NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Pope Francis in Rome for the first time this weekend when he visits for the G20 summit, officials said Thursday, in what could be a thorny encounter.

Activists point out that religious minorities in Hindu-majority India have faced increased levels of discrimination and violence since Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014.

While Muslims who make up around 14 percent of the population have borne the brunt, Christians, who account for just over two percent, have also suffered a rise in reported violent attacks.