New Delhi, Sept. 14 -- A photograph featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the BRICS Summit drew widespread attention online. But another Indian official in the frame soon became a talking point of his own.

The officer is Sidharth Babu, a 36-year-old Indian Foreign Service (IFS) diplomat currently serving as Deputy Secretary in the East Asia Division of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). His role, along with his Mandarin skills and experience in China, has put him in proximity to several high-level diplomatic engagements.

Babu belongs to the 2017 batch of the IFS and has built his career around international relations, particularly India's engagement with East As...