'She coined BRICS': Indian analyst’s forecast fuels a bloc rattling Western power

As BRICS repositions itself to challenge Western-led global frameworks, a little-known Indian economist stands behind the acronym that now unsettles Washington.

Roopa Purushothaman, now Chief Economist and Head of Policy Advocacy at Tata Sons, co-authored the 2003 Goldman Sachs report that gave BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China — its name and strategic shape. At the time, she was a Vice President and Global Economist at Goldman Sachs in London, working with Jim O’Neill, who had coined the term “BRIC” two years earlier.

That acronym has since become a geopolitical bloc that’s expanding in both membership and ambition. What began as an economic forecast is now a platform pushing back against Western influence — most recently underscored by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments in China.

Putin, during his visit to Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, said Russia and China “stand united” against “discriminatory” sanctions imposed on BRICS nations. He emphasized a joint push to secure new funding for infrastructure and tackle global challenges collectively — signaling the group’s growing weight in the world order.

Amid this geopolitical churn, Purushothaman’s role in birthing BRICS has resurfaced. In 2006, she moved to India, reportedly lured by Future Group’s Kishore Biyani with a headline-grabbing offer — a rumored Rs 5 crore salary, making her one of the highest-paid economists in the country at the time.