Does Brics exist only because a good acronym cannot be allowed to die?

India says it wants clear criteria established for new Brics memberships. But do even the existing members qualify under any meaningful criteria, asks T N Ninan

There is nothing like a good acronym to give currency to a dodgy idea, and so it has been with Brics. Coined by economists at Goldman Sachs at the turn of the century, the original proposition was that Brazil, Russia, India, and China would by mid-century overtake the G6 developed economies in their combined size. For about a decade, the idea held its own, but it has fallen apart after that. China (the sixth-largest economy in 2001) and India (not in the top 10 then) have done well; both are now in the top five. But Brazil and Russia have