A cornerstone of his trip to New Delhi -- whose strong ties with Moscow date back to the Soviet Union -- is set to be the signing of a new accord for Russia to build four new nuclear reactors to generate energy in southern India.

Defence ties will also be discussed in the two-day visit, with Moscow keen to retain its position as India's main supplier of weaponry amid increasing competition from the United States and Israel.

But the trip has been overshadowed by the Mumbai attacks a week ago in which suspected Islamic militants left 172 people dead in coordinated strikes on India's financial capital.

The Russian leader, whose visit was planned well before the attacks, is the first foreign head of state to visit the country after the bloodshed in Mumbai. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited on Wednesday.

The attacks brought back unwelcome memories for Russia of deadly sieges carried out by militants from the southern republic of Chechnya.

"The highest attention will be given to the question of the widest cooperation in the fight against terrorism, both on a bilateral level and with other powers," the Interfax news agency quoted presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko as saying ahead of the talks.

Medvedev touched down in New Delhi Thursday evening where he was due to have dinner with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before a full programme of high-level talks on Friday, officials said.

The wide main streets of central Delhi have been festooned with Russian flags to welcome Medvedev but the visit is taking place under the tightest security with a visible police presence.

The two sides are expected on Friday to ink a deal for Russia to build four more nuclear reactors in the southern state of Tamil Nadu in the latest sign of burgeoning ties.

Moscow is already building two 1,000-megawatt light water nuclear reactors at Kudankulam and can now construct more after a group of nuclear supplier states in September lifted a ban on India shopping for nuclear technology.

Energy-hungry India has signed nuclear cooperation pacts with France and the United States since the ban was lifted but Russia until now has been the only foreign state in the Indian nuclear industry.

"We think that during my visit this area will make its biggest progress yet," Medvedev said in an interview with Indian state television channel Doordarshan, a transcript of which was released by the Kremlin.

He is also set to sign a range of bilateral accords on cooperation in areas including space exploration, financial markets and tourism, Prikhodko said.

The continued strength of ties between Moscow and New Delhi contrasts with the sometimes prickly relationship between Russia and India's longtime foe Pakistan.

Adding another common element, Medvedev is a keen exponent of the Indian art of yoga and has boasted of his ability to stand on his head.

Business is also strengthening, with the two countries increasing trade volumes by a third each year and on course to reach a 2010 target of trade worth 10 billion dollars, according to the Kremlin.

But Russia, which accounts for 70 percent of Indian military hardware, has been concerned that its slice of the defence market risks becoming leaner amid disputes over costs and late deliveries.

Medvedev said in the television interview that current defence cooperation was "not enough" and there needed to be more projects such as the Bramos anti-ship cruise missile jointly developed by the two sides.

He said he wanted defence, security and weapons trade between the two nations to develop beyond a simple "buy and sell" relationship towards a fully-fledged bilateral cooperation.

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