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.
Why Operation Ganga in news?
- 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.
What is Operation Ganga?
- ‘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.
India’s stand on Russia-Ukraine Conflict
What is the Need for Operation Ganga?
- 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.
SWIFT Ban on Russia | Russia Ukraine War