The document is meant to open the way for India to do business with a group of 45 nations exporting coveted nuclear fuel and technology. A restricted draft of New Delhi's safeguards agreement was being circulated among the IAEA 35 board members nations ahead of a board meeting meant to approve the deal.

Much of the 23-page document is in line with other existing safeguards agreements. But a clause appears to call into question the effectiveness of any International Atomic Energy Agency effort to make sure New Delhi's civilian nuclear activities do not aid its atomic weapons programme.

The draft notes that India "may take corrective measures to ensure uninterrupted operation of its civilian nuclear reactors in the event of disruption of foreign fuel supplies."

While ambiguous, that phrasing appears to be cracking open the door for India to end IAEA oversight of some facilities, allowing it to potentially use them for the manufacture not of fuel but of fissile weapons material.

And an annex to the draft meant to list the facilities India is prepared to put under IAEA supervision is left blank, essentially meaning that board members are being asked to approve an agreement without knowing what it will apply to.

"The board should ask what 'corrective measures' are supposed to mean," said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association in Washington. "It could mean 'we will withdraw from safeguards those facilities that we need to withdraw from and we will use in those facilities other, unsupervised fuel sources.'"

As for the blank annex, "it matters which facilities you are placing under safeguards because some of India's facilities have greater or lesser relevance to its (military) nuclear programme," said Kimball. "It is standard practice for the board of governors to understand which facilities are covered."

Without IAEA safeguards, India cannot hope to gain the business of countries exporting nuclear technology, which are grouped in the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

But even if the board approves the India-IAEA agreement in a special session late this month or in early August, the Nuclear Suppliers Group nations are not expected to discuss an exemption to the rules for India until September.

That would likely delay attempts by the US administration to push Congress to approve landmark 2005 Indo-US deal that foresees the US sharing its civilian nuclear know-how with India. Both countries are eager to wrap up loose ends under the tenure of US President George W Bush.

The Indo-US deal and attempts for Nuclear Suppliers Group approval are meant to make New Delhi eligible for imports of nuclear fuel and civilian nuclear technology.