The Dalai Lama has announced he is stepping down as political leader of the Tibetan government in exile.

The Tibetan spiritual leader said he was stepping down because his people needed an elected political head.

Announcing his move in the Indian town of Dharamshala, where the government in exile is based, he said his desire to devolve authority had nothing to do with the wish to "shirk responsibility".

"It is to benefit Tibetans in the long run. It is not because I feel disheartened," he said.

The 75-year-old said he was still committed to achieving greater autonomy in his Tibetan homeland through non-violent means.

But some younger Tibetans have been agitating for a more militant approach in opposing Chinese rule.

The Dalai Lama was 15 when he was appointed head of state in 1950 after Chinese troops moved into Tibet. He fled his homeland in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

The 75-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner has long talked of stepping down from what is a largely ceremonial role, while maintaining his more important position as the spiritual figurehead of the Tibetan movement.

"As early as the 1960s, I have repeatedly stressed that Tibetans need a leader, elected freely by the Tibetan people, to whom I can devolve power," he said.

"Now, we have clearly reached the time to put this into effect."

In his address marking the anniversary of the 1959 uprising, the Dalai Lama made it clear he would not be withdrawing from the political struggle and remained "committed to playing my part in the just cause of Tibet".

Despite his advancing age and several health scares, the Dalai Lama maintains a punishing travel schedule as the global face of the Tibetan struggle.

Spiritual and secular loyalty to his leadership is steadfast and he is the adhesive that binds together the various factions within the movement, some of whom favour a more radical agenda than the Dalai Lama's non-violent campaign for autonomy within the Chinese state.

In Thursday's speech, the Dalai Lama said he had received "repeated and earnest" appeals from inside and outside Tibet to provide continued political leadership.

The London-based International Campaign for Tibet said the Dalai Lama's announcement underlined his democratic credentials.

"In contrast to those long-serving autocrats who have been much in the news, the Dalai Lama is the rare visionary who is willingly divesting power to his people," said ICT president Mary Beth Markey.

"His decision, based on the maturation of Tibetan democracy in exile, deserves both accolades and support."

China said the Dalai Lama was playing "tricks" on the world.

"He has often talked about retirement in the past few years," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said.

"I think these are his tricks to deceive the international community."

-ABC/AFP