The forty-five members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group have approved a U.S. proposal to drop a ban on trade with India, advancing a U.S.-Indian atomic energy deal.

The decision follows a tense debate over conditions demanded by the group to minimise any damage to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which India has not joined.

Ratification by the U.S. Congress is still needed before the U.S.-India deal can take force.

Congress must act before adjourning in late September for the presidential elections or the deal could be left to an uncertain fate under a new U.S. administration.

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