Tuesday its “principal focus” now was on getting India’s waiver text approved by the NSG. “Our principal focus right now has been on the India civil nuclear deal, having worked through the IAEA, now working through the NSG, and still trying to get into a position to make the appropriate presidential determinations in early September,” secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said.

New Delhi, Aug. 26: India is working with the US to redraft the text to be placed before the Nuclear Suppliers Group on September 4 so that it addresses the concerns of sceptical nations while keeping the waiver “clean and unconditional”.

Foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon met William Burns, the US under-secretary of state for political affairs, in Washington yesterday to fine-tune the language of the text.

Delhi needs the NSG, when it meets in Vienna next month, to give it an exemption from the 45-member grouping’s nuclear-trade guidelines so the Indo-US deal can be operationalised.

Menon, sources said, would have reaffirmed to US officials that India had a problem with any prescriptive clauses (such as a ban on testing) or conditions such as a periodic review of its compliance.

The NSG, at its August 21-22 meeting, failed to arrive at a consensus after several countries — such as Australia, Ireland and New Zealand — raised non-proliferation issues and demanded changes to the draft.

“We can address the concerns of any member at an individual level since we understand that some countries may have a different take on the matter. But that cannot be clubbed with the issue of India getting a clean and unconditional waiver on NSG guidelines,” a source here said.

He hoped the sceptical countries would appreciate India’s “responsible” record on non-proliferation and the circumstances in the region that had prompted Delhi to test nuclear weapons.

“India’s commitment to non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament are exemplary and it is there for everyone to see. The test we did came in the backdrop of the region’s history, which includes wars. Yet India, without any prodding, had declared a voluntary moratorium on testing,” the source explained.

Officials said there was no question of Delhi agreeing to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) or the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

The NSG guidelines regulate international nuclear commerce. India needs the waiver to be able to carry out civil nuclear trade with other countries, ending Delhi’s 34-year isolation since it first tested nuclear weapons in 1974.

NSG sceptics — who include several Scandinavian countries, Ireland, Austria and Switzerland — want the waiver draft to include their concerns about testing, a periodic review and restrictions on sensitive enrichment and reprocessing technologies.

Apparently to assuage Indian concerns, the US ambassador to India, David Mulford, had issued a statement yesterday saying: “The US and India stand shoulder-to-shoulder in their desire for a clean exemption and we will continue to work with our Indian partners to persuade the NSG countries that such an exemption is in the international community’s best interest.”

He added: “Ahead of the scheduled NSG plenary on September 4, the US and India will continue our vigorous joint advocacy for the initiative at the highest levels of NSG governments.”

US assistant secretary of state Richard Boucher, who is in India, has met foreign ministry officials.