Around 50 lakh people returned to India under Vande Bharat Mission

Around 50 lakh people have returned to India under Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) as on March 10, 2021, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

Ministry of External Affairs said that it has incurred Rs 33.5 crores (as on December 31, 2020) to assist Indian nationals in distress to bring them to India under the Vande Bharat Mission.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday had said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government has been "deeply committed to the welfare and protection of Indians abroad" from the beginning of the crisis created by COVID-19.

Making statements in both Houses of Parliament pertaining to the welfare of Indians living abroad, NRIs and PIOs, EAM Jaishankar had said the welfare of students studying abroad has been the particular reason of concern for the government amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The minister added the government also facilitated the return from India of more than 1.1 lakh foreign passport holders to 120 countries and many of them were PIOs and NRIs.

( With inputs from ANI )