Doha [Qatar], May 15 (ANI): A special flight under Vande Bharat Mision departed from Qatar with 178 stranded Indians for Kerala's Kannur.

"IX- 1774 took off from HIA for Kannur a short while ago with 178 passengers and 6 infants. This was the 31st flight from Doha under #Vandebharat, bringing the total number of repatriated passengers go 5262, plus 151 infants," India in Qatar tweeted.

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'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.

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

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

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)