New Delhi, Oct. 16 -- For the first time, a US secretary of state is set to visit India without any planned meetings in New Delhi.

Marco Rubio's itinerary instead includes Mumbai and Jamnagar during his trip from October 17-22 to India and Uzbekistan. In Uzbekistan, he will visit Samarkand, the second-largest city of the country and notably, also not the capital.

Although it is Ahmedabad that has emerged as the centre-stage of India's diplomatic engagements ever since Narendra Modi's prime ministership began in 2014 - Modi has hosted Trump, Xi Jinping, Shinzo Abe and Benjamin Netanyahu there - this is the first time Jamnagar has been thrust into the spotlight.

Jamnagar is home to the Indian oligarch Mukesh Ambani family's major busines...