Global nuclear energy majors Areva SA (ARVCY), GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Westinghouse Electric Co. are continuing talks with Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd. to supply nuclear reactors, indicating the South Asian country plans to follow through with its projects in the aftermath of Japan 's nuclear crisis.

But there may be some potential delays due to safety reviews by India 's nuclear watchdog, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, say some executives.

India 's government has ordered a safety review of its 20 nuclear power plants, just as those of several other countries, and said it intends to stick to its civilian nuclear program. Neighbor China , on the other hand, has suspended approvals to build new nuclear projects.

" India has a significant need for electricity and the only practical way to meet that need is with nuclear energy," Gary Urquhart, vice president for India , Southeast Asia and Taiwan at Westinghouse Electric told Dow Jones Newswires.

"Therefore, we are continuing our discussions with our customers and suppliers as the details of the U.S.-India 123 agreement continue to be solidified," Urquhart added.

Foreign companies now have access India's multi-billion dollar nuclear energy market thanks to the South Asian country's 2008 civilian nuclear deal with the U.S. and the waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers' Group.

The waiver makes India the only official military nuclear power allowed to freely pursue civilian nuclear commerce without having to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11 that damaged four nuclear reactors north of Tokyo , prompting fears and fresh debates about the safety of civilian nuclear technology. Doubts also arose on India 's plan to have 63,000 MW of nuclear power capacity by 2032.

"Nothing has changed. GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy is committed to continuing project discussions with NPCIL under its timeline," said Michael Tetuan, spokesman for GE Hitachi.

But in recent months there have been anti-nuclear and environmental protests at the coastal Jaitapur project of NPCIL, India 's state-run monopoly builder and operator of nuclear power plants.

Areva plans to set up the first two of six 1,650 MW reactors at Jaitapur in western India . The French industrial major has agreements with NPCIL for the sale of nuclear reactors, fuel and services worth as much as 7 billion euros (about $10 billion) at Jaitapur.

"Areva is bound to work closely with NPCIL in the framework of their review processes and according to their schedule. Work has already started under the control of the safety authority, AERB," Areva's spokeswoman Pauline Briand said in an emailed statement.

Only when India 's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board finalizes its safety review will it be known if the schedule of ongoing projects will be impacted and in what way, Briand said, citing an internal report.

"In the meantime, the hypothesis of a potential delay cannot be totally excluded," Briand added.

NPCIL also has a roadmap for the construction of Russian reactors by Atomstroyexport JSC, a unit of Russian state-run company Rosatom. Rosatom couldn't be immediately reached for queries.

NPCIL's 20 reactors have an overall capacity of 4,780 MW, less than 3% of India 's total installed capacity. It plans to take total nuclear power capacity to at least 20,000 MW in the next 10 years.

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