India opens the 13th BRICS Urbanisation Forum on 'Cities for People' under its 2026 chairship

Hosted by the Housing & Urban Affairs Ministry, the two-day forum brings together urban ministers from the expanded BRICS to deliberate inclusive, climate-resilient and people-centred urban futures.

What happened

• The 13th BRICS Urbanisation Forum was formally opened by Union Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs Shri Manohar Lal at Sushma Swaraj Bhavan, New Delhi.
• It is hosted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under India's BRICS Chairship in 2026; the two-day forum brings together ministers, senior officials and urban practitioners from Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
• The forum's theme is 'Cities for People: BRICS Cooperation for Inclusive and Resilient Urban Futures.'
• India is hosting the BRICS Urbanisation Forum for the fourth time — after editions in New Delhi (2013), Visakhapatnam (2016) and virtually (2021).
• The Minister highlighted inclusive urban development, climate- and disaster-resilient infrastructure, strengthening institutions and digital innovation as anchors of India's development story, calling it an opportunity to bring the urban agenda into the global development conversation.

For Prelims

• BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa — expanded since 2024-25 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE (with partner countries). The members at this forum reflect the expanded BRICS.
• India's BRICS Chairship 2026: Theme — 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'. The Urbanisation Forum is one track under this chairship (also the Science Academies Forum, etc.).
• BRICS Urbanisation Forum: A recurring ministerial platform on urban development; India has hosted it four times (2013, 2016, 2021 virtual, 2026).
• Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA): The nodal ministry for urban policy, running missions like AMRUT, Smart Cities Mission, PMAY-Urban and SBM-Urban — the domestic backdrop for India's urban-resilience pitch.
• 'Resilient cities' & global frameworks: Links to the UN's SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities), the New Urban Agenda (Habitat III) and the Sendai Framework on disaster risk — useful to cite for urban-resilience answers.
• BRICS institutions: The New Development Bank (NDB, Shanghai) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) are BRICS' financial pillars — distinct from sectoral forums like this one.
• Don't confuse: The BRICS Urbanisation Forum is a sectoral ministerial track, not the leaders' BRICS Summit; and BRICS is an informal grouping with no charter/secretariat (unlike, say, the UN or ASEAN).

For Mains

Syllabus: GS2.18 · GS2.15 · Linkage L2