India assumes BRICS Chairmanship from Russia for 2016

India has assumed BRICS Chairmanship from the Russian Federation for the year 2016. BRICS is an association of five countries viz. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
On this occasion, Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj formally unveiled the BRICS Logo for the duration of India’s BRICS Chairmanship and also launched website.
Logo: Lotus with colours from all the five members and traditional namaste at the centre.
Core theme: Building responsive, inclusive and collective solution for the grouping.
India has assumed BRICS Chairmanship for second time and had hosted the  BRICS Summit in 2012 for first time in New Dehli. The 7th BRICS Summit was held in the Russian city of Ufa in July 2015.
Key facts

• India will host the 8th BRICS Summit would be organized on 15-16 October 2016 in Goa.
• It will host over fifty meetings and events, at the Ministerial, Working Groups, Senior Officials, Technical and Track-II levels.
• Building responsive, inclusive and collective solutions is the core-theme for the BRICS Chairmanship.
• The special focus will be on institution-building, implementing past commitments and exploring innovative solutions in a spirit of continuity with consolidation.

About BRICS

• BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
• Established: 2009. Originally it was known as BRIC before the inclusion of South Africa in 2011.
• First Summit: The first formal summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
• The BRICS members are all developing or newly industrialised countries and all five are G-20 members.
• They are distinguished by their large, fast-growing economies and significant influence on regional and global affairs.

Month: Current Affairs - March, 2016