New Delhi, Sept. 8 :     President Bill Clinton may visit India in January, but he is unlikely to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations. Indians are keen that the US President attend the Republic Day celebrations, but the Clinton administration has indicated that the visit can take place between January 10 and 20. Efforts are still on to convince Clinton to accept the Indian invitation. Although Clinton is keen to make the long-delayed visit, his reluctance to be part of the Republic Day celebrations is understandable. New Delhi, which conducted the Pokhran tests in May last year and declared itself a nuclear weapons power, is likely to put on display its sophisticated military hardware and the Agni II missile, which can carry a nuclear warhead, at the parade. The presence of the US President on the occasion may be construed by different sections, particularly those who are insisting that India and Pakistan dismantle their nuclear and missile programmes, as endorsement of India?s emergence as a nuclear power. Foreign minister Jaswant Singh is scheduled to leave for the US on September 19 for the United Nations General Assembly session. Singh will address the Assembly on September 22 but before that, he will also hold meetings with his American counterpart Madeleine Albright and US deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott. The discussions are likely to cover a wide range of issues, particularly the developments in Afghanistan, but the proposed visit of the US President will be high on the agenda. A final date for Clinton?s visit might emerge after the meetings. Jaswant Singh is going to the US ostensibly to participate in the UN session in New York, but he plans to meet officials of the Clinton administration and members of American thinktanks, including Henry Kissinger, during the visit which is likely to extend to a week. Singh is expected to hold meetings with chief executive officers (CEOs) of leading American companies and members of the Council for Foreign Relations and the Indian Study Group. He is also scheduled to deliver a lecture on India?s foreign policy, with special emphasis on Indo-US relations, at the Harvard University. The extensive meetings that Singh is planning with US officials and opinion makers indicate the significance Delhi is attaching to improving relations with Washington. However, the Indian efforts will have to be matched by the US if the two sides are to give a meaningful shape to their ties. Relations between the two countries soured following New Delhi?s decision to conduct five nuclear tests between May 11 and 13 last year. However, over the year, both New Delhi and Washington have ironed out their differences though both continue to hold divergent views on the nuclear issue India?s decision to release the draft of its nuclear doctrine has evoked strong reaction from the US, which has expressed concern that this may lead to an arms race in South Asia. This is one of the issues that Singh is likely to discuss with the US officials. The foreign minister also has to assure the Americans about India?s intentions on signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). If the BJP-led coalition returns to power, it is likely that a decision on the treaty will be an issue which will top its agenda.