India's immediate response

India has also launched an evacuation plan which includes more than 15,000 people stranded abroad. 64 flights have been organized to do so. The Phase 1 of evacuation plan is named as “Vande Bharat Mission”. Of the 64 flights, 15 would be to Kerala, 11 each to Delhi and Tamil Nadu, seven each to Maharashtra and Telangana, and the rest to Gujarat, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh.

From the Gulf to Europe and the US, millions of Indians were stranded after India halted flight operations from March 26 to curb the virus spread. India is under the third phase of nationwide lockdown till May 17.

On Day 2, around 2,050 Indian nationals will arrive in Chennai, Kochi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Delhi from nine different countries, according to the plan.

On Day 3, over 2,000 stranded Indian nationals from Middle East, Europe, South East Asia and US will return to the country.

On Day 4 of the plan, the aviation ministry in collaboration with the foreign ministry will evacuate 1,850 stranded nationals from eight different countries, including the US, UK and the UAE.