Operation Ganga

For Prelims: India’s Evacuation Operations, Location of Ukraine and other neighbouring countries

For Mains: Ukraine-Russia Conflict and India’s Interests in Ukraine and Russia, Implications of Conflict on India.

Why in News?

The Government of India has launched a ‘multi-pronged’ initiative named ‘Operation Ganga’.

  • A dedicated Twitter handle ‘OpGanga Helpline’ to assist Indian evacuation from Ukraine has also been announced.
  • The tensions between Russia and Ukraine are currently heightened, with war erupting in Ukraine after the Russian military launched a series of attacks recently.

What is Operation Ganga?

  • It is an evacuation mission to bring back all the Indian nationals who are currently stranded in Ukraine.
    • There were around 20,000 Indians including students stuck in Ukraine.
    • Till now, three Air India flights have been able to bring back more than 900 Indians from Ukraine to India.
  • The Indian evacuation flights are operating from neighbouring countries like Romania and Hungary.
  • The government is also facilitating evacuation of stranded Indians from its borders crossing Romania, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.
What are the Evacuation Operations carried out by India?
Operation Ganga (2022):
  • It is an evacuation mission to bring back all the Indian nationals who are currently stranded in Ukraine.
  • The tensions between Russia and Ukraine are currently heightened, with war erupting in Ukraine after the Russian military launched a series of attacks recently.

Vande Bharat (2020):
  • When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, the Centre launched the Vande Bharat Mission to bring back Indian citizens stranded in foreign countries.
  • In the multiple phases of the operation, about 60 lakh Indians were brought back as on 30th April, 2021

Operation Samudra Setu (2020):
  • It was a naval operation as part of the national effort to bring home Indian citizens from overseas during the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • It successfully brought back 3,992 Indian citizens to their homeland by sea.
  • Indian Naval ships Jalashwa (Landing Platform Dock), and Airavat, Shardul and Magar (Landing Ship Tanks) participated in this operation which lasted over 55 days and involved traversing more than 23,000 km by sea.

Evacuation from Brussels (2016):
  • In March 2016, Belgium was hit by terrorist strikes at Brussels Airport in Zaventem, and one at Maalbeek Metro station in central Brussels.
  • A total of 242 Indians, including 28 crew members, returned to India in a Jet Airways flight.
Operation Raahat (2015):
  • In 2015, a conflict raged between the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels.
  • Thousands of Indians were stranded and Yemen was not accessible by air due to a no-fly zone announced by Saudi Arabia.
  • Under Operation Raahat, India evacuated nearly 5,600 people from Yemen.

Operation Maitri (2015):
  • It is the joint relief and rescue operation by the Indian government and the Indian Armed forces in the aftershock of the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
  • The joint Army-Air Force operation brought over 5,000 Indians back from Nepal by Air Force and civilian planes. The Indian army successfully evacuated 170 foreign nationals from the US, the UK, Russia and Germany.

Operation Safe Homecoming (2011):
  • India launched ‘Operation Homecoming’ to bring back Indian citizens stranded in conflict-torn Libya.
  • Under the operation, India evacuated 15,400 Indian nationals.
  • The air-sea operation was conducted by the Indian Navy and Air India.

Operation Sukoon (2006):
  • As Israel and Lebanon broke into military conflict in July 2006, India rescued its stranded citizens by launching this operation, which is now famously known as the ‘Beirut Sealift’.
  • It was the largest naval rescue mission since the 'Dunkirk' evacuation.
  • The task force evacuated about 2,280 people including some Nepalese and Sri Lankan nationals between 19th July and 1st August 2006.

1990 Kuwait Airlift (1990):
  • In 1990, when 1,00,000 Iraqi soldiers armed with 700 tanks marched into Kuwait, the royals and VIPs had fled to Saudi Arabia.
  • The general public was left behind to fend for themselves.
  • Over 1,70,000 of those stranded in Kuwait were Indians.
  • India kicked off the evacuation process in which over 1,70,000 Indians were airlifted and repatriated to India.

Source: TH