Govt: Deal not put on hold

The government today dismissed suggestions that the Indo-US civil nuclear deal had been put on hold and hoped that it would be able to address concerns raised by the Left parties within a week.

"The deal is not put on hold. We will be able to address their (Left parties) concerns within a week," Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal told PTI.

The Left parties had some concerns and the panel would address the same, he said, adding that the operationalisation of the deal was not expected to happen before October next year.

"The deal is not likely to be operationalised this year. The time table we have in mind is some time in the latter half of next year," he said.