Droupadi Murmu's invite to heads of state and chief ministers attending the weekend G20 summit describes her as "President of Bharat" instead of the traditional "President of India", the change marking a significant shift in the way the country is described on the international stage.

Murmu's invite to G20 foreign leaders and chief ministers for a dinner on September 9, says: "President of Bharat" instead of "President of India", reports ndtv.com.

No official communication on the reason behind this change has yet been issued by the government, although officials say this is the first change of India's nomenclature for any official event, according to sources.

"Bharat" has also been used in a G20 booklet handed to foreign delegates, titled "Bharat, The Mother Of Democracy", to highlight, in India's G20 presidency, its rich democratic ethos for thousands of years, the ndtv.com report said.

"In Bharat that is India, taking the consent of the people in governance has been part of life since earliest recorded history," are the opening words of the booklet.

BJP leaders welcomed the move, but the presidential invite drew a sharp response from the Opposition.

Among the first to react to the change was Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. "So the news is indeed true. Rashtrapati Bhawan has sent out an invite for a G20 dinner on Sept 9th in the name of 'President of Bharat' instead of the usual 'President of India'," he posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor Tuesday said while there is no constitutional objection to calling India 'Bharat', he hopes the government will not be so foolish to completely dispense with 'India' which has incalculable brand value.

In a post on X, Tharoor, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, said: "While there is no constitutional objection to calling India 'Bharat', which is one of the country's two official names, I hope the government will not be so foolish as to completely dispense with 'India', which has incalculable brand value built up over centuries," he said."

We should continue to use both words rather than relinquish our claim to a name redolent of history, a name that is recognised around the world," Tharoor said.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was among the first to cheer the big change. "REPUBLIC OF BHARAT - happy and proud that our civilisation is marching ahead boldly towards AMRIT KAAL," he posted on X.