By Y.P. Rajesh

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India and the United States agreed on Friday to draft a plan to implement a controversial nuclear deal as Washington assured New Delhi it would not raise the bar on the landmark agreement.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns reaffirmed Washington's commitment to the deal, and said President George W. Bush's administration hoped to get Congress to approve it in early 2006, ahead of a Bush visit to India.

Under the deal, Washington would help energy-hungry India's civilian nuclear programme to boost growth in Asia's third-largest economy.

Washington also promised to help New Delhi -- a nuclear power which has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty -- be treated as a permanent exception at the 44-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which bars nuclear cooperation with non-NPT members.

In return, India promised to separate its civilian and military nuclear facilities and place the civilian ones under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards to ensure U.S. nuclear supplies are not diverted for military use.

Friday's talks between Burns and Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran were the first substantive discussions over the pact agreed by Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Washington in July.

OPPOSITION IN CONGRESS

Strong opposition to the deal in the U.S. Congress and what India saw as ambiguities over the timing of steps the two countries have to take under the agreement, had sparked doubts in New Delhi over Washington's commitment.

Saran said the two sides had agreed to draft a plan.

"We will be looking at precisely what are the kind of modalities that we need to put in," Saran said.

"What we had today was an initial exchange of views on these modalities. We sought certain clarifications from the American side and the American side also asked for clarifications from our side," he said.

Although many Congress members, both Republican and Democrat, were opposed to the deal, Burns said he was convinced the legislation would be approved as more information in support of the agreement was placed before Congressmen.

The NSG this week put off action on a U.S. proposal to lift restraints on transferring nuclear technology to India and another meeting of the group is not expected until May.

But Burns said Washington, as a member, could call for a special meeting any time it wanted and would do so when the time was right.

"We are very clear in our administration ... this agreement has not changed. We are not adding any conditions that we expect the Indian government to meet," Burns said.

"It is very important that as we go along, we meet the commitments made to each other. And that we not move the goalposts or, as we say in American English, raise the bar."