Operation Ganga

Table of Contents

Operation Ganga- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: International Relations- Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests.

Recently, the Prime Minister of India chaired a high-level meeting, to review the ongoing efforts under Operation Ganga to bring back Indians stranded in Ukraine.
He said that the entire government machinery is working round the clock to ensure that all Indian nationals there are safe and secure.
Recently, India operated its first evacuation flight under Operation Ganga and brought back 219 Indians from Romania’s capital Bucharest to Mumbai.

‘Operation Ganga’ is the initiative launched by the government of India to bring back Indians stranded in Ukraine.
Under this, India has already successfully brought back more than 1,000 of its nationals from the country.
Under Operation Ganga, 24×7 control centres have been set up to assist in the evacuation of Indians through the border crossing points with Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovak Republic.
Dedicated Twitter Handle: ‘OpGanga Helpline’, a dedicated twitter handle has also been dedicated to the Operation Ganga
- At OpGanga Helpline’ Twitter handle, all information regarding the evacuation process and advisories of embassies are shared to keep everyone up-to-date.

Stranded Citizens: Thousands of Indians, especially students studying medicine in Ukraine, have been stuck in the country since it closed its airspace as a security measure after Russia launched “special military operations”.
Finding an Alternative Route: Many students who reached Ukraine’s borders with Poland and Romania have not been allowed to enter those nations.
- The government had identified an alternate train route to help evacuate the students, from Uzhhorod in western Ukraine to Budapest, Hungary’s capital city.
- India has also decided to send four Union Ministers to Poland and Romania to oversee the evacuation.