The Second Phase of Vande Bharat Mission which started on 17th of May and will continue till 13th of this month is progressing smoothly.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said so far, Air India has operated 103 flights under this phase to bring back stranded Indian nationals.
The Indian Navy has also made sorties to bring back returnees from Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
After the commencement of the Vande Bharat Mission from 7th May, a total of 454 flights, including foreign carriers, have brought back stranded Indians.
As of date 1,07,123 Indians have returned. These include 17, 485 migrant workers, 11511 students and 8633 professionals.
More than 32,000 Indians have returned through land border immigration checkpoints from Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
A total of 3,48,565 people have registered their requests with Indian Missions for repatriation to India on compelling grounds.
In addition to these, the process of non-scheduled commercial flights has also been streamlined.
This has resulted in further facilitation of Indians returning by chartered flights and Air Ambulances.
There is a significant increase in the number of returnees via land borders too with the finalization of guidelines in this regard.
The spokesperson said Phase 3 of Vande Bharat Mission has already been announced. This phase covers more sectors and will create additional hubs in remote regions.
Around 38,000 people are expected to be repatriated under this phase in 337 international flights from 31 countries.
These include 54 flights from US, 24 from Canada, 11 flights from 6 African countries – Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Seychelles, Mauritius.
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