Airport authorities facilitated 154 arrival movements involving 637 delegates and 99 departure movements involving 552 delegates during the summit, which was held from September 11-13. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit, at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday (September 13, 2026) proposed a new insurance mechanism and a collaborative grain market among BRICS nations, urging the group to adopt a holistic approach to combat global challenges.

Mr. Putin proposed the new initiatives for economic growth among the BRICS member nations as well as the Global South nations amid crippling sanctions imposed by the Western powers on Moscow for its war on Ukraine.

The G-7 countries, the European Union, and the U.K. prohibited Western companies from insuring any ship transporting Russian crude unless the oil was purchased at or below a specified price cap. Sanctions on the insurance sector have adversely impacted Russian crude oil exports.

The Russian President pitched for setting up a dedicated platform for economic growth with the BRICS.

“We have independent routes for moving capital, labour and technologies. In fact, we can operate regardless of outside pressure,” Mr. Putin said at the concluding session of the BRICS summit.

“We have some promising initiatives going forward, such as creating an insurance mechanism and a grain market. These are Russian proposals, and we invite all other member states to make use of those,” he said without elaborating.

Mr. Putin complimented the New Development Bank (NDB), saying it is handling projects worth $140 billion. The NDB is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS nations.

“As global challenges keep surfacing, we should adopt a holistic approach to address both the symptoms and root causes,” he said.

“Global South countries should jointly advance better [global] governance structure and tackle both traditional and nontraditional security threats,” he said.

The Russian President said the global stature of BRICS is rising as it has been focusing on charting an independent course to combat pressing global challenges.

“The broad participation in today’s meeting confirms that international interest in BRICS continues to grow. Many around the world find our core values and ideals appealing, including our commitment to charting an independent course and a desire to resolve problems collectively, guided by international law and the key provisions of the UN Charter,” Mr. Putin said.

The concluding session of the BRICS Summit was attended by the bloc’s full member nations and partner countries. “This format opens the door to direct, candid dialogue between full-fledged BRICS members and partner countries, as well as other states and multilateral organisations keen to work with our group,” Mr. Putin said.

Highlighting the importance of greater intra-BRICS economic cooperation, Mr. Putin said a common platform for better trade and investment ties will be helpful to all the member nations.

“We have great new horizons for investment, cooperation and partnership between markets. We’re talking about forming a joint platform for growth within BRICS that would combine the competitive advantages of all members of the group,” he said.

“This platform must be built on the principles of openness and availability, not just for the partners of BRICS, but to all of our friends,” he said.

BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, with Indonesia joining in 2025.

Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam became BRICS partner countries last year.

BRICS has emerged as an influential grouping as it brings together 11 major emerging economies of the world, representing around 49.5% of the global population, around 40% of the global GDP, and around 26% of the global trade.

Published – September 13, 2026 09:53 pm IST

The BRICS should leverage its close ties with emerging markets and Global South to safeguard supply chains, and foster a large integrated market, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Sunday (September 13, 2026) as he proposed a five-point initiative to boost trade, manufacturing, investment, and technology cooperation.

In an address at the concluding session of the BRICS Summit, he called upon the leaders of the grouping to work towards writing a “new chapter of strength through unity for the Global South”, asserting that the logic that “might makes right” should have been discarded long ago.

“A world without rules is like a crossroads without traffic lights, where chaos and disorder are all but guaranteed. Fairness and justice is a universal aspiration, and international rules must be written by all countries,” he said.

Mr. Xi said the Global South countries should jointly “defend the rule of law in international affairs, safeguard the basic norms of international relations including sovereign equality, non-interference in internal affairs, and the peaceful settlement of disputes, and ensure that international law and international rules are applied to all.” In this context, he underlined the need to shun “double standards”, remarks seen as directed at the Western powers. “All countries, regardless of their size, strength or wealth, are equal members of the international community,” Mr. Xi said.

“Global South countries should hold high the banner of multilateralism, uphold the authority and role of the United Nations, support multilateral institutions in advancing reform and increasing efficiency, and ensure the equal participation of all countries in international affairs,” he said.

The Chinese President also called for reform of the international financial architecture to increase the representation of developing countries.

Mr. Xi’s five-point initiative to enhance BRICS cooperation focuses on establishing an inclusive artificial intelligence framework, facilitating trade and investment, deepening digital industry ties, advancing “intelligent manufacturing,” and launching a joint science and technology development initiative.

China will be a pioneer in establishing a BRICS-AI open source community to support the cooperation in developing and applying large language models, hold specialised AI seminars and training courses, and build an open AI ecosystem, he said, about the first initiative.

On the trade and investment facilitation initiative, Mr. Xi said China proposes to establish a BRICS special economic zone partnership, under which countries can set up an intelligent portal, coordinate policies, and build a new frontier for open development.

The third initiative, he said, will be in the domain of the digital industry.

“China will push for establishing a BRICS digital ecosystem cloud platform, and conduct digital skills training, technological exchange and industrial alignment, so as to jointly enable the development of the digital economy,” he said.

The fourth one, Mr. Xi said, will be to have expanded cooperation in “intelligent manufacturing”.

“China stands ready to assist fellow BRICS countries in building smart factories and developing standards and norms, and jointly promote manufacturing transformation and upgrading,” he said.

The fifth initiative will be in the science and technology domain.

“China proposes to set up a BRICS engineer cultivation alliance for joint development of engineers and mutual recognition of competency standards. China will launch a BRICS youth exchange programme for scientific and technological innovation, so as to cultivate more high-calibre talent,” he said.

Published – September 13, 2026 04:47 pm IST

A decoration installed bearing the official BRICS India 2026 logo at Bharat Mandapam for the 18th BRICS Summit, in New Delhi, on September 12, 2026
| Photo Credit:
PTI

Delhi Police issued fresh traffic advisories for Sunday (September 13, 2026), as the 18th BRICS Summit heads into its final day. 

Also read | ‘From rule-takers to rule-shapers’: PM Modi’s big pitch to BRICS leaders in welcome address

India forged a consensus of BRICS countries on Saturday (September 12, 2026), after Iran and the United Arab Emirates agreed to a last-minute compromise on the language used about the war in West Asia, allowing the 11-member grouping to adopt the New Delhi Declaration at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The summit, attended by a galaxy of world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, assumed greater significance as it unfolded against a backdrop of escalating geopolitical headwinds driven by the Russia-Ukraine war, West Asia instability and new U.S tariff policies.

Follow live updates below:

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit 2026, in New Delhi on September 12, 2026
| Photo Credit: ANI

Behind the red carpets, motorcades and ceremonial welcomes for BRICS leaders is a tightly coordinated aviation operation involving around 35 special aircraft, multiple airports, controlled airspace and carefully timed movements to accommodate foreign dignitaries without disrupting Delhi’s regular commercial flights.

The operation spans the Indira Gandhi International Airport, the Indian Air Force’s Palam technical area and other airports being used to park visiting aircraft. The CISF, Air Force, aviation authorities, airport operator and other security agencies are coordinating the movements.

For regular passengers, the airport operation begins with processing inside the terminal before they board their aircraft via an aerobridge. VVIP movements are kept separate. Ceremonial facilities are used for senior visitors such as ministers and other high-ranking dignitaries, while the highest-level visitors are handled through the Palam technical area.

The Palam facility allows VVIP aircraft to arrive outside the regular passenger-terminal operation, with the principal and delegation moved directly into a separately secured ground arrangement.

A senior CISF official aware of the arrangements said the movement from the aircraft to the convoy is also planned to prevent the final route from becoming predictable. “Multiple exits and vehicles are kept ready, with the exit ultimately used for the VVIP movement decided towards the last stage,” the source said.

The larger exercise is taking place in the air as well.

During a normal VVIP movement in major cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad, the airspace is regulated for about three to four minutes to accommodate the special aircraft. With several foreign leaders arriving and departing during the summit, these controlled windows have been extended and coordinated more extensively to provide clear movement windows for the special aircraft, the source said.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has imposed restrictions on non-scheduled flight operations within a 300-km radius of Delhi from September 11 to 13. Scheduled commercial flights are exempt, while special flights carrying BRICS dignitaries and related flights can operate with prior approval.

The restrictions are particularly relevant to non-registered private, light aircraft, whose movements are not part of the regular airline schedule. Such aircraft are being subjected to verification and specific conditions to reduce potential security risks during the summit, the source said.

Scheduled airlines, meanwhile, are being fitted around the VVIP movements. Their arrival and departure timings have been adjusted by about 10-15 minutes ahead of the summit, where necessary, to prevent their movements from coinciding with a special aircraft.

If an overlap still occurs, an aircraft may be held in the air for some time or directed to land at another airport temporarily, depending on the traffic situation and operational requirements.

Parking the special aircraft is another part of the exercise. Besides Palam and Delhi Airport, Noida International Airport, Safdarjung Airport, Hindon Airport and two other airports have been incorporated into the wider parking plan.

The aircraft will also arrive in different configurations. According to the CISF source, around 70-75% of participating countries are expected to bring one dedicated aircraft, while 10-15% could bring two aircraft. Another 10-15% are expected to use scheduled flights.

Security operations extend to the aircraft once they are on the ground. The CISF official said additional checks are carried out during ground handling, including testing two samples of the aviation fuel supplied to an aircraft, as part of measures to rule out tampering or other security concerns.

The wider airspace has also been tightened to reduce other potential sources of disruption. Flying activities involving light and micro-light aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles have been restricted within a 300-km radius of Delhi during the summit.

At the airport, CISF personnel operate within the aviation-security framework laid down by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, while the Air Force manages the technical-area operation and other agencies handle the diplomatic, intelligence, traffic and road-security aspects of VVIP movements.

The result is a carefully separated system in which dedicated aircraft can be received, parked and moved under enhanced security while Delhi’s scheduled aviation continues around them.

For the agencies involved, the task is therefore not simply to secure the arrival of special aircraft, but to sequence each movement — in the air, on the ground and through the airport — so that an exceptional concentration of VVIP traffic does not interrupt the routine flow of commercial aviation.

Published – September 12, 2026 09:31 am IST

Chinese President Xi Jinping left for New Delhi on Saturday morning to attend the 18th BRICS Summit.

He is scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit.

Mr. Xi left Beijing to attend the BRICS Summit at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

His entourage includes close associate Cai Qi, who is a member of the high-powered Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, and Wang Yi, Foreign Minister and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, the news report said.

– PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) António Guterres as they hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit 2026, in New Delhi on Friday, September 11, 2026. Photo credit: DPR PMO via ANI

Tibetan community members stage a protest march against the visit of China’s President Xi Jinping for the BRICS Summit 2026, in New Delhi, Friday (September 11, 2026).
| Photo Credit: PTI