India to expand Vande Bharat Mission to evacuate more Indians from abroad

India is planning to bring back home its one lakh stranded nationals from 60 countries under the second phase of the Vande Bharat mission, officials said on Tuesday.

The second phase of the mission was to end on May 22. However, the government extended it till June 13.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a meeting on Tuesday with all the agencies and ministries involved in the mega evacuation exercise.

In a series of tweets, he said the focus of the meeting was to ramp up the scale of the Vande Bharat Mission and enhance its efficiency.

The target will be to bring back one lakh passengers from 60 countries in the second phase, he said, adding the government is increasing the entry points as well as expanding feeder flights to various destinations in India.

The second phase of the evacuation mission began on May 17.

The minister said Indians are also returning home through land borders starting Tuesday.

He said arrangements are being made for amnesty beneficiaries in the Gulf region and that Naval evacuation of Indian fishermen in Iran will happen in June.

Jaishankar also said that Air India will shortly shift to direct ticketing to facilitate bookings abroad.

In the first phase of the mission from May 7 to 15, the government evacuated around 15,000 people from 12 countries.

As per the government's policy for evacuation, Indians having "compelling reasons" to return like pregnant women, elderly people, students and those facing the prospect of deportation are being brought back home.