New Delhi - India and the US walked over a giant step towards a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement on Thursday. It is a key factor that will finally unlock the doors for dual use technology supply to India.

Expressing satisfaction with India's separation plan, US President George Bush said he could now take the matter to the US Congress for ratification. Hectic negotiations went into drawing the final parameters of the agreement.

Mr. Bush is hopeful of selling it to the non-proliferation hawks in the US Congress and get a restrictive law of 1978 vintage amended to permit nuclear cooperation with India.

Addressing a joint Press conference with Mr. Bush, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, "We have reached an understanding on the implementation of our agreement on civil nuclear cooperation of July 18, 2005." He said he conveyed to Mr. Bush that "India has finalized the identification of civilian facilities to which we had committed."

On his part, Mr. Bush gave the assurance that he "now intended to approach the US Congress to amend US laws and the Nuclear Suppliers Group to adjust its guideline". Mr. Singh said, "We will discuss with the International Atomic Energy Agency in regard to fashioning an appropriate India-specific safeguards agreement."

Sources said the "last mile" took the longest to cover but "we finally did manage to agree upon the parameters of the agreement". The US, they said, is "pleased" with the separation plan. For India, major assurances have been woven into the plan. "It was a difficult bargain but we achieved it," said sources. Clarifying that no agreement was signed, they said India only "presented" a separation plan to the Americans on the basis of which the US Congress could amend its law.

On a parallel track, India will work with the IAEA to evolve "India-specific" safeguards since it is not a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and yet possesses nuclear weapons. The separation plan de facto acknowledges India's nuclear power status since it recognizes India's military program. "While the deal has nothing to do with our weapons program, it recognizes that India wants to add to its strategic program, which it has every right to," sources said.

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