With attempts to get a quick and clean exemption from NSG not materialising immediately, India and the US are set to work on changes in the draft waiver for fine-tuning its provisions in the light of reservations expressed by some countries.
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon left this morning for Washington after the two-day Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting here ended inconclusively yesterday with another round scheduled early next month for considering India's case for an exemption to do nuclear commerce with other countries.
Though officials maintained that Menon's trip to Washington was pre-planned, the significance of the visit is not lost on observers who feel that he may utilise the occasion to work with the US on how to come out with a waiver that will be acceptable to all without compromising India's position.
The 45-nation NSG will meet early next month, possibly on September 4-5, to consider the changes which US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said are necessary to accommodate the concerns raised by some countries.
Boucher said in Mumbai yesterday that some countries had "objections" and "we need to listen" to them.
"I don't want to lie to you...I can't really lie. There might be some changes that we could accept. But we are pushing for a clean text", he had said.
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"The US and India will have to sit together and see what we can accommodate and what we can't. We will have to talk to the other governments involved", said Boucher.
India is also firm that it wants an unconditional exemption and a language acceptable to it on all issues, including right to conduct tests.