WASHINGTON, April 4: The US State Department has warned that the “time is running out” to finalise a nuclear deal with India, which is at risk of being left to an uncertain fate when the next US president takes office in January.

Faced with a strong opposition within India, the deal awaits final approval since July 2005 when it was announced during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the White House.

“Certainly, I think time is running out to be able to give this current Congress the opportunity to consider this arrangement,” said State Department’s deputy spokesman Tom Casey when asked at a briefing if it was possible to finalise the deal before President Bush completes his tenure. But he held out the possibility that the deal could be finished even if it bogs down this year, saying that “there would be opportunities in future Congresses and with the future administration to move forward on this.”

Diplomatic observers in Washington, however, noted that the next US president may not be as keen to promote this deal as President Bush who saw it as one of few major achievements of his administration.

The observers noted the US team that negotiated the deal would also leave with the Bush administration, requiring the new administration to do more work before it can endorse it.

The deal, when announced, was promoted as a landmark arrangement which would not only open for India the door to US nuclear technology but would also facilitate New Delhi’s entry into the elite club of nuclear powers.

But communist members of the ruling coalition in India and some opposition groups strongly oppose the deal, saying that it would compromise New Delhi’s ability to pursue an independent foreign policy and will place unwanted restrictions on future nuclear tests.

At the State Department, Mr Casey said the US understood that the Indian government has some “internal issues that it needs to resolve before it can move forward,” but urged New Delhi to move as fast as possible if it wants to conclude the deal while Mr Bush is still in power.

“We certainly would like to see this deal concluded as soon as possible. And we, of course, have our own calendar in terms of elections and a legislative timetable,” he said.