NEW DELHI: The United States is in constructive dialogue with the Indian government on the apparent clampdown on civil society organisations that receive foreign donations, US Ambassador to India Richard Rahul Verma told ETon Thursday.In an exclusive interview, Verma said the US has flagged the treatment of civil society groups with India and discussions on this count are “work in progress”.“We had a very good dialogue with the government. It is an important issue. Both of our countries have such a rich tradition of robust civil society. We collectively need our civil society for all the work they do in literacy, health and education. It is vitally important for India and US. It is also important that NGOs (non-governmental organisations) be legally compliant. We also want this rich tradition of civil society to continue and attract best talent and contributions. That is (the) dialogue we are having. It’s been a good dialogue and important dialogue,” he said. The US ambassador to India, who spoke on a range of issues, said the Indo-US nuclear deal has seen significant progress in the six months since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama achieved a breakthrough in January. “The nuclear contact group(s) are in touch for concrete results. The insurance pool is a good development towards civil nuclear liability Bill,” Verma said.Asked to comment on claims by India’s security establishment that civil society organisations pose a threat to the country’s economic security, he said that was a judgement the people of India and the government should take.“We look at the record of NGOs globally and evaluate the work they do for children, health and environment. And take the test as to whether their contributions have been meaningful. We must look at contributions of NGOs worldwide. They have been meaningful and in enormous amount in India and USA. The groups have to feel that this is a place that is open. And I know it is. This conversation will have to continue,” he said.Verma said India now enjoys bipartisan goodwill in the US and that the Devyani Khobragade episode was a thing of the past. “We (India and the US) established mechanisms to avoid repeat of any such incident. Our relationship has soared past that point. We are in much stronger place. I want to make it durable. Two summits in four months…The President said to me that it is natural that we are close,” he said.There has been a resurgence of India as a global, strategic economic and political player, Verma observed. Referring to the Indian infotech industry’s fears over visas, the US ambassador said, “Indians continue to get 65% of all H1-B visas that we issue all over the world. India gets 35% of intercompany transfer visas.”Verma, the first Indian-origin US envoy in New Delhi, said part of being a leader was also about remembering where you came from. Talking about how “people have been ahead of the governments for many, many years”, Verma said efforts like the recent international yoga day — which was celebrated on June 21 — were a notable exercise in soft diplomacy.“My parents were big proponents of yoga. Yoga has been popular in the US for many, many years. I was thrilled to be part of the event. Yoga (is a) good way of bringing body and mind together. It was a very nice exercise of soft diplomacy. Bringing all countries together like that…It was terrific,” he said.