Indrani Bagchi | TNN New Delhi: With the nuclear deal getting a fresh lease of life in the twilight of the Manmohan Singh government, there appears to be a reignited buzz on both sides of the Atlantic. US undersecretary for political affairs, William Burns, who succeeded Nicholas Burns on the job after he quit in March, is likely to make his maiden visit to India later this month. The visit would have otherwise been a run-of-themill affair until things hotted up on the deal. But with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) beckoning, rumours are rife that US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice may coax Nick Burns out of retirement to take on some of the nuclear diplomacy with key naysayers in the NSG. When Burns left the State Department earlier this year, he had committed only to the nuclear deal. Indications from Washington are that Bush and Rice may call on his skills at this point. At the NSG, of course, the point-man would be Richard Stratford, the US' acknowledged expert on nuclear deals. He will be holding the fort on the technical aspects of the deal, and there will be many questions, doubts and sceptics that both India and the US would have to overcome. Meanwhile, in a development that is considered significant by diplomatic observers here, foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee is expected to be the guest of honour at the 4th of July celebrations by the US mission here. It's important because normally these are protocol affairs where high level representation is rare. Clearly, the government is making a political statement here with Mukherjee's presence at the event, whose timing, in the light of current events, is being considered important. Mukherjee's presence is also being seen as a means to repair some diplomatic damage that happened during his last visit to Washington a few months ago. Burns' visit will be utilized to reset the relationship on a faster track than has been the last few months. The nuclear deal has sucked the life out of many other areas of the relationship and this is essentially an attempt to put some energy back into things. Over the last few months, the US assistant secretary for the region Richard Boucher has been racking up frequent flyer miles to Pakistan but avoiding India. LAST RESORT? William Burns