US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are set to deepen defence and technology cooperation between their countries during Modi’s official visit to the White House, despite lingering concerns about human rights in India.

Two days of carefully orchestrated official events had a bumpy start on Wednesday afternoon, local time, when Mr Modi was so late to a planned tour of the National Science Foundation that the president’s wife, Jill Biden, a teacher, started without him.

Later, praising yoga as “a way of life,” Mr Modi performed poses ranging from cobra to corpse alongside a multinational crowd at the UN headquarters as he kicked off the public portion of his US visit.

For Mr Modi, who arrived on Tuesday in New York on a trip that will offer plenty of time to discuss global tensions, highlighting an ancient pursuit of inner tranquillity was a savvy and symbolic choice.

The Hindu nationalist has made yoga a personal practice and a diplomatic tool.

Rival groups of Indians stage demonstrations 

A pro-Modi group cried out greetings and held signs with such messages as “America Welcomes Narendra Modi” and “United We Stand,” accompanied by a photo of the US flag.

Opponents yelled, “Modi, go back!” and waved large yellow flags referring to Khalistan, the name of the homeland that Sikh separatists seek to create in India.

Mr Modi spoke about the emphasis India has placed on education, integrating learning and training.

The US has been looking to India as a key partner on matters that include checking China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.

India wants to bolster military and trade connections with the United States.

Mr Modi is seeking to raise the influence that India, the world’s most populous country at 1.4 billion, has on the world stage.

Mr Biden is expected to raise US concerns about democratic backsliding in India under Mr Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party during the visit, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Tuesday.

US companies are welcoming Mr Modi warmly, and business agreements in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and investments in India by Micron Technology and other US companies are expected during the visit.

More than 200,000 Indian students were studying in the United States as of last year, according to the White House.

Thursday’s scheduled press conference in the White House is unusual: Mr Modi has not addressed a single press conference in India since becoming prime minister about nine years ago.

In May 2019, he attended a press conference in India but never took questions.

Mr Biden to bring up Russian invasion of Ukraine 

Mr Biden will bring up Russia and Ukraine ahead of the G20 summit later this year that will be held in India, National Security Advisor, Jack Sullivan has said.

A senior State Department official has said there had been a “subtle shift” in India’s approach to Russia since Mr Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin in September that “today’s era is not an era of war.”

Other Indian officials had challenged Russia for violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity and over rhetoric on nuclear weapons in recent months, said the official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

Washington accepts that India will continue buying Russian oil, as long as it does so “at rock bottom prices” below a price cap agreed by developed nations, the official added.

Human rights advocates want Mr Biden to press Mr Modi on human rights issues, both international and within India.

Mr Modi has faced criticism over legislation that fast-tracks citizenship for some migrants but excludes Muslims; a rise in violence against Muslims and other religious minorities by Hindu nationalists; and the recent conviction of India’s top opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi, for mocking Mr Modi’s surname.

The Indian government defends its record and insists that the nation’s democratic principles remain rock-solid.

AP/Reuters