Indian government bond yields ended flat for a third consecutive session on Thursday, as traders stayed away from making big bets ahead of the minutes of the central bank's latest policy meeting and, more importantly, the JPMorgan index inclusion next week.

India's benchmark 10-year yield ended at 6.9781%, following its previous close of 6.9746%.

The 10-year U.S. yield was around 4.25% in Asian hours, with markets expecting two U.S. interest rate cuts in 2024, despite the Federal Reserve itself projecting only one.

Back home, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has said India should avoid "adventurism" and the "clamour" to signal a pivot in monetary policy and should focus on meeting its 4% inflation target.

The RBI has blamed high food prices for hindering the disinflation trajectory and as such, in its latest policy meeting, maintained status quo on rates and stance, although two members voted for a rate cut and change in stance.

The minutes of that meeting will be released on Friday.

The market also remains focused on foreign inflows with just a week to go before India's bonds are included in JPMorgan's emerging market debt index.

These flows have crossed $10 billion in the nine months since the Wall Street bank announced the long-awaited inclusion.

In recent weeks, foreigners have shifted their preference to longer duration bonds, with nearly 60% of buying in the 10-year-and-above papers.

"We remain moderately positive on Indian government bond duration as index inclusion and slowing inflation globally will help push long rates lower," said Clement Niel, a portfolio manager for emerging markets local debt at BNP Paribas Asset Management.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Savio D'Souza)