The international BRICS summit to be held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on September 12 and 13 has brought a festive atmosphere across the capital. Important government buildings including Rail Bhavan and major thoroughfares have been decorated with colourful lights, official logos and attractive paintings. The summit, organised under the official theme of โBuilding for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainabilityโ, will bring together heads of state, diplomatic representatives and heads of global organisations from member countries.
'Operation Bricks Kavach' has been undertaken by the National Security Guard (NSG) for tight security arrangements for foreign guests. In this special security exercise, around 100 NSG commandos have completed a mock drill of quick action against terrorist threats at four sensitive locations in coordination with Delhi Police and other agencies. Rehearsals of the carcade are going on continuously on the routes from 9 hotels earmarked for foreign delegates to Bharat Mandapam. To ensure that common citizens do not face any inconvenience and VIP movement also runs without any hindrance, the Traffic Department has implemented 22 diversion points and special traffic regulation plans on more than 35 roads.
Changes have been made in administrative work in view of this convention. The Delhi High Court and all district courts will remain closed on September 11, while the lower courts will remain closed from September 11 to 13 as a holiday has also been declared on September 12. Along with this, the offices of the Central Government and MCD will remain closed on September 11, while essential services like hospitals, emergency and sanitation will remain fully functional.
The BRIC group, which began with a meeting of foreign ministers during the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2006, held its first summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia in 2009. It then became BRICS when South Africa joined in 2011. With the addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in January 2024 and Indonesia in January 2025, the organization has now become a powerful global platform of 11 full member countries.
This summit is likely to be a historic step in the field of space cooperation. Discussions will be held on setting up a joint space monitoring network by linking remote sensing and earth-observation satellites of all 11 member countries and on the permanent establishment of a 'BRICS Space Council'. This data sharing will speed up satellite mapping and relief work in India during natural disasters like floods or cyclones. This global framework will open up new business opportunities in the field of satellite imagery, launch services and geospatial intelligence for ISRO as well as for India's emerging private space-tech sector in member countries.
