NEW DELHI (REUTERS) - India has scrapped government control over the acquisition of planes by local carriers, a government statement said, removing a major bureaucratic hurdle for the country's airlines in their expansion.

Indian airlines will need 1,043 new passenger and freighter aircraft valued at US$145 billion (S$181 billion) by 2030 to satisfy rising demand, Airbus said last year.

Local carriers will now require just an initial no-objection certificate to start operations and will be at liberty to induct planes without seeking approval from the ministry of civil aviation, the government statement said.