Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar Credit: AFP via Getty Images
The number
of Indian nationals living abroad is very high. The expats are heavily
concentrated in the US, Middle East, Western Europe and Australia. According to
V. Muraleedharan, the Minister of State of External Affairs told the parliament
that 11,616 Indians who are living abroad have been infected resulting in 373
deaths. The majority of deaths comes from Saudi Arabia followed by Bahrain and
Singapore reported the highest number of infections in Indian nationals.
The Indian
Community Welfare Fund provided 22.5 crore rupees to assist the Indians living
abroad. In many countries, the fund has helped numerous expats in securing shelter,
food and medical emergencies. In May, the Indian Government has created a program
called, “Vande Bharat.” The Indian nationals living abroad were provided with
flights back to India with Delhi and Mumbai as the initial destinations. After
the returning expats cleared Immigration and Customs formalities, they could travel
to their destination through a strictly domestic flight. The “Vande Bharat” initiative
was being rolled out in phases. The current phase 6 began on 1st of
September.
