India plans to restrict cigarette sales to those aged at least 25

Health campaigners have welcomed India's unprecedented plans to raise the age for tobacco purchases to 25 and ban unpackaged cigarette sales, calling them a major step towards stopping nearly one million tobacco-related deaths a year.

India, with a population of 1.2 billion, would have the world's highest minimum legal age for buying cigarettes if plans to increase the limit from 18 to 25 were implemented.

The plans, proposed by an expert panel, were announced by health minister J.P. Nadda in parliament on Tuesday and will need final approval by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet as well as parliament before becoming law.

"This is a very welcome move by the government," Binoy Mathew, spokesman for the non-profit Voluntary Health Association of India, said. "It's going to act as a huge deterrent, especially for students and youngsters."

Around 900,000 people die of tobacco-related illnesses in India each year, the second-highest number after China.

An estimated 70 per cent of cigarettes sold in India are unpackaged, equating to more than 100 billion sticks in 2012, according to market researcher Euromonitor.

Campaigners say the practice of selling single cigarettes at street stalls has pushed up smoking rates, particularly among teenagers and the poor who cannot afford a full packet.