India needs to take a "couple of steps" to fully implement the landmark Indo-US civil nuclear deal which has changed the architecture of the global non-proliferation regime, a top American diplomat has said.

"It (nuclear deal) is going very well... There is still a couple of steps that the Indians have to take to fully implement that agreement," Ambassador Robert Blake, President Barack Obama's nominee for the post of Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, said.

His remarks came in response to a question at his confirmation hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Blake, who was till recently US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, said that first of all India has to bring the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards agreement into force.

Then they also have to file with the IAEA a declaration of their nuclear facilities, he informed the Senators, who wanted to know the latest status of the historic nuclear deal, which consumed much of the time of the Congress in the last couple of years.

The Obama Administration is looking for a more enhanced strategic partnership with India, Blake, who was till recently the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, said.

"If confirmed, I will be working with members of the administration to define exactly the parameters of that."

"We hope to have some announcements for you fairly soon on that," Blake, who has also served as Deputy Ambassador at the US Embassy in New Delhi, said without elaborating.

Other top Obama administration officials have said that Washington was looking forward to working with the new Indian government on a range of issues, including the volatile situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

On the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, Blake said the agreement was on the right track, even as New Delhi has to complete a few formalities in this regard.

"It (nuclear deal) is going very well, Senator.... There is still a couple of steps that the Indians have to take to fully implement that agreement," he said.

India has to bring the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards agreement into force. "And then they also have to file with the IAEA a declaration of their nuclear facilities," he said.

"That would be consistent with the separation plan that they outlined in 2006. So there are still several steps that need to be taken, and we'll be working closely with our friends in the Indian government to see that those are done rapidly," Blake said.