On Monday, French and Indian officials signed more than a dozen agreements including one on jointly combating terror, but stopped short of a final deal on New Delhi's desire to purchase 36 French Rafale fighter jets. Both Modi and Hollande said they hoped a final agreement would be hammered out soon.

Modi had announced India's intention to buy the fighter jets manufactured by Dassault Aviation in Paris in April. Since then officials on the two sides have been discussing prices, servicing and other details.

After viewing the parade, Hollande was to attend a reception at India's sprawling presidential palace.

The French leader arrived Sunday in the northern city of Chandigarh, where Modi joined him and lauded France's decision to invest $1 billion every year in India in various sectors.

Chandigarh was designed in the 1950s by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier and is one of three places that France has pledged to help develop as so-called "smart cities" with clean water supplies, efficient sewage disposal and public transportation.

Hollande and French business leaders met with their Indian counterparts to boost bilateral trade, which in 2014 totaled $8.6 billion.