E-Paper
100K Indians to return in Vande Bharat Phase 2
New Delhi A total of 100,000 Indians stranded in 60 countries across the globe due to the Covid-19 pandemic are expected to be brought back home by the end of the
New Delhi A total of 100,000 Indians stranded in 60 countries across the globe due to the Covid-19 pandemic are expected to be brought back home by the end of the second phase of the country’s largest repatriation programme on June 13.
More than 308,000 Indian nationals around the world have registered with missions abroad to be repatriated on compelling grounds under the Vande Bharat Mission, external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava told a virtual news briefing on Thursday.
“We are targeting to bring back 100,000 passengers from 60 countries by the end of Phase II. Preparations for the third phase of Vande Bharat Mission are well underway,” he said.
The first phase of Vande Bharat Mission, completed during May 7-16, resulted in the repatriation of 16,716 stranded Indians on 64 flights from a dozen countries. The second phase represents a massive scaling up of the programme, with 429 flights by Air India (311 international flights and 118 feeder flights) from 60 countries.
The Indian Navy’s warships will make four sorties to bring back stranded Indians from Iran, Sri Lanka and the Maldives during the second phase.
“As of 4 pm today [Thursday], 45,216 Indians have returned. These include 8,069 migrant workers, 7,656 students and 5,107 professionals. About 5000 Indians have returned through land border immigration checkpoints from Nepal and Bangladesh,” Srivastava said.
The external affairs ministry has also assisted in the return of stranded Indians from remote locations in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and parts of Europe.
“This is being done by taking advantage of foreign carriers flying to India, primarily for evacuation of their nationals. Recently, about 300 stranded Indians from Peru, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Portugal and Netherlands were brought back,” he said.
Unlike the first phase that had only flights operated by Air India, private airlines have been included in the second phase of Vande Bharat Mission. Chartered flights have also begun to operate, and the number of flights is expected to go up further with permission for more chartered flights and efficient use of quarantine facilities.
The external affairs ministry is working closely with Indian missions abroad and stakeholders such as state governments, the home, health and civil aviation ministries, Air India and the Indian Navy for the repatriation programme.
On Wednesday, external affairs minister S Jaishankar chaired a review meeting with all stakeholders to ramp up the scale of Vande Bharat Mission and enhance its efficiency.
The external affairs ministry has said priority will be given to repatriating Indians with compelling reasons to return home, such as those who have lost their jobs, people with medical emergencies, pregnant women and senior citizens.
