An Indian diplomat has grabbed national attention after he featured in one of the defining pictures from the recently concluded BRICS Summit. IFS officer Sidharth Babu was seen standing beside Prime Minister Narendra Modi during one of his interactions with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The image of the three leaders sharing a hearty exchange became one of the memorable moments of the summit in New Delhi.
Emerging Diplomatic Figure: IFS Officer Babu
The recent viral image has thrust IFS officer Babu into the public eye. A member of the 2017 batch of the Indian Foreign Service, the 36-year-old currently serves as deputy secretary in the East Asia Division of the Ministry of External Affairs.
This experience also taught him how to deal with bilateral matters related to China. The theme of the summit was ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’. He secured All India Rank 15 in his second attempt at the UPSC examination and opted for IFS, according to a report by India Today Babu learned the Chinese language during his first overseas posting in Beijing, between 2018 and 2022. India hosted the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12 and 13, under its 2026 chairship as BRICS enters its third decade.
