Washington - A US Senate committee on Tuesday approved the White House's plan for selling nuclear technology and material to India, bringing the agreement one step closer to passage.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 19-2 to approve the nuclear cooperation agreement, but the deal still faces challenges in the House of Representatives and is confronting a closing window of opportunity for passage as Congress nears recess ahead of the November 4 general elections.

The White House hopes Congress will ratify the deal by the time President George W Bush meets Thursday with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Bush has made the nuclear agreement with India a top priority on his foreign policy agenda as he prepares to leave office in January. The deal allows US firms to provide nuclear technology, material and know-how to India to power its civilian reactors.

The deal requires congressional approval because US law prohibits nuclear sales to countries who have not signed the nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Some members in the House are sceptical of the deal because India has not joined the treaty. The White House has warned that failing to approve the deal will leave US companies out of India's lucrative energy sector.

Bush and Singh signed the deal in 2006 after lengthy negotiations that required India to allow international inspections of its civilian - but not military - nuclear facilities.

Earlier this month, an organization of 45 countries known as the Nuclear Suppliers Group granted a US-backed waiver for India to purchase nuclear material on the international market. The waiver was required under rules banning sales to non-NPT members.

India is pursuing similar deals with France and Russia.

The United States had refused to cooperate with India's nuclear energy programme since the country first detonated an atomic bomb in 1974.

The Bush administration views the nuclear deal as the cornerstone of increasing strong diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries after decades of frosty relations during the Cold War. (dpa)