WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The House of Representatives on Saturday approved an agreement to end the three-decade ban on nuclear trade with India, and Congressional leaders were optimistic about its passage in the Senate.

The agreement passed the House by a 298-117 vote, and the Democrats who control the Senate hoped to bring it to a vote there within days despite the opposition of some in their own party, Congressional aides said.

Congressional approval is the last hurdle to the pact, which the Bush administration believes will secure a strategic partnership with India, the world’s largest democracy; help India meet its rising energy demand; and open up a market worth billions.

President Bush said in a statement that House passage of the legislation was “another major step forward in achieving the transformation of the U.S.-India relationship.”

He urged the Senate to approve it quickly so he could sign it into law.

Critics argue that the deal undermines efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and sets a precedent allowing other nations to seek to buy such technology without submitting to the full range of global nonproliferation safeguards.

The agreement, which first had to gain approval from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group before coming to Congress, has drawn criticism from nonproliferation advocates because India has shunned the Nonproliferation Treaty meant to stop the spread and production of nuclear weapons, as well as a companion international pact banning nuclear tests.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group regulates the sale of nuclear fuel. It approved the deal this month after a campaign by the United States and despite concerns about setting off an arms race in Asia.

The deal is considered important for India’s continued economic growth and increased demand for electricity. Since it conducted its first nuclear test decades ago, India has not been able to buy nuclear fuel or technology on the world market.

The country is now running short of uranium for existing nuclear reactors because it does not have enough of a domestic supply to feed them. India’s leaders also want to substantially expand the civilian power program.

But even in India, the deal was dogged by intense political opposition, so much so that opponents of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought to bring down his government this year over this issue, saying it would impinge on India’s right to advance its strategic weapons program.

In the United States Senate, a vote has been held up by the objections of some Democrats, said Congressional aides who declined to name those blocking a vote.

The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, urged his colleagues to drop their resistance, noting that under special rules for consideration of the nuclear deal it can ultimately be brought to a vote.

“For people who are concerned about the Indian nuclear agreement, and there are several senators that have concerns about that, all we would be doing is running out the time,” he said.

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