The United States Tuesday denied any double standards in the non-proliferation policy in the wake of its civilian nuclear deal with India.
It said the whole accord only contributed to the policy with New Delhi making a number of commitments to that effect.
"India made a number of commitments it would not have otherwise made in terms of adhering to international standards in the nuclear suppliers group, in the missile technology control regime, and others," Andrew Semmel, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Nuclear Non Proliferation Policy and Negotiations, said before the Senate.
"The net effects of this from a positive standpoint is nonproliferation," he said replying to a question from a senate member that "there is a perception of a double standard about our agreement with India."
"This is an issue that's obviously been debated, not just out on the airwaves, the mass media and the think tanks, but also here in both chambers of Congress.
I think very strong -- very strongly both the House and the Senate voted in support of the bill that would basically treat India as an exception to the standards that countries that don't have full scope safeguards ought to be treated in a certain way," Semmel added.