New Delhi, June 24: The Nuclear Suppliers Group has deferred a decision on India's membership till at least November in a move that was expected but still a fresh reminder of the challenges New Delhi faces in trying to join the 48-nation cartel.

The NSG, which sets the rules of global trade in nuclear technology and fuel, said it had discussed the "technical, legal and political" aspects of applications for membership by countries that are not signatories to the non-proliferation treaty(NPT).

India and Pakistan had both applied for NSG membership last summer, and neither is part of the NPT regime. Every current member of the NSG is a signatory to the NPT.

But India's membership has been held up principally because of opposition from China, which has resisted pressure from New Delhi's friends within the group.

"The NSG had discussions on the issue of Technical, Legal and Political Aspects of the participation of non-NPT states in the NSG," the group said in a statement today after a two-day plenary in Bern. The Indian foreign office had not responded to the deferral till late Saturday night.

India had received a special waiver from the NSG in 2008, which allows it to conduct nuclear trade with cartel members even though it isn't a member. That waiver, earned thanks to pressure from the then George W. Bush administration in the US on other NSG members, helped India develop its own domestic nuclear industry.

But India wants NSG membership in order to shield itself from any change of mind within the group on the waiver - which in theory can be withdrawn - and to be able to influence future rules.

The 2008 waiver, India has argued, showcases the NSG's trust in New Delhi's commitment to non-proliferation even without being part of the NPT regime. That trust, India argues, should translate into quick membership into the NSG.

But China has argued that the NSG must first frame a common set of criteria that applicants that are not signatories to the NPT must fulfil, before their applications are treated on individual merit.

Ahead of the Bern plenary, China had repeatedly made clear that its position on India's membership application remained unchanged - and that its view would not change with pressure from other countries. After Beijing made that position clear, Indian officials did not expect a breakthrough at the Bern meeting.

But the group today made clear that it viewed "informal" consultations as the best bet for any rapprochement between members on the membership of non-NPT members, and that the group was yet to formulate the criteria for India and Pakistan to meet.

"The group decided to continue its discussion and noted the intention of the chair to organise an informal meeting in November," the NSG said in its statement.

The NSG's deferral of any move on India's membership bid came even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Portugal, an NSG member that has been favourable to New Delhi's membership.

Modi will visit the US after Portugal. He will then visit the Netherlands - again an NSG member that has supported India.