the initials of the five countries of Brazil, Russia,
India, China and South Africa. The concept was originally coined in 2001 as' BRIC'in the
context of an economic report. Eight years later, the first BRIC Summit, attended by the
leaders of the four countries, was held in Yekaterinburg (Russia). Having been joined by
South Africa in 2011, the BRICS evolved from an idea drawn from an economic viewpoint to
their later establishment as a'dialogue and cooperation platform'in political terms. Initially …

The process of liberalisation and globalisation necessitated intensive cooperation among
different countries, regions and economies. Regional blocks started emerging towards the
end of the twentieth century, to facilitate crossborder trade and development. While most of
these integrations are based on the geographical proximity, BRICS stands distinct by
covering five States-Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which are located in
different continents. BRICS integration is amongst those new economies that are fast …