By Bula Devi / New Delhi : As many as 23475 Indian nationals have returned to the country safe so far under the Vande Bharat Mission. India has moved into the second phase of the mission from May 16 onwards which will last till June 13.Today is the 15th day of the Vande Bharat Mission. On May 5, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar announced Vande Bharat Mission. He shared on his Twitter account photos of meeting in his office regarding preparations for the plan.
Of 23475 Indian nationals who have returned until this afternoon, 4883 are workers, 4196 students and 3087 professionals among others, said the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava on Thursday.
Srivastava said, “We are looking to bring back our nationals from 47 countries on 162 flights. In this phase, we are including places like Istanbul, Ho Chi Minh city, Lagos, etc and increasing flights to the USA and Europe. We are also looking at developing Frankfurt as a hub.
“We are also receiving our nationals stranded abroad onboard flights from other countries which are coming in to evacuate nationals of those countries,” Srivastava informed.
India is bringing back nationals from far flung areas such as Argentina, South Africa, Peru, Mongolia, etc. For instance, a flight from Buenos Aires arrived early this morning at 2.35 am with as many as 62 Indian nationals.
Similarly, around 300 pilgrims from Ladakh arrived onboard Mahaan Air flight from Iran on May 17. Other flights from Djibouti and Hong Kong have also brought Indian nationals stranded in those countries.
The whole complex exercise is being done in close coordination between the External Affairs ministry and its Missions abroad along with the Ministries of Civil Aviation, Home Affairs, Health and Family Welfare, Bureau of Immigration and concerned State governments.
“Operations under this very large and complex exercise are going on smoothly,” said Srivastava.
Under the Mission, as many as 259001 people have registered to return from 98 countries. Giving out details of those registered to return, Srivastava said that 28 per cent are workers, 25 per cent students, 14.5 per cent professionals and 7.6 per cent short-term visa holders like tourists. Besides, there are fishermen, deportees, those who have been granted amnesty and so on.
There are many who have compelling reasons to return. As many as 16991 have medical emergencies and 8746 are pregnant women and elderly people.
Under the Vande Bharat Mission, India is also facilitating travel on outbound flights not just for Indian nationals but for foreign nationals also. For instance, three flights to the UK left on May 16, 18 and 20. Two flights have departed to the US on May 18 and 20. There are four more flights scheduled to depart to the US and two to Frankfurt.
