PM Narendra Modi had invited Biden for the event on the sidelines of the G20 summit in September last year. "Thank you for your invitation, my dear friend @ Narendra Modi. India, on your Republic Day, I'll be here to celebrate with you!" Macron wrote on X. In a prompt response, PM Modi wrote, "My Dear Friend President @EmmanuelMacron, we eagerly look forward to receiving you as the Chief Guest at the 75th Republic Day. We will also celebrate India-France's strategic partnership and shared belief in democratic values. Bientôt !"
Macron's presence will mark the sixth time that a French leader has been chief guest on Republic Daythe most from any country. In July, PM Modi was guest of honour at the Bastille Day parade in Paris. Macron had bestowed the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour-France's highest civilian/military honour-on Modi.
All this demonstrative warmth in ties serves as a marker of a rather significant shift-Paris is on its way to replacing Russia as the biggest source of military hardware for New Delhi. Currently, France is India's second-largest weapons supplier, with a 29 per cent share after Russia (45 per cent) and surpassing the US (11 per cent), according to a March 2023 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Like Russia, France is supplying fighter jets to submarines to the Indian military, apart from other sub-systems.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 22, 2024-Ausgabe von India Today.
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He gave the beat to the world
He would pick up the rhythms of each experience of mobility and weave them into his taals. Thus it was that he reflected joy and laughter in rhythmic cycles...such was the magic of Zakir's fingersText and photographs by Raghu Rai
KERALA TOURISM CAMPAIGN, 1989 - TICKETS TO PARADISE
All it took was a catchy tagline-'God's Own Country'-for the world to discover Kerala's wealth of natural beauty. It remains among the best tourism ad campaigns, earning the state a place among top 10 international destinations
SPIRITUALITY - THE GURUS OF COOL
Among the cult Indian gurus, no one had a bigger hold on western minds than 'Osho' Rajneesh. He's also perhaps the role model for the enterprise-building gurus of today
RETAIL SHOPPING - THE MALL MANIA
Shopping malls, a 1990s innovation in India, changed the way the Indian middle class shops. Their success now lies in being 'shoppertainment' destinations, offering something for everyone
CULINARY RENAISSANCE, 1978 - TANDOORI NIGHTS
ITC's Bukhara and Dum Pukht turned the world to tandoori cuisine and had an enormous impact on the F&B industry. Decades on, they are still a pit-stop for celebrities and heads of state visiting Delhi
INDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH - REVENGE OF THE NATIVE
Rushdie lit the way but Indian writing in English has taken a life of its own in the past few decades, with translated Indian fiction most recently having its moment in the sun
INDIAN ART - A BRUSH WITH GOLD DUST
The 1990s economic liberalisation came as oxygen, lighting up the Indian art scene. Today, artworks by established masters routinely go for astronomical amounts
FESTIVAL OF INDIA, 1982 - CULTURE CAPITAL
The Festival of India grew into a symbol of our 'soft power', introducing our art and aesthetics to a global audience while also helping rebrand our domestic products
THE INDIPOP TREND - DISCO GOES DESI
For ages, the film song ruled. Nothing else was audible. Then came Nazia, charioteered by Biddu, and Indian ears went into a pleasant madness. Literally, Disco Deewane. A whole genre was born
SHOLAY 1975 - THE BIRTH OF THE FANDEMIC
India had seen hits before. But Sholay seared into its collective psyche like a badland bullet. The effect was on a scale never seen before- one film creating a new mass folk culture. And a trail of monster blockbusters that still continues
