Jaishankar says 45.82 lakh people returned from 98 countries under Vande Bharat Mission

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday asserted that over 45.82 lakh people from around 98 countries have returned to India under the Vande Bharat Mission. This assertion came from Jaishankar while briefing both the house of the Parliament about the welfare of Indian, Non-Residential Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) abroad. 

Elaborating on the subject, Jaishankar said, "The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has been deeply committed to the welfare and protection of Indians abroad, but the welfare of the students studying abroad has particularly been the reason of concern for the government amid COVID-19."

Crediting PM Modi for the Vande Bharat Mission, he said, "Under the aegis of the Vande Bharat Mission, a total of 45,82,043 people from 98 countries have returned to India, a vast majority of which have come through flights, though there were some who came by ships and across the land crossing,"

"Kerala received the maximum returnees, followed by Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu," he added while stating that the maximum number of stranded Indians were from UAE, followed by Saudi Arabia, the USA and Qatar. Expressing gratitude, he said that the largest repatriation exercise in the history of the world would not have been possible without the cooperation of the partner governments. 

He also took the opportunity to talk about those people who were stranded in India. Supporting his arguments with figures, he said, "Around 1.1 lakh foreign passport holders have been sent back from India to 120 countries, many of who were NRIs and PIOs."

Jaishankar on Govt's next goal

Jaishankar on Monday informed the Parliament that the focus of the government has now shifted to sending Indians back to their usual places of work, study and domicile through air transport bubbles, which are temporary arrangements for commercial passenger services until the resumption of regular international flights have been concluded. 

"Such arrangements have been concluded with 27 nations so far. The Air India group alone has operated more than 9,500 flights, taking 10.9 lakh passengers abroad, of which the largest numbers have been sent to the gulf," he said while highlighting that PM Modi's guidelines to take care of both lives and livelihood has been the basis of the diplomatic activities abroad. 

Touching upon other issues, he said, "We have been active in urging our partner governments to look sympathetically at the employment of our citizens as they chart their own recovery pathway." He highlighted that the Gulf has been the focal point of the endeavours. 

"Under the directions of PM Modi, I have travelled even during the pandemic to UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman to discuss the welfare of our people with the government," he said. 

Talking about the economic and social disruption that impacted the gulf, he said, "We have been in regular touch with most community organisations and get their feedback on both the health situation and economic recovery. We are aware that there are problems of compensation, re-employment and re-skilling that need solutions, and these our today the core of our agenda with our partner governments."

(Inputs from ANI)