The king held talks with Foreign Minister Natwar Singh and was due later to see Home Affairs Minister Shivraj Patil and Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

The monarch, who will be chief guest at India's Republic Day parade on Wednesday, was to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Abdul Kalam on Tuesday.

An agreement to build Bhutan's first railway was expected to be signed during the trip.

The Indian Express newspaper said the south of the landlocked Himalayan kingdom would be linked to three railway points in India's Assam state and two in West Bengal.

The network is aimed at boosting trade and economic development of the Mahayana Buddhist nation of 734,000 people nestled between India and China.