California [US], June 13 (ANI): A special flight under Vande Bharat Mission departed on Thursday local time with 221 stranded Indians from San Francisco for New Delhi and Bengaluru.

"#VandeBharatMission's AI0174 took off with 221 pax to DEL-BLR in its commitment to assist Indians at distress. Thanks, @IndianEmbassyUS, @airindiain & @CGISFO for seamless coordination to operate 2 flights in 12 hrs from SFO!," India in San Francisco 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 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)