Hours before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh landed in the U.S. to
hold what is likely to be his final official meeting with
President Barack Obama, a senior administration official said
the White House continued to have “specific concerns” regarding
India’s nuclear liability law.  In a background call with the
media, the official however firmly pushed back on any notion
that the bilateral relationship had “plateaued,” arguing that
Friday’s Oval Office meeting between the two heads of government
would be a “short working visit” that would address a wide range
of bilateral issues and set out a roadmap for the path ahead
into the 21st century, that would also consider the
post-2014-elections scenario in India.  While progress with the
landmark civilian nuclear energy agreement slowed after India
adopted the nuclear liability law, the signing of a “pre-early-
works agreement” between nuclear supplier companies in the U.S.
and India’s nuclear operator, the Nuclear Power Corporation of
India Limited (NPCIL), appeared