BRICS bank to get going in two years

• India to head for 6 yrs, followed by Brazil and Russia for 5yrs each
• BRICS nations to have a bigger say in world monetary which is dominated by World Bank and IMF

Fortaleza: India will have the Presidency of the BRICS' $100Bn New Development Bank for six years with headquarters in China that will become operational in about two years, a major step for reshaping the international financial system dominated by the West.

India's presidency will be followed by Brazil and Russia who will have five years term each under an agreement reached after intense negotiations among the five country-grouping BRICS -Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The announcement about the bank and a USD $100Bn Currency Reserve Arrangement (CRA) that will help countries to deal with short-term liquidity pressures, was made last night at the conclusion of the VIth BRICS Summit here attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Xi Jinping of China, Jacob Zuma of South Africa and Dilma Rousseff of Brazil.

For CRA, China will contribute maximum at $41Bn followed by India, Russia, Brazil with $18Bn each and South Africa with $5Bn to have a positive precautionary effect, help countries forestall short-term liquidity pressures, promote further BRICS cooperation as also strengthen the global financial safety net.

Seen as first major achievement of the BRICS countries since they got together in 2009 to press for a bigger say in the world monetary order, created by the West and centered on the IMF and the World Bank, the setting up of the bank was prompted to seek coordinated action following an exodus of capital from emerging markets in view of the global meltdown Welcoming the Summit decision, Modi said, "The vision of a New Development Bank, at the Delhi Summit two years ago, has been translated into a reality, in Fortaleza. Besides BRICS nations it will benefit other developing nations.”

India-Brazil ink three bilateral agreements

Brasilia: Giving a fillip to bilateral ties, India and Brazil on Wednesday decided to expand trade and investment flows while deepening collaboration in the fields of renewable energy, defence and cyber security. The three agreements signed in the presence of Modi and Rousseff related to cooperation in the field of environment, space and in the establishment of a consultation mechanism on mobility and consular issues.

The agreement on space was made for implementing arrangement establishing cooperation in augmentation of a Brazilian earth station for receiving and processing data from Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) Satellites. In a special gesture, the host rolled out the red carpet and received Modi with full military honours at the Presidential Palace.