INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been urged to explain why it has spent billions in public cash on “the world’s most powerful cyber weapon” to spy on state institutions.

A New York Times report revealed on Friday that the government splashed out on Israeli Pegasus spyware and a missile system as part of an intelligence and weapons deal worth nearly $2bn in 2017.

The Indian government has however denied buying the spyware, which was allegedly used to infect phones of its opponents, rights activists and journalists in India.