Vande Bharat mission brought back 67.5 mn Indians: Civil Aviation Minister

The Vande Bharat mission kickstarted in May 2020 to bring back Indians stranded abroad following the Covid-19 pandemic induced global travel shutdown, has brought back 67.5 million people, informed Civil Aviation Minister Harshdeep Singh Puri.

"It is not just a mission that brought back stranded & distressed citizens from around the world, but Vande Bharat has been a Mission of hope & happiness; of letting people know that they will not be left behind even in the most testing times," he tweeted.

The mission was originally expected to bring back around 1,90,000 Indian nationals. Though initially only Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express were part of the programme, it was later joined by other carriers and naval ships.