New Delhi: Government today dismissed suggestions that the Indo-US civil nuclear deal has been put on hold and hoped that it would be able to address concerns raised by the Left parties within a week.

"The deal is not put on hold. We will be able to address their (Left parties) concerns within a week," Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal told PTI. The Left parties have some concerns and the panel will address the same, he said adding that the operationalisation of the deal was not expected to happen before October next year. "The deal is not likely to be operationalised this year. The time table we have in mind is some time in the latter half of next year," he said.

Government today announced the setting up of a Committee to go into the objections of the Left parties to the Indo-US nuclear deal, whose findings will be taken into account in the "operationalisation" of the agreement. The implications of the deal on foreign policy and security cooperation will also be considered by the committee, said a statement read out by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee after a meeting between the top leaders of the Congress and Left parties.

The Left had been demanding that the negotiations with the IAEA should not proceed but the statement contained no references to the international atomic energy watchdog. It was not clear whether side-by-side with the setting up of the Committee the discussions with the IAEA may continue.