UPSC Prelims 2014 Question:

With reference to a grouping of countries known as BRICS, consider the following statements:

1. The First Summit of BRICS was held in Rio de Janeiro in 2009. 
2. South Africa was the last to join the BRICS grouping.
   
   

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Explanation:

• The leaders of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries met for the first time in St. Petersburg, Russia, on the margins of the G8 Outreach Summit in 2006. Shortly afterward, in September 2006, the group was formalized as BRIC during the 1st BRIC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which met on the sidelines of the General Debate of the UN Assembly in New York City. After a series of high-level meetings, the 1st BRIC summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia on 16 June 2009. So, statement 1 is not correct.
  
  
• The BRIC group was renamed as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) after South Africa was accepted as a full member at the BRIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New York in 2010. Accordingly, South Africa attended the 3rd BRICS Summit in Sanya, China in 2011. So, statement 2 is correct.
  
  

Therefore, option (2) is the correct answer.

Subject: Polity | International Relations