The government's go-ahead was given to a parliamentary watchdog body that oversees the functioning of the defence ministry, they said, adding the MPs' panel placed a copy of the official endorsement in parliament on Thursday.

A defence ministry spokesman said the process to give the force effective control of a nuclear button was in progress.

"It is in the process of implementation," spokesman P.K. Bandhopadhaya told AFP.

"The command-and-control will encompass the core element of aerospace power, items of strategic missiles, ballistic systems and space-based communication and reconnaissance systems," Bandhopadhaya said.

According to the official, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's cabinet had endorsed the setting up of an unified strategic force a year ago and a special ministerial group in March endorsed the decision.

India conducted a series of nuclear tests in May 1998 and said it was weapon capable.

Arch rival Pakistan carried out tit-for-tat tests and both countries, who have fought three wars since their independence from the British in 1947, were subsequently targetted by US-led sanctions.

Meanwhile, US national security advisor Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that India should resume a dialogue with Pakistan and work to reduce months of border tension, following steps by Islamabad to ease the stand-off between the nuclear-armed rivals.

"There is a sense in which as the Pakistanis have tried to be responsive -- and they have tried to be responsive, we do believe they are doing some things -- that it would be good for India to take some steps too," Rice said in an interview with The Hindu newspaper.

"The important thing, though, is that everybody stay away from brinkmanship, that nobody use force here and that we give diplomacy and the anti-terror campaign and the dismantling of the terrorist organisations time to work," she said.

Rice said the United States wanted to work closely with India on the anti-terrorism campaign, just as it was doing with Pakistan.

At the same time, she said Washington expected Pakistan to address the "legitimate concerns of India over cross-border terrorism."

"We have been very clear with Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf that we expect to see actions to follow up on his January 12 speech that said Pakistan will end support to extremists."

India accuses Pakistan of funding and arming a Muslim insurgency in Indian-administered Kashmir, but Pakistan denies the charge and says it only extends moral and diplomatic support.

India has also blamed Pakistan for masterminding a December attack on its parliament by militants, following which a million troops from the two countries were deployed to their common borders.

"It would serve no one for India and Pakistan to come to military blows. We need time to work the anti-terrorism agenda," Rice said.

"We have urged the Indian government to give diplomacy the primacy here and to give us all time to dismantle the terrorist networks, to begin dialogue over the issues that are at the root cause here and we think that is the way ahead."

Rice praised Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for showing restraint after the parliament attack.

"It could not have been easy to do what they have done, to keep talking, but we really believe this is the way forward."

Vajpayee has refused to end the border build-up until Pakistan hands over named militants allegedly on Pakistani soil and ends the infiltration of Islamic guerrillas into Indian Kashmir.

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