India urges global planemakers to 'Make in India'

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India wants to encourage aircraft makers to manufacture in the country, starting with components and moving eventually to complete aircraft, Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said on Sunday.

In a series of messages on Twitter, Prabhu appealed to Airbus and Boeing Co to participate in the push as part of the government's flagship "Make In India" campaign, highlighting the growth potential of the booming market, which has been adding passengers and cutting fares.

India's booming aviation market and economy needs more than 1,000 passenger planes and "many more" cargo planes, Prabhu, who last week visited an Airbus facility in Toulouse in France, wrote in the Twitter post.

Airbus said last year it expected Indian carriers to order 1,750 aircraft over 20 years. Boeing predicted up to 2,100 planes would be sold in the same period.

(Reporting by Aditi Shah and Devidutta Tripathy, editing by Larry king)