The Indian authorities announced the second phase of its repatriation process, dubbed Vande Bharat Mission, which is aimed at bringing Indians home from 31 countries starting from May 16-22, Anurag Shrivastava, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said on Wednesday
NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2020) The Indian authorities announced the second phase of its repatriation process, dubbed Vande Bharat Mission, which is aimed at bringing Indians home from 31 countries starting from May 16-22, Anurag Shrivastava, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said on Wednesday.
The Vande Bharat mission was launched on May 7. The foreign ministry, together with other government agencies, has already organized 56 evacuation flights from 12 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman.
"We are launching the second phase of Vande Bharat Mission from 16-22 May. In this phase, we will bring back Indians from 31 countries. 149 flights including feeder flights will be deployed," Shrivastava said in a statement.
India is organizing special flights from Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Canada, among other countries, during the given period. The full schedule of flights is available on the foreign ministry's official website.
In a statement, the spokesman also said that India has been assisting other countries during the global health crisis. In particular, the authorities have sent medical supplies and teams of healthcare workers to Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles.
India has so far confirmed over 78,000 COVID-19 cases and 2,564 coronavirus-related fatalities.
