PUTIN LANDS IN DELHI MEGA DEFENCE DEALS ON THE TABLE

Putin's two-day India visit has opened the door for major defence deals and a renewed push to deepen strategic and economic ties between the two nations.

- ANAND SINGH

Russian President Vladimir Putin's two-day state visit to India began on Thursday with exceptional warmth and high expectations, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally received him at Delhi's Palam Technical Airport and rode with him to Lok Kalyan Marg hours after a political storm in Parliament, where Rahul Gandhi accused the government of blocking visiting leaders from meeting the Leader of Opposition.

Before landing in Delhi, Putin set the tone for the visit in an interview to Aaj Tak and India Today, outlining an ambitious agenda for future cooperation spanning high technology, nuclear energy, shipbuilding, aviation and artificial intelligence. He said India and Russia would work together in "forwardlooking fields", highlighting the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant as a model partnership and signalling imminent announcements on expanded nuclear cooperation, including small nuclear power plants suitable for remote regions.