India adopted the GST in 2017, sweeping in more than a dozen domestic state taxes in a bid to unify the economy on the principle of "one nation, one tax, one market". It was hailed as the biggest tax reform since independence from Britain in 1947.

According to sources, Modi asserted, "Nehru partitioned the country once, and then again. Under the Indus Waters Treaty, 80 per cent of the water was given to Pakistan. Later, through his secretary, Nehru admitted his mistake, saying that it brought no benefit."

During his interaction with PM Narendra Modi, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla said India has the "ability and position to be in a leadership role in a space station."

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday and looked forward to continued exchanges in the days to come.

Calling the interaction “a proud moment,” Modi later posted on X, “Had a great interaction with Shubhanshu Shukla. We discussed a wide range of subjects including his experiences in space, progress in science & technology as well as India’s ambitious Gaganyaan mission. India is proud of his feat.”

The collapse of the prime minister’s high-stakes efforts to transform ties with the world’s two superpowers has exposed the limits of India’s leverage.

Mr Modi did not mention the tariffs or the US in his speech that lasted nearly two hours. Last week, US president Donald Trump imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil in a move that sharply escalated tensions between the two nations.

During his Friday speech, Modi also hinted India would continue its unilateral suspension of the Indus Water Treaty. The treaty, which India suspended after the April massacre, allows sharing of the Indus River that runs about 2,897 kilometers (1,800 miles) through South Asia and is a lifeline for both countries.

PM Modi met Wang, the first Chinese minister to visit India since the disengagement of forces on the LAC last October, following his talks with NSA Ajit Doval