NEW DELHI, August 18, 2008 (AFP) - India's atomic energy body has short-listed US, Russian and French firms for nuclear power projects once the country gets the green light to enter global atomic commerce, a report said Monday.

The Hindu newspaper said the Nuclear Power Corporation of India has selected US giant Westinghouse Electric, US-Japanese alliance GE-Hitachi, Russia's Rosatom and France's Areva for potential orders as part of its plans to generate 40,000 megawatts of atomic power by 2020.

India currently has 17 nuclear power plants with a capacity of 4,120 megawatts.

Once nuclear trade starts, India plans to set up 'nuclear parks' or reactor clusters for which four coastal sites have been identified, the report quoted government officials as saying.

Indian officials currently prefer French and Russian technology, the report added.

Energy-hungry India, which needs new sources of power for its fast-growing economy, has been barred from buying nuclear technology and fuel because it has tested nuclear weapons and refuses to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The country has struck a deal with the United States that would allow it to escape those restrictions on condition it agrees to a certain level of UN inspections and separates its civilian and military programmes.

India has reached a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but still needs a waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) -- the 45-member body that monitors nuclear trade.

The US Congress also needs to ratify the deal.

Once the Indo-US pact is finalised, Russia and France are expected to draft their own nuclear cooperation accords with India.