The emerging nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, or the BRICS are planning to set up a joint development bank and also take steps to bring together their stock exchanges.

The leaders of the BRICS nations are meeting in the Indian capital New Delhi for the latest summit of the group. Officials say that the leaders might launch plans for the new initiatives during the summit but the plans will take sometime to materialize because there are some details to be worked out by the countries.

The new initiatives show a new level of ambition for the group, which represents about half of the humanity. The leaders are also expected to discuss Middle East and energy security. The leaders will announce plans for a joint development bank that will be based on the model of the World Bank.

Officials say that the bank will allow the countries to pool resources for infrastructure development and will also lend to countries in times of financial difficulties. Brazilian Trade Minister Fernando Pimentel had earlier indicated that the leaders of the nations will sign an agreement for the bank at the summit in India.

The leaders will also launch benchmark equity index derivative shared by the stock exchanges of the five BRICS nations on Friday. They will also sign agreements allowing their individual development banks to extend credit to other members in local currency.

Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill, who was aiming to show the change in the global geo-economic and political power centers, chalked out the term ‘BRIC’ in 2001.

Then countries had held their first summit in 2009 and but have been able to find much common ground to work between the countries located in different continents with varied system of government. The new initiatives are aimed at giving a new momentum to the group. The term BRIC added ‘S’ with the entry of South Africa into the group.