The third edition of BRICS Urbanisation Forum Meet with the Theme  ‘Urban Transition in BRICS’ has begun in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh . The three days conference was inaugurated by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in the presence of Union Minister of Urban Development, M. Venkaiah Naidu.

Key Points

• The summit will deliberate on the transition and challenges being faced in urbanization in the BRICS nations –Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

• The conference will also discuss issues like climate change, sanitation management, smart cities, financing urban infrastructure and inclusive housing besides on how to increase the productivity, and to make a separate urban finance system and creation of employment opportunities.

• Around 100 delegates from BRICS, 400 delegates from various places across the country are attending the summit.

• The 1st BRICS Urbanization Forum was held in New Delhi, India in February 2013 with a special focus on Urban Infrastructure, followed by the 2nd BRICS Urbanization Forum in November 2013 at Durban, South Africa under the theme ‘Towards Sustainable Urbanization’.

Unique points about  BRICS:-

BRICS, an association of five major emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) was formed in 2009.

The BRICS members are all developing or newly industrialized countries and all five are G-20 members. They are distinguished by their large, fast growing economies and significant in luenceon regional and global affairs.

• Together, the countries comprise more than 3 billion people or 53.4% of the world’s population, cover 29% of the world’s land area on four continents, and account for approximately 23.1% of the global GDP.

• The levels of urbanization in BRICS countries are 90.6percent (Brazil) ,73.8 percent (Russia), 62 percent (South Africa), 56percent (China) and 31.3 percent in India.

• The 8^th Annual BRICS Summit will be an international relations conference attended by the heads of state or heads of government of the five member states Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The summit will be held in Panaji, Goa, in October 2016 as part of India’s Chairmanship. The theme of India’s BRICS Chairmanship is Building Responsive, Inclusive and Collective Solutions.