If a Bill is not fully passed by both chambers of the Congress and sent to the President for approval, it lapses and the process will have to begin from scratch. This would mean going back to the respective committees in both chambers and dealing with the new composition of the House of Representatives.

Part of the problem is that the US Additional Protocol, a matter that has nothing to do with the n-deal, had been tagged to the Indian legislation. Some Senators have demanded that this be debated separately.

In New Delhi, the understanding is that once the reconciliation process begins in Washington, negotiations on the bilateral agreement can be hastened. Similar efforts will be made on the India-specific safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Ideally, these will all be finalised simultaneously by mid-November.

This would time well with the “lame duck” session of this Congress in November. In this session, up and down vote on both the Bill and the bilateral agreement can be slated. An up and down vote means no amendments can be moved, just a plain vote which usually doesn’t take much time.

But for this tight schedule to fall in place, sources said, it is vital that Senate votes soon. Friday may just be right.