India's efforts to firm up a safeguards agreement with the IAEA have a moved a decisive step forward with the agency today for the first time giving a firm statement that both sides were "close to a final text', indicating that only a few minor issues now remained before the draft agreement is ready for further consideration. It's learnt that talks are continuing even after the Indian negotiating team returned after the fifth round of productive discussions last week. "We are close to a final text,' an IAEA spokesperson told The Indian Express when asked about the status of these discussions. As a scheduled meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors is currently in session, sources said, India's Permanent Representative to the IAEA Saurabh Kumar was holding consultations with agency officials and other key countries on the margins. Based on the feedback he is receiving from New Delhi, there is a concerted effort underway to firm up the draft agreement. Clearly, India and IAEA have remained in close touch after the DAE-led negotiating team returned with a draft that was almost ready with only some areas of divergence on representing issues like the right to take corrective action in the text of the agreement. Sources said there has been movement with both sides showing flexibility in a bid to end the negotiations at the earliest. After the last round of talks that concluded on February 28, the IAEA had said: "Considerable progress has been achieved during the round of negotiation about a safeguards agreement between IAEA and India held this week. Consultations between India and the Agency will continue.' These consultations have resulted in some forward movement with officials explaining that it is not necessary for negotiators to be face-to-face given that most differences that remain are largely over language and representation of certain requirements than over any substantial issues. It is increasingly evident now that India would like to have an agreed text by the time External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee undertakes his planned visit to the US on March 23-25. Once the agreement is frozen, Washington would prefer to call for a special meeting of the IAEA Board to approve the draft though the option of approaching the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) directly with draft too is not being ruled out. Broadly, India and US are working with the objective that the NSG exemption is taken up for final approval at the Group's annual plenary on May 19. This would give just about enough window for the US Congress to carry forward its process. The key, however, is for the UPA government to carry this through the domestic political process here. The UPA-Left committee will have to be shown the draft text before any final approval to proceed further and that is where the Manmohan Singh Government will be faced with some tough decisions given that the CPM is showing no signs of flexibility yet.