The editorial Page: india can change what BriCs stands for — more choices, not more blocs 8 SAtURdAY, SEPtEMBER 12, 2026 JourNalism of Courage kolkATA, lATE cITy, 18 PAGES ₹6.00 (₹12 in North East states, ₹20 in Andaman) l www.indianexpress.com DA I ly f r o M : A h M E DA b A D , c h A N D I GA r h , D E l h I , j A I P u r , ko l k ATA , l u c k N o w , M u M b A I , N AG P u r , PAT N A , P u N E , VA D o DA r A leaders disCUss falloUt of West asia War, safety of indian seafarers in blaCK sea Modi, Putin set BRICS stage: ‘Deep shifts’, new engines of growth, energy security India and EU close to sealing trade deal, await nod from top Council in Brussels E. ravi dutta Mishra New Delhi, September 11 pM narendra Modi with Russian president vladimir putin, iranian president Masoud pezeshkian, south african president cyril Ramaphosa and Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro vieira in new delhi, Friday. ANI PM flags secure sea lanes, Russian President for ‘reliable’ logistics routes shubhajit roy New Delhi, September 11 In rEMarkS directed both at the West, opposed to his war in ukraine, and countries with which russia continues to do business despite crippling Western sanctions, russian president Vladimir putin said Fridaythat“theworldisundergoing structural, deep, profoundshifts”inwhich“newengines of growth” are replacing “the so-called old leaders”. addressing the BrICS business forum in new Delhi ahead of the summit Saturday, putin said russia and its “partners” are “ready to contribute to worldenergyandfoodsecurity” and “building reliable logistics routessuchasthearcticTransport Corridor and the northSouth Transport Corridor”. His remarks on energy and food security and “reliable logistics routes” are a reminder that the crisis in West asia, where the uS continues to exchange strikes with Iran, a BrICS member country, has not been resolved. The partial business as usual By EP UNNY Brazil to Iran: Why you can’t put all of BRICS in the anti-West box Range of national aims: Accommodation with West, autonomy from it, parity within it, or direct confrontation C raja Mohan Kutaisi(Georgia),September11 aS IT presides over the BrICS summit in Delhi Saturday, India’s challenge is two-fold: to ediTorial page p8 PM Modi to meet President Xi MeMbers to hold closed session on ‘Inclusive Global Governance and Strengthening Multilateralism’ bharat innovates exhibition to showcase India’s Deep-Tech innovations Gala dinner hosted by PM »ContinUed on PaGe 2 explained Why it is a win-win deal While European companies will get access to the Indian market and compete on a more level playing field, the pact will unlock high-value commitments in services and enable movement of skilled Indian professionals. require the European parliament’s consent, before conclusion and entry into force. authorities in India are in parallel going through their own internal ratification procedures,” the statement said. “The Eu and India already trade over Euro 180 billion (1 Euro equals uS $1.16) worth of goods and services per year, supporting close to 800,000 Eu jobs. This deal will eliminate or reduce tariffs on 96% of Eu goods exports to India. overall, the tariff reductions will save around Euro 4 billion per year in duties on European products. It will make it easier for European companies to access the Indian market and compete on a more level playing field, while it will ensure consumers can benefit from increased choices and more competitive prices,” statement said. »ContinUed on PaGe 2 Grouping looks at pragmatic cross-border payment mechanism, currency trade At brics, keep the difficult conversAtions Alive siddharth Upasani closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz has disrupted supply chains, impacted economies and sent fuel prices soaring. prime Minister narendra Modi, who held a bilateral meeting with the russian leader, told the BrICS business aHEaD oF the BrICS Leaders’ Summit, member countries havecalledfor“pragmatic”and “efficient” cross-border payment mechanisms, including promotion of local currencies fortradeandinvestments.Separately, Commerce Minister piyush Goyal urged the bloc to linkpaymentsystemsandtrade »ContinUed on PaGe 2 convey the forum’s shared objective of democratizing the international system and to dispel the widespread impression it seeks to overthrow uS-led order. The forum’s champions E. and detractors alike view it through an antiWestern lens. Its supporters celebrate BrICS as a vehicle for resisting Western dominance;itscriticswarnthat it is becoming a counter-bloc led by China and russia. Both l TodayaTbrics THE EuropEan Commission on Friday forwarded its proposal for the conclusion of a Free Trade agreement (FTa) between the European union and India to the European Council (EC), a clear indication the deal could be officially signed soon. The European Council definesthegeneralpoliticaldirection and priorities of the European union. While the European Commission, the Eu’s main executive body, proposes the FTa legislation, the members of the European Council, comprising heads of state or government of the 27 Eu member states, the EuropeanCouncilpresidentandthe president of the European Commission, take the final decision. “If authorised by the Council, this will be the largest trade agreement ever concluded by both the Eu and India. once adoptedandenteredintoforce, the agreement will improve market access, reduce tariffs, tackle unnecessary trade barriers,aswellasprovidepredictable rules for trade and investment between the Eu and India,” the European union said in a statement. “With its proposals, the Commission is seeking the Council’s approval to sign the agreements, which will then New Delhi, September 11 in each other’s currencies. addressing the opening session of the BrICS Business Forum on Friday, Goyal spoke aboutIndia’sunifiedpayments Interface. “I would urge the BrICS member countries and partner countries to link our paymentsystems,tradeineach other's local currencies, make digitaltradeglobalandbuildtogether for the future emerging »ContinUed on PaGe 2 express special As india probes origin of 5 baby orangutans, indonesia prepares ground for repatriation nikhil Ghanekar New Delhi, September 11 one of the five baby orangutans at the nandankanan Zoological park near Bhubaneswar. VIDEo GrAb DayS aFTEr five baby orangutans were rescued from a forest in Balasore district of odisha,Indonesia’sMinistryof Forestry has reached out to Indian authorities and is learnt to be “preparing the technical requirements”fortheirrepatriation if investigations confirm they are from Indonesia. Based on preliminary assessment, the orangutans are suspected to be from Sumatra, an Indonesian government official told The Indian Express, saying that the possibility of an “organised transnational wildlife trafficking network” is being taken seriously. “We fully respect the judicial and statutory procedures applicable in India. Indonesia will therefore continue its government-to-government and CITES coordination while awaiting the completion of the »ContinUed on PaGe 2 l Richie Mehta’s ‘Phoolan’ had its woRld pReMieRe at toRonto inteRnational FilM Festival alaka sahani Toronto, September 11 In 2019, soon after Canadian filmmaker richie Mehta finished working on the acclaimed series ‘DelhiCrime’, he wasapproachedbynamahpictures, which had acquired the rights to the brigand phoolan Devi’s autobiography, ‘I, Phoolan: The Autobiography of India’s Bandit Queen’. The producers wanted to retell her story in a modern context, and although the writer-director was initially hesitant because he is “a non-resident Indian, punjabi and a male filmmaker”, he changed his mind after reading the book. “phoolan Devi's story goes ontoshowhowsheempowered herself from nothing. I thought maybe it was time for the world toseethiscrucialstory,”Mehta, who made his feature debut with the 2007 movie ‘Amal’, says.Insteadoftellingherentire life story, he chose to focus on a ICA-D1378(22)/2026 New film zooms into 48 hrs of Phoolan Devi that made her ‘bandit queen’ Filmmaker Richie Mehta; (right) a still from his film specific moment in her life — the chapter that recounts how 2,000-armed men were de- ployed to capture the then 17year-old phoolan in a siege that »ContinUed on PaGe 2 Kolkata