38,000 stranded Indians to be brought back in the 3rd phase of Vande Bharat Mission

Photo: Air India

Around 38,000 Indians are expected to be airlifted during the third phase of Vande Bharat Mission on 337 international flights from 31 countries, including 54 from the US, 24 from Canada, and 11 flights from Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Seychelles and Mauritius.External affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.

According to Sirvastava third phase will cover more sectors and create additional hubs in remote regions.”Phase II of Vande Bharat has progressed well…The Indian Navy has also made sorties to bring back returnees from Sri Lanka and the Maldives,” he said.

Since May 7, a total of 454 flights, including those by foreign carriers, have brought back a total of 107,123 stranded Indians including17,485 migrant workers, 11,511 students and 8,633 professionals.

More than 32,000 Indians have come back to the country through land border immigration checkpoints from Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.A total of 348,565 Indians have so far registered with missions abroad to be repatriated on compelling grounds, Srivastava said.

After the Union home ministry notified new guidelines on May 24, the procedure of non-scheduled commercial flights has been facilitated and this generated further relief for Indians returning as they can travel on chartered flights and air ambulances.

“There is a significant increase in the number of returnees via land borders too with the finalisation of guidelines in this regard,” The spokesperson said.