The ministry's move comes in the wake of aggressive expansion carried out so far by foreign carriers, especially those from the Middle East.
Official sources said the global operation plans of the Indian carriers would be discussed at a meeting early next month.
The data have been sought to assess the capability of Indian carriers to operate international flights, in terms of their fleet, crew and bilateral rights used, they said.
At present, foreign airlines weekly operate 1,356 flights to India as against just over 800 by Indian carriers. Indian carriers permitted to operate international flights are Air India, Jet, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Kingfisher.
But Kingfisher Airlines has stopped its entire international operations, while Air India's global flights have come down due to the recent 58-day pilots' strike. The national carrier, however,is now in the process of resuming several of its international routes stopped earlier due to the strike.
The sources said the Ministry was not in favour of allowing international airlines to operate more flights into India till domestic carriers catch up with them.
Indian carriers have been complaining that the lack of bilateral air traffic rights was resulting in their foreign counterparts flying more passengers out of and in to India. If such a situation persisted for long, it would be detrimental to the interests of Indian airlines, they feel. (More)