PM Modi, BRICS Leaders Visit Bharat Innovates Expo

The Exposition's Scale and Purpose

The two-day Bharat Innovates Exposition, which began on Friday ahead of the BRICS Summit, was organised by the Ministry of Education in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs. It functions as a national programme designed to serve as a global accelerator for innovations emerging from India's higher education ecosystem, with the explicit goal of building long-term collaboration between India's innovation network, including startups, higher education institutions, laboratories and research parks, and international stakeholders such as corporates, investors, incubators, universities, research institutes, governments and the overseas Indian diaspora.

A Second Edition Building on Nice

This edition, styled as the BRICS Bharat Innovates (BBI) Exposition, marks the second major showcase of India's deep-tech startups in 2026, following the inaugural Bharat Innovates event held in Nice, France, from June 14 to 16. The New Delhi edition features 37 Indian deep-tech startups drawn from the original cohort of 120 ventures that participated in the Nice showcase, effectively narrowing the spotlight to a curated selection for this BRICS-linked presentation. The exposition's framing aligns directly with the theme of India's BRICS Chairship this year: "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability."

An Evening of Diplomacy and Culture

Later on Saturday evening, several BRICS leaders and dignitaries gathered at Bharat Mandapam for a gala dinner hosted by PM Modi. Attendees included Russian President Putin, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, among other dignitaries, reflecting the summit's mix of head-of-state and institutional representation.

A Deliberately Curated Menu and Cultural Programme

The centrepiece of the evening was a specially curated vegan gala dinner, with a plant-based menu designed to showcase India's culinary diversity while reflecting broader principles of sustainability, inclusivity and mindful hospitality, themes that mirror the sustainability strand of India's BRICS Chairship agenda. The evening also featured a cultural performance titled "Navarasa: The Universe of Shared Emotions," offering guests an artistic dimension to the summit's diplomatic proceedings.

A Musical Collaboration Across Nations

Among the evening's highlights was the BRICS Symphony, titled "One Rhythm, Many Cultures," which brought together musicians from BRICS member and partner countries for a collaborative performance. Drawing on diverse musical traditions and instruments from across the participating nations, the symphony was framed as a shared artistic expression intended to capture the cultural richness and spirit of togetherness within the expanded BRICS grouping, closing out a day that combined technological showcase, diplomatic dialogue and cultural exchange under a single summit programme.

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