India, Sept. 13 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared to briefly break protocol during his opening remarks at the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on Saturday, pausing his speech midway and asking Chinese President Xi Jinping, "Is it okay?"

The brief exchange took place as the BRICS leaders were seated at Bharat Mandapam.

The reason for the apparent discomfort was not immediately clear, with the camera pulling back from the leaders as Modi paused his remarks.

Modi stops speech midway

Footage of the incident, shared by Doordarshan, shows Modi halting his speech around the 4:30-to-5-minute mark.

The Hindi arm of The Indian Express was the first to report that Modi appeared to have noticed Xi looking uncomfortable before interrupting his re...