A civilian nuclear deal between India and the United States is awaiting ratification in Washington -- but India has other options if the Washington deal falls through.
India is now in a race against time to see through a pending civilian nuclear deal with the United States. The deal, which grants India special status to access the global nuclear market despite not having signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), has already received the required approval of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). It is now up to the U.S. Congress to finalize a bilateral agreement between New Delhi and Washington that would strategically bring India into a closer relationship with the United States while enabling the U.S. nuclear industry to corner the lucrative Indian nuclear market.