India's air cargo sector is set to boom, according to a Directorate General Civil Aviation statement that the 1.3-million tonne market is growing at 20 per cent a year, reported The Financial Express.

With four new entrants from among the Indian industrial houses expected to start stand-alone cargo airline, experts are talking of aggressive organic growth fuelling the sector's growth, said the newspaper.

"There is a buzz largely due to the upswing in India's export profile and the fact that a targeted cargo hub will come up at Nagpur. Currently there is no real hub between Dubai and Bangkok and thus a dedicated hub can kick start this sector," said Kapil Kaul, of Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

A recent Airbus report predicted that India would order in access of 165 cargo aircraft by 2025. Civil aviation ministry sources say that the country may already be half way there with the Reliance fleet of 40 aircraft and at least that many likely to be ordered in 2008 by new entrants.

Sources at Blue Dart, operator of India's biggest cargo airline, told the Financial Express that two new aircraft are likely to be added to the existing fleet of seven dedicated cargo aircraft this year. Emirates, Sri Lankan Airlines, Lufthansa and Cathay Pacific are looking to augment their cargo operations in the country, they said.