India on Thursday began what may be the largest repatriation process during the coronavirus pandemic, looking to return up to 200,000 nationals stranded abroad within the Vandhe Bharat Mission
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th May, 2020) India on Thursday began what may be the largest repatriation process during the coronavirus pandemic, looking to return up to 200,000 nationals stranded abroad within the Vandhe Bharat Mission.
National carrier Air India took off for Dubai and Abu Dhabi where a large Indian diaspora reside, while Indian Navy vessel INS Jalashwa set sail for the Maldives to repatriate its citizens from the archipelago nation, according to India's ANI news agency.
Altogether, India expects to airlift up to 2,300 from most middle Eastern Gulf nations, the US, UK and others on Thursday alone as a first step, according to India's Public Bureau of Information.
Returnees will be made to pay for the one-way flights, which has raised concerns that the mission may exclude low-wage earners in Middle Eastern or African countries, according to Hindustan Times.
India expects to repatriate more than 14,000 people from 12 countries in the first week with the framework of the Vande Bharat (hail India) mission, the bureau said.
The mission came as India had suspended all international travel in March as did many nations to quell the spread of COVID-19 around the world, leaving India's large expatriate population stranded.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a stay-at-home order on his 1.3 billion people in late March when there were just over 500 cases on the whole subcontinent
Cases have since surpassed 53,000 and have led to over 1,700 deaths as a result.
