Senate vote welcome, but conclusions reserved: India

New Delhi, Nov 17 (UNI) India today welcomed the US Senate approval of the Indo-US nuclear deal, but reserved its ''conclusions'' as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said there was still ''a long way to go before it becomes a living reality.'' Dr Singh, however, said he had the ''assurance of the US President (George W Bush) that the US administration is aware of our concerns and maybe work with us so that the final outcome is in line with the mutual commitments'' set out in the July 18, 2005 deal and the March 3, 2006 separation plan which had the approval of the two countries.

The Prime Minister made the remarks while replying to questions after his key note address at the two-day Hindustan Times Leadership Summit which began here today.

He said there were aspects in the two Bills, passed by the US Senate today and earlier by the House of Representatives, which were ''not identical.'' Under the US legislative process, there should be a reconciliation process at a joint sitting of the House and the Senate and this was expected in the next few weeks, the Prime Minister said.

He said he sincerely hoped that the process would take into account all the concerns expressed by India.

India's main concerns relate to a move by a section of law makers in the US to cap India's nuclear programme for defence purposes and subject the Indo-US nuclear deal for cooperation on the civil side to an annual clearance from the US Congress.

Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee also welcomed the passage of the Bill, but reserved India's ''conclusions'' till the final version of the US law is enacted.

''We must await the final version before drawing any conclusions on the legislation,'' Mr Mukherjee said in a statement.

Welcoming the Senate's...etc etc Editors: Pl pick up from para three of DI 19, NUCLEAR-US-PRANAB.

UNI SN RP VV1900