Helsinki [Finland], June 13 (ANI): The first flight under Vande Bharat Mission from Finland departed on Thursday for New Delhi with 227 stranded Indians onboard.

"#VandeBhaartMission flight AI 1184 & historic first passenger flight of @AirIndiaIn from Helsinki to New Delhi takes off with 227 pax incl senior citizens, stranded tourists, business visitors, students eager to join families," Indian embassy in Finland tweeted.

Also Read | Delhi Records Highest Single-Day Spike of 2,137 COVID-19 Cases: Live Breaking News Headlines & Coronavirus Updates, June 12, 2020.

'Vande Bharat' mission is a Government of India's initiative to bring home Indian nationals stranded in various parts of the world due to restrictions over air travel to contain COVID-19 spread.

A total of 1,65,375 people have returned, including 29,034 migrant workers under Vande Bharat Mission, said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava on Thursday.

Also Read | MHA Eases Norms for OCI Cardholders, Foreign Diplomats to Enter India Amid COVID-19 Pandemic.

The exercise began on May 7 and its second phase started on May 16.

The third phase of the exercise began on June 11 and continue till June 30. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)