So far a total 364,209 Indians from over 50 countries across 5 continents have been brought back to the country

Fourth phase of the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ to bring Indians back to their homes will begin from July 3. Gulf countries will be the focus of the repatriation under this phase of the mission.

Repatriation of Indian citizens from the Gulf and other places with large concentrations of such expatriates will enter a new phase one week from now, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

“We are committed to bringing back our remaining compatriots, particularly in the GCC countries, Malaysia, Singapore, among other places,” Anurag Srivastava, spokesperson of India's Ministry of External Affairs, told a media briefing.

“In order to continue with our efforts, phase four of Vande Bharat Mission has been firmed up with effect from July 3. This phase will particularly focus on countries where we still have a large number of Indians who have registered to return,” he said.

Under the Vande Bharat Mission which is in its seventh week, 364,209 Indians from over 50 countries across 5 continents have been brought back, he said. “Demand for these flights remains very high, especially in the Gulf region and, therefore, we are moving to further streamline the process,” Srivastava added.

He also said that in the first 3 phases of the Vande Bharat Mission, around 875 international flights were scheduled for operation from over 50 countries across 5 continents. So far more than 700 of these flights have reached India, repatriating around 150000 Indians. The remaining 175 flights under phase 3 are expected to reach in the coming days.

He added that these Vande Bharat Mission flights have been instrumental in addressing the immediate requirement of stranded Indians from many parts of the world. We are committed to bringing back our remaining compatriots, particularly in the GCC countries, Malaysia, Singapore, among other places.