Cong is known for soft Hindutva; Rahul, Priyanka following it: Kerala CM

May 29: Over 45,000 stranded Indians were brought back home from abroad under the Vande Bharat mission and another 1,00,000 will be evacuated till June 13, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

The mega evacuation mission was launched on May 7.

MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the government is also assisting return of stranded Indians from remote locations in Latin America and Caribbean, Africa, and parts of Europe.

"This is being done by taking advantage of foreign carriers flying to India primarily for evacuation of their nationals," he said during an online media briefing.

He said a total of 45,216 Indians were brought back till Thursday afternoon and they include 8,069 migrant workers, 7,656 students and 5,107 professionals.

About 5,000 Indians have returned through land border from Nepal and Bangladesh.

In the first phase of the mission from May 7 to 15, the government evacuated around 15,000 people from 12 countries. The second phase of the evacuation mission was scheduled from May 17 to 22. However, the government has extended it till June 13.

Srivastava said a total of 3,08,200 people have registered their request with Indian missions abroad for repatriation to India on compelling grounds.

"During the phase two, a total of 429 Air India flights (311 international flights + 118 feeder flights) from 60 countries are scheduled to land in India. The Indian Navy will be making four more sorties to bring back returnees from Iran, Sri Lanka and the Maldives," Srivastava said.

The MEA spokesperson said the government is targeting to bring back 1,00,000 people from 60 countries by the end of phase two of the Vande Bharat mission.

"Preparations for third phase of Vande Bharat Mission are well underway," he said.

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.

Lucknow , May 13: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over announcing Rs 20 lakh crore special economic package to boost the economy saying that the Centre is again making "false promises to 133 crore Indians".

"Earlier, you promised Rs 15 lakh and now Rs 20 lakh crore. You have made false promises 133 times with 133 crore Indians. How can someone trust you this time? People now are not asking how many zeroes there are but how many false promises have been made," he tweeted (translated from Hindi).

Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package for the country fighting COVID-19, stating that it will give a new impetus and a new direction to the self-reliant India campaign.

The Prime Minister had also announced that the fourth phase of lockdown will be completely redesigned with new rules and will commence from May 18.

New Delhi, Jun 4: Press Council of India (PCI) member BR Gupta has resigned from his post, saying he was unable to work individually or collectively for the media, which is in a "deep crisis".

"I have tendered my resignation as a Press Council of India member," Gupta told PTI.

He said the PCI had the responsibility to encourage media and media professionals constantly.

"But everyone now realises that the media scenario is in a deep crisis. The motto for which the Council was created was not being fulfilled and I felt I was not doing anything remarkable for the freedom of media," Gupta said.

He claimed that the PCI was not a wholly representative body for the media.

"Then how can we come out of the crisis being faced by the media and mediapersons? It is a big challenge for us. I have quit as I have not been able to work individually or collectively being a PCI member," Gupta added.

Referring to salary cuts and job losses, he said media and mediapersons were struggling for social, political and economic justice.

When contacted, PCI chairman Justice C K Prasad said Gupta's resignation has not been accepted yet.

"I have received it (the resignation). I have not gone through it. It has not been accepted," Prasad told PTI.

Gupta was appointed as a PCI member for a three-year term on May 30, 2018.

He said liberty is one of the basic features of the preamble to the Constitution that continues to inspire people and the media.

"It is difficult (for me) to fulfil the unbiased role and responsibility to help citizens and the media for making democracy stronger," Gupta said.