Over 5.03 lakh Indians have returned home from 137 countries after the government launched the “Vande Bharat” evacuation mission on May 7 in view of the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.
“Considering that the initial target to bring stranded Indians with compelling reasons was only 2 lakh, this is a significant achievement,” it said.
The first phase of the mission was carried out from May 7 to 15. The second phase of the evacuation mission was scheduled from May 17 to 22. However, the government had extended it till June 10.
The third phase of the evacuation exercise was scheduled from June 11 to July 2.
