BRICS Summit 2026
By RATNAJYOTI DUTTA
NEW DELHI, 12 Sep: India’s ace woman photojournalist Sipra Das featured in an exclusive interview with Uganda’s leading multimedia organisation, Vision Group, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit here.
Das, who has spent over four decades in photojournalism, spoke about her experience and the challenges of working as a woman photo-news journalist in India, as well as the evolution of visual journalism in the world’s largest democracy.
“The interviewer asked questions related to my experience and struggle as a photo-news journalist in an emerging economy like India,” Das told this correspondent.
The interview was conducted by Kampala-based journalist Paul Waniala at the media centre of Bharat Mandapam, the main venue of the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit.
During her long and distinguished career, Das has worked with prestigious media organisations, including the Press Trust of India (PTI) and India Today magazine.
She has also been recognised for her contribution to photojournalism with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Press Information Bureau (PIB), under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.
The summit brings together leaders of the expanded BRICS grouping, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, among other heads of State and government.
The 2026 summit is particularly significant as BRICS marks 20 years since its formation in 2006, when the grouping comprised Brazil, Russia, India and China. It has since expanded substantially and now comprises 11 member countries, along with a growing network of partner countries.
“It is now time for us to translate our unity and consensus within BRICS into concrete outcomes on the global stage,” Modi said in his opening remarks at the Summit session on “Inclusive Global Governance and Strengthening” on Saturday.
“For the next twenty years, we must work on a new and ambitious agenda,” Modi said.
Das’s interaction with Vision Group comes at a significant moment for India’s global engagement. The 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit is being hosted by India in New Delhi on September 12–13, with Bharat Mandapam as the principal venue. India is chairing BRICS this year under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
For Das, the interview provided an opportunity to take India’s experience in photojournalism and the evolving role of women in the media to an international audience. Her interaction with Vision Group journalist Waniala also underlines the growing international interest in India’s media ecosystem and the experiences of Indian journalists covering the country’s transformation and its expanding role on the global stage.
