"One of the representatives said that a deal was 'within reach'," the diplomat told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity at the closed-door meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

The diplomat declined to predict how soon that might be.

It is the second time in two weeks that the highly secretive 45-member NSG, which controls the export and sale of nuclear technology, has met to try and agree a change to its rules.

Earlier, US delegation head, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns, had insisted Washington was making progress.

"I believe that we're making steady progress in this process and that we'll continue to make progress," Burns told reporters.

NSG rules ban nuclear trade with India because it refuses to sign the NPT, developed atomic bombs in secret and conducted its first nuclear test in 1974.

But Washington wants a special waiver so that the US can share with India its technology and know-how in the civilian nuclear field.

The deal, the US argues, will bring India into the NPT fold and help combat global warming by allowing India to develop low-polluting nuclear energy.

Critics say the deal undermines international non-proliferation efforts. They accuse the nuclear powers of ignoring the proliferation dangers in pursuit of commercial and political gains.

At last month's meeting of the NSG, Austria, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland were all openly sceptical.

Britain, France, Russia and Spain all strongly supported the deal.

Washington has tabled an amended paper to the NSG, addressing some of the concerns of opponents. "The new exception was designed to meet some of the concerns raised at the last meeting," the diplomat said.

Daryl Kimball, non-proliferation expert and executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, called the revised proposal "unsound and irresponsible" and called on the NSG to reject it.

"The revised US proposal does not incorporate any meaningful adjustments or concessions and is essentially the same as the earlier draft proposal," Kimball said.

"Any India-specific exemption from NSG guidelines would erode the credibility of NSG efforts to ensure that access to peaceful nuclear trade and technology is available only to those states that meet global nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament standards," he said.

India has not signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the expert objected. "It also continues to produce fissile material and expand its nuclear arsenal. As one of only three states never to have signed the NPT, it has not made a legally binding commitment to pursue nuclear disarmament."

The presence of Burns, the third-ranking State Department official, at the talks on Thursday was a sign of the urgency which Washington attaches to a deal.

Burns insisted that by giving India access to US civilian nuclear technology, the deal "will strengthen non-proliferation and helps to welcome one of the world's largest economies and the world's largest democracy more fully into the global fold."

It was "an historical opportunity to end more than three decades of India's isolation from nuclear regimes," he said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency approved an India-specific safeguards agreement in August. The NSG represents the next obstacle before the deal can be finally approved by the US Congress. The NSG must give unanimous approval.

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