Officials in New Delhi at the weekend welcomed the UN atomic watchdog's approval of an inspections agreement with India that is key to completing a nuclear deal with Washington, despite fears the landmark pact may fall at the final hurdle. The board of governors of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency unanimously approved an inspections agreement with India on Friday, thus shunting the deal on to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a collection of nations that monitor sales of civilian nuclear technology. But India still needs a waiver from the NSG - 45 states exporting nuclear fuel and technology - and ratification by the US Congress before the deal can go through. The rules of the NSG, which is expected to hold its next meeting on August 21 in Vienna, ban trade with states, such as India, that have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.