MONTREAL, Sept 24 (Reuters) -

India will require more government oversight as the

country's airlines take delivery of thousands of planes and its

fast-growing market is creating openings for new players, the

government's aviation safety chief told Reuters.

India is looking at "more responsibility, more safety

oversight, more manpower," with the number of commercial jets in

the country nearly doubling over the last decade and with

another 2,000 aircraft on order, director general of civil

aviation Faiz Ahmed Kidwai said in an interview on the sidelines

of the U.N. aviation agency's triennial assembly in Montreal.

India is one of the world's fastest-growing aviation

markets, but the June crash of an Air India jetliner has

intensified scrutiny of safety standards.

India also faces pilot shortages and a parliamentary

committee recently warned that insufficient labor at the air

safety regulator potentially jeopardises safety. In July, the

regulator said it found 263 safety-related lapses at the

country's airlines.

While the country's aviation market is dominated largely by

two airlines, IndiGo and Air India, travel demand is creating

the opportunity for new players.

"What we feel is that there is scope for more airlines

because the way the sector is growing we need more players,"

Kidwai said.

"If more carriers come, yes, they'll have an opportunity."

A record 174 million Indian domestic and international

passengers flew in 2024, although that still pales in comparison

to the 730 million passengers in China, International Air

Transport Association data show.

The Air India plane crash in June, which left 260 people

dead in the worst aviation disaster in a decade, has

overshadowed India's rapid rise as an aviation hub.

A preliminary investigation report released earlier by the

Indian government showed pilot confusion in the cockpit shortly

before the crash after the plane's fuel engine switches had

almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff just after

takeoff.

India's Supreme Court on Monday asked the government to

respond to a plea seeking an independent investigation into the

crash. Kidwai said the investigation remains under the purview

of India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, in line with

international protocols.

(Additional reporting by Aditya Kalra)