Johannesburg, Sep 30 (IANS): A research released on Wednesday shows that BRICS has significantly improved in various ways since its inception.

BRICS, which groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has implemented 70 percent of its decisions, according to the research released on Wednesday by Brand South Africa, a marketing company based in South Africa.

"Based on research conducted by the BRICS Research Group and other analysts, the group has achieved a 70 percent implementation/compliance rate in terms of implementing Summit decisions," Brand South Africa general manager for research, Petrus de Kock said while releasing it here.

Intra-BRICS trade increased by 922 percent from $27bn to $276bn between 2002 and 2012, the research showed.

The increase in trade between BRICS members also shows that the bloc has embarked on a positive trajectory, De Kock said.

Also between 2010-2012, BRICS' international trade rose by 29 percent, from $4.7 tn to $6.1 tn.

De Kock said the institutionalism of BRICS initiatives like the New Development Bank Contingent Reserve Agreement also shows practical developments in the bloc.

"Significant things have happened. BRICS have institutionalised some of its initiatives. They have surprised many critics with the amount of achievements in a short space of time. The bloc has moved from an economic concept to a global governance system," De Kock said.

He recommended that BRICS should work toward improving the ease of doing business among member states.