Meet Sidharth Babu, IFS officer seen in viral PM Modi-Xi-Putin photo at BRICS meet

The young man standing behind PM Modi, Putin and Xi in the viral BRICS photograph is no ordinary face in the crowd. Meet the engineer-turned-IFS officer helping India navigate conversations with China.

In Short

• Babu is a 2017-batch IFS officer serving in MEA's East Asia Division
• He helped Modi follow Xi's remarks during informal leaders' exchange
• Babu studied engineering before appearing for UPSC examination

A photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the BRICS Summit has gone viral, capturing what appeared to be a light moment between the three leaders.

But the photograph also drew attention to a young Indian official standing behind PM Modi as the three leaders interacted.

The man in the frame is Sidharth Babu, a 36-year-old Indian Foreign Service officer who was helping PM Modi follow Xi’s remarks during the conversation.

Babu, a 2017-batch IFS officer, is currently serving as Deputy Secretary in the East Asia Division of the Ministry of External Affairs.

His fluency in Chinese and experience in Beijing placed him alongside the three leaders during one of the summit’s most widely shared moments.

Originally from Kochi in Kerala, Babu graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from Mar Athanasius College of Engineering in 2012.

He subsequently worked in the e-commerce sector before his interest in international relations led him to prepare for the Civil Services Examination.

Babu did not clear the examination on his first attempt. However, in his second attempt, he secured All India Rank 15 and opted for IFS.

He began his diplomatic career as an officer trainee in New Delhi in December 2017. His first overseas posting was in Beijing, where he served first as Third Secretary and then as Second Secretary between 2018 and 2022.

The four-year posting helped him develop his Chinese-language skills and gain experience in dealing with China, an area that would later become central to his role at the foreign ministry.

Babu subsequently served as a consul in California from August 2022 to June 2024. During this period, he pursued a master’s degree in language interpretation and translation at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

He returned to New Delhi in 2024 and served as an Under Secretary before taking charge as Deputy Secretary in the East Asia Division in January 2025.

It was not the first time that Babu had been spotted interpreting for PM Modi during a high-profile diplomatic engagement.

During India’s 77th Republic Day celebrations in January, he was stationed on the VIP podium and interpreted a conversation between PM Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

His appearance in the BRICS photograph offered a glimpse of the officials working behind the scenes during closely watched meetings between world leaders, ensuring that conversations flow across languages even during informal moments.

- Ends