This Republic Day, we hope to have a friend over…invited President Obama to be the 1st US President to grace the occasion as Chief Guest. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 21, 2014

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US President Obama meets PM Modi, calls him a 'man of action'

Obama and Modi at the White House earlier this year. (File Photo)

@ invite of @narendramodi President Obama will travel to #India in Jan 2015 to participate in Indian Republic Day celebration as Chief Guest — @NSCPress (@NSCPress) November 21, 2014

Visit will mark 1st time US president will have honor of attending Republic Day, which commemorates adoption of India’s constitution #India — @NSCPress (@NSCPress) November 21, 2014

President Obama will meet w/ @narendramodi and Indian officials to strengthen and expand the U.S.-#India strategic partnership — @NSCPress (@NSCPress) November 21, 2014

President Dwight D Eisenhower with former PM Jawaharlal Nehru during his visit to India on December 10, 1959. (Getty Images)

1969 :: India Welcomes USA President Richard Nixon pic.twitter.com/t7V05xDzc4 — indianhistorypics (@IndiaHistorypic) November 21, 2014

In year 2000, US president Bill Clinton visited India this visit created so much media interest. (Getty Images)

President George W Bush in India http://t.co/CET9Wt4J3p http://t.co/nin4AKcXOW — Pranav Guptas (@TriposoDelhi) June 12, 2014

WASHINGTON: Barack Obama will become the first American president to visit India twice while in office following his acceptance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day on January 26. It will also mark the first time that a US president will have the honor of attending Republic Day which commemorates the adoption of India’s Constitution, the White House said, while confirming Obama’s travel program.The visit will involve more than the pomp and ceremony usually associated with Republic Day. Affirming the strong message of friendship that India’s conveys with its choice of the chief guest, the White House announcement also said the ''President will meet with the Prime Minister and Indian officials to strengthen and expand the US-India strategic partnership.''Prime Minister Modi first sprang the surprise by tweeting on Friday evening that "This Republic Day, we hope to have a friend over…invited President Obama to be the 1st US President to grace the occasion as Chief Guest." Within minutes, the White House confirmed the visit in a return tweet, affirming that Obama will indeed visit India to participate in the Republic Day.The Twitter diplomacy came on a day the US president was rocked by a furious Republican response to his immigration reform proposals even as he headed out to Las Vegas to explain his actions to the American people.It has always been on the cards that President Obama will visit India for a second time in his second term, after his first visit in 2010 during his first term when Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister. Notwithstanding all the caterwauling from the punditocracy that US-India ties are cold/frozen/ moribund/doomed etc under Obama's watch, relations have been on a continued upswing (with the occasional wrinkle), not so much because of individuals, but because the two countries have many common ideals and goals, and the people-to-people links are strong.There are more high-net worth (HNW) and academically and scholastically accomplished Indians in the US than in any other country in the world, and by some accounts, more people of Indian-origin in the U.S than in any other country. All this was very much in evidence during the immigration wrangle on Thursday when Obama repeatedly invoked the contribution of high-skilled immigrants, including Indian-American scholars and entrepreneurs.Aside from the economic and commercial linkages premised on India being a large market for US goods, there is the small matter of Washington’s Asia pivot, rebalancing, and China’s growing assertiveness."First time a US president to attend Republic Day, which commemorates the adoption of India's constitution. We are committed to strengthening and expanding the US-India strategic partnership," tweeted National Security Advisor Susan Rice, following up on the White House announcement.Prior to President Obama, there have been only five US presidential visits to India. Eisenhower was the first US president to visit India in 1959. President Nixon followed a decade later in 1969, making the shortest of all presidential visits to India (one day). Close to another decade followed before President Carter visited in January 1978. Then there was a 22-year hiatus (like Kennedy and Johnson, both Reagan and Bush Sr passed up on India) before President Clinton visited in 2000, followed by President George Bush in 2006.Obama not only visited India during his first term, but is now following up in his second term. He has also hosted both Indian Prime Ministers — Singh and Modi — who have served concurrently in India during his two terms.