MUMBAI, India (AP) — General Electric's India unit will be the first Indian company to benefit from a U.S. government program to facilitate high-technology trade, GE said Thursday.

The program gives GE's India unit a standing license to import sensitive goods and technology, instead of having to apply for permission each time.

The move comes on the heels of a controversial U.S. India nuclear deal, signed last year, which overturned a three-decade ban on atomic trade between the two countries. It is one more sign of warming relations between the two nations, which once stood on opposite sides of the Cold War divide.

GE says its new "validated end user" authorization will bolster technology exchange on aviation and energy, and facilitate the sale of advanced security systems to the Indian government.

"We are delighted by today's announcement," GE India President and CEO Tejpreet Chopra said in a statement. "It will not only permit technology exchange on energy and aviation between GE and our research facilities in India, but will also permit the sale of advanced security systems to the Indian Ministry of Defense, Indian police and other Indian security organizations."

Restrictions on technology transfer have complicated efforts by U.S. companies to tap into the $30 billion India is expected to spend on military procurement over the next five years.

GE has been active in India since 1902, when it installed India's first hydropower plant. Today, GE employs 14,500 people in India, where its revenues are about $2.8 billion.

Chinese companies are also eligible for validated end user authorization on sensitive exports. In a September 2008 report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office recommended that the China program be suspended because "challenges with program implementation may limit Commerce's ability to ensure items are being used as intended."