WATCH: PM Modi notices Indian flag lying on the floor at BRICS summit, picks up and puts it in his pocket

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday was careful not to step on the Indian flag during a photoshoot at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg. Leaders of the BRICS  (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa), including Chinese President Xi Jinping, were asked to pose for a group photo. During the photo call, PM Modi noticed a mini tricolour lying on the ground, which was kept to denote the standing position of the leaders.

A video, which surfaced later, showed PM Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa approaching their standing positions. Modi saw the flag lying on the ground. He promptly picked up the flag and kept it in the pocket of his jacket. The flags were kept on the dias to denote the position of each country's leader.

The South African President, who had already stepped on his country's flag, followed his suit and picked the flag. While the South African President gave his country’s flag to his colleague, PM Modi neatly folded the tricolour and kept it in the pocket of waistcoat instead.

PM Modi is in South Africa for the BRICS summit. On Wednesday, he met the South African president. "They discussed strengthening the India-South Africa partnership in diverse sectors such as boosting business ties, security and people-to-people connect," the Prime Minister's office said.

In a post on X, PM Modi said during the meeting, the two leaders discussed a wide range of issues aimed at deepening India-South Africa relations.

"Trade, defence and investment linkages featured prominently in our discussions. We will keep working together to strengthen the voice of the Global South as well," PM Modi said.

Besides, PM Modi also asserted that for a "future-ready" BRICS, the societies of these five countries will have to be "future-ready" and extended India's support to the expansion of the grouping based on consensus.

Addressing the annual summit of leaders of BRICS, Modi hoped that India's proposal to make the African Union a permanent member of the G20 will be supported by BRICS member nations.

"We will have to make our societies future-ready to make BRICS future-ready," he said at the meet in Johannesburg.

The summit, scheduled to take place from August 22 to 24, saw the attendance of Chinese President Xi Jinping, PM Modi, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, and a number of other leaders from across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.