The US circulated the draft of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) guidelines to all the members of the Group. Reportedly, the draft links the waiving of the cartel’s export restrictions for India to the non-proliferation commitments PM Manmohan Singh made in July 2005 and does not impose any extraneous conditions. However, the US did indicate the possibility of the draft undergoing substantial revision once the 45-nation group takes up the India exemption in Vienna on August 211. Reports also noted that Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and the PM’s Special Envoy, Shyam Saran, would travel to Vienna to clarify questions individual NSG members might have.

In other news, the Bush administration has indicated that it would try hard to get Congressional approval for the civil nuclear deal with India by the end of the year, after hopefully getting the NSG clearance by early September. The acting State Department spokesperson, Gonzalo Gallegos stated that the administration was working with the US Congress to discuss the issues and resolve any outstanding concerns that they may have2.

• 1. Siddharth Varadarajan, “NSG draft waiver covers all nuclear items,” The Hindu, August 12, 2008, at http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/12/stories/2008081254711000.htm
• 2. “US working hard to get n-deal through this year,” Times of India, August 08, 2008, at http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/US_working_hard_...