Putin in India highlights: PM Modi presents a copy of the Gita in Russian to Putin, says its teachings inspire millions

Putin in India LIVE: Russian President Vladimir Putin is all set for his second day of visit to the country. He will meet PM Modi again on Friday, this time for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit.

For latest updates related to Putin's visit, click here.

Key points about Putin's day 1:

• Putin kick-started his two-day visit to India, the first in over four years, on Thursday evening, with a warm and personal welcome from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• After his arrival, PM Modi and Putin repeated their moment from Tianjin and travelled in the same car from the airport to the Prime Minister's residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg.
• Following the rare carpool, PM Modi and Russian President Putin reached the official residence of the prime minister, 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, where he was hosted for a private dinner.

Putin in India LIVE: Elena Velyaeva, Chief Operating Officer of Russian firm Intrud, hoped that new perspectives would come to the fore as the Russian President Vladimir Putin began his two-day visit to India.

"We are expecting new perspectives and new relations with the business and with education and with manpower as well. So we think that there are very many opportunities and we're like in the very beginning of the way because we have very many relations with the different countries, especially with India and historically we have very many interesting projects before when it was a big country, the USSR, and now we think that we can envelope our new projects and new perspectives," she told ANI.

Putin in India LIVE: Russian president Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that his country's partnership with India spans various fields, including technology and energy, and that the two nations will cooperate in many other "interesting areas".

He said that India-Russia's partnership in nuclear power is exemplified by the prominent Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) project set up in Tamil Nadu.

Putin in India LIVE: India-Russia collaboration isn’t directed against anyone, and the agenda of the two countries is focused on safeguarding their interests without harming others, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with India Today ahead of his arrival in New Delhi late on Thursday.

Putin responded to a question on US President Donald Trump’s possible reaction to India-Russia collaboration by saying: “Neither I nor Prime Minister Modi, despite certain external pressure we face, have ever… approached our collaboration as working against someone.

Putin in India LIVE: Russian President Vladimir Putin's flight that landed in Delhi on Thursday evening became the world's most tracked flight today, as per information on Flightradar24.

Flightradar24 also posted a screenshot of the tracking information, which showed that around 1,772 people tracked the status of the flight. “Our most tracked flight now.” More details here.

Putin in India LIVE: On Putin’s India visit, Foreign Affairs Expert Robinder Sachdev says, “Some of the deals which will be there defence to air defence systems, that is the S-400 which performed very well in Operation Sindoor, we want perhaps some more of them and then the next in series of the S-400 is the S-500,” he said.

“There's talk of upgrading the BrahMos, and there could be some other defence discussions...The summit aims to go deeper into the three areas of nuclear, oil, and defence, and to expand the basket of Russia-India relations. President Putin has come with seven ministers...There is a need to expand the relations between the two countries on many fronts, including cultural," he added.

Putin in India LIVE: Vadim Lobov, President of Synergy Corporation told ANI, “Today is a very important day for our country because we have waited for this visit for a long time. I am sure that new areas of collaboration will emerge. It will be a great step in strengthening the friendship between our countries,” he said.

“A lot of people from India come to study in Russia. Our agency will create a new bridge between the people of Russia and India. We are developing a comprehensive information programme to inform people about the opportunities to study in Russia, details about different universities, job prospects, and important professional skills,” he added.

Putin in India LIVE: Putin, on his first visit to India in four years, will be in New Delhi until December 5.

During the trip, the Russian President will also hold the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit with PM Modi.

Experts have highlighted the significance of Putin’s visit, which is expected to strengthen cooperation in defence, trade, science and technology, and cultural and humanitarian ties.

Former diplomat Arun Singh told ANI, "It has also shared with us defence items that we've needed, again, which has been very important. If you saw in Operation Sindoor, among the weapons systems that did very well were the S-400 and the BrahMos missile, which are part of the Russia partnership," he said.

Putin in India LIVE: "We all know that trade is still very low, although there is now talk of the target of $100 billion by 2030. It is doable, but it's going to be an uphill climb unless some systemic factors are properly addressed. I think it's important to have a broad approach, a comprehensive approach covering investment, technology, science, and technical cooperation, etc., before you will see that target being achieved," said Former Indian diplomat Rajiv Bhatia.

“But beyond that, I think I would expect that we develop close coordination and mutual understanding on some of the important multilateral groupings such as BRICS and G20. BRICS is still in good shape, though it's attracting negative attention from some Western powers,” he stated.

“But the G20 needs immediate attention because if the G20 heads into a crisis, all the hard work countries, including India, have done under its presidency could go to waste. And therefore, I think I hope that the immediate future of G20 will also be discussed in the agenda for talks today and tomorrow,” Bhatia added.

Putin in India LIVE: Russian President Vladimir Putin's flight that landed in Delhi on Thursday evening became the world's most tracked flight today, as per information on Flight Radar 24.

Putin in India LIVE: “The range of our cooperation with India is huge, as India has made remarkable progress in 77 years, it's almost been like a miracle,” said Putin.

Putin in India LIVE: “We had to go through practically every point, which is why it took so much time,” he said. “It was a meaningful, highly specific, and substantive conversation. Sometimes we said, ‘Yes, we can discuss this, but with that one we cannot agree.’"

Putin in India LIVE: “Presented a copy of the Gita in Russian to President Putin. The teachings of the Gita give inspiration to millions across the world,” PM Modi wrote on X.

Putin in India LIVE: "It's not entirely clear why the countries that form the G7 call themselves the 'Big Seven'? What's so big about them? In terms of purchasing power parity, India's economy is the third largest in the world. And where are the countries like the United Kingdom in terms of purchasing power parity? What is their ranking now, tenth or thereabouts?" Putin said.

Putin in India LIVE: Former Indian diplomat Rajiv Bhatia spoke of the significance of the visit, pointing to India’s ties with the US, the Ukraine war, and recent G20 developments.

"I regard this as a very important visit, like most other observers, and there are reasons for it. The first visit by the Russian President since the Ukraine war, the first visit since tensions between India and the US reached a certain level, and certainly the first visit after the recent developments relating to G20. So there are many other dimensions as well. But we can say that, first of all, the focus will be on bilateral relations and how to deepen and strengthen this relationship. And I think the limelight will be on the economic dimensions," he said.

Putin in India LIVE: Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview “Neither me nor Prime Minister Modi, despite certain external pressure we face, have never approached our collaboration to work against someone”.

Putin in India LIVE: The Delhi Traffic Police issued a detailed traffic advisory for Friday, announcing major restrictions and diversions across central Delhi due to administrative exigencies. Commuters have been urged to avoid several key routes between 9:00 AM and 12:00 noon. According to the advisory shared through Delhi Traffic Police X handle, traffic movement will be regulated across carriageways and service lanes around high-density zones such as W Point, A Point, ITO Chowk, BSZ Marg, Delhi Gate, JLN Marg, Rajghat Crossing, Shanti Van Crossing, Hanuman Setu-Y Point, Netaji Subhash Marg, Nishad Raj Marg, Saleem Garh Flyover By-Pass, MGM-Pragati Maidan Tunnel to Hanuman Setu, Kashmere Gate, Vikas Marg, and IP Marg.

Putin in India LIVE: Speaking of Trump's recent tariffs, Putin said, “He (Trump) pursues his own policy, and he has advisors -- his decisions aren't made out of thin air. He has advisors who believe that implementing such tariff policies, involving the imposition of additional duties on trade partners, ultimately benefits the US economy. He is acting in good faith, I presume.”

Putin in India LIVE: Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said if the United States has the right to buy Russian fuel, why "shouldn't India have the same privilege." "As for India's purchase of energy resources from Russia, I would like to note and have already mentioned publicly this once, the United States itself still buys nuclear fuel from us for its own nuclear power plants," Putin said while speaking on Trump's tariffs on India.

Putin in India LIVE: The customs authorities of India and Russia signed a protocol on Thursday for cooperation on pre-arrival information exchange in respect of goods and vehicles moved between the two nations, the CBIC said. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairman Vivek Chaturvedi and Deputy Head of Federal Customs Service (FCS) of the Russian Federation Tatiana Merkushova signed the protocol on the sidelines of the 23rd India-Russia Summit.

Putin in India LIVE: On Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said, "It's a very important visit, I do believe that his visit has a great value to our country. It's an important relation we have with Russia. It does not come at the expense of any other country, we have good relations with other countries too, with Russia, US, China, Europe, we will continue to have that. But sovereign autonomy is a cardinal principle of Indian foreign policy, and as part of our autonomy, we do want to have strong relation with all, and President Putin is an important partner, we look forward to welcoming him."

During the ongoing visit of Vladimir Putin to India, the two sides are expected to discuss major projects like the second overhauling of the Su-30 fighter jets, equipping Indian fleet with the R-37 air to air missiles that can hit targets at up more than 200 Kms along with the S-400/500 long range and Verba very short range air defence systems, ANI reported quoting sources.

Putin in India LIVE: PM Narendra Modi is hosting a private dinner for the Russian President. Putin, who arrived in New Delhi earlier today, headed to the prime minister's Lok Kalyan Marg residence for the dinner. The conversation between the two leaders this evening is expected to set the tone for the 23rd India-Russia summit talks on Friday that is expected to produce several key agreements.

Putin in India LIVE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive at New Delhi's Lok Kalyan Marg residence, the official residence of the Prime Minister.

Putin in India LIVE: During the Ganga Aarti on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi, diyas were neatly arranged to spell out “Welcome Putin”.