Ronen Sen

New Delhi, July 23: Trust vote over, the nuclear deal is in the fast lane.

The US ambassador to India, David Mulford, today said the meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group could be convened in the second week of August, raising the chances of the US Congress having a final vote on the accord in September.

The IAEA board of governors is scheduled to meet on August 1 to approve the India-specific safeguards text.

Mulford, speaking from Ohio, said he was hopeful that the NSG meeting would be convened “in a week or 10 days” from the day the IAEA governors hold their session.

The envoy seemed delighted at yesterday’s trust vote outcome, dubbing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s victory “a major event”, one “that is important for India”. “We are delighted this has taken place. We are ready to act. The US has been ready and is now geared up.”

Secretary of state Condoleezza Rice will be holding talks with leaders of Australia, New Zealand and other countries to drum up support for India in the IAEA and the NSG.

The government’s deal drivers, too, seemed to have shifted to a higher gear. Ronen Sen, the Indian ambassador to the US and one of the key negotiators of the accord, was learnt to have discussed the next steps with the Prime Minister and foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee today.

It is the US that will move the NSG for waivers in its guidelines to allow nuclear trade for civilian use but the government has, on its own, stepped up efforts to reach out to the countries that make up the 45-member group.

A group of ministers and officials is expected to soon travel to the NSG countries to get the waiver needed for civil nuclear co-operation with the international community.

Among the ministers, Kapil Sibal, Prithviraj Chavan and Anand Sharma will explain India’s position and dwell on the reasons for the exemption to be given, sources said.

Sharma is already on the move. He took off for Singapore today to attend an Asean Regional Forum meeting, where several leaders from the NSG countries are present.