India, Sept. 12 -- India stands at the intersection of these groupings - a founding member of BRICS, a key player in the G20, and a participant in the dormant RIC. Each platform offers opportunities, but each also imposes constraints. India's success in delivering the 2023 G20 Declaration shows that skilled diplomacy can still produce results

International groupings often begin with grand ideas and geopolitical optimism, but their trajectories depend far more on political alignment and the willingness of member states to act. India's experience with three major platforms - RIC, BRICS, and the G20 - shows how ambition frequently collides with reality.

The Russia-India-China (RIC) concept was first proposed in 1998 by Russian statesman Ye...