Parliamentary panel likely to discuss issue of return of Indians from Ukraine with civil aviation ministry

A parliamentary committee is likely to discuss the issue of return of Indians from Ukraine with top officials of the civil aviation ministry, sources said on Wednesday.

New Delhi: A parliamentary committee is likely to discuss the issue of return of Indians from Ukraine with top officials of the civil aviation ministry, sources said on Wednesday. During a meeting of the Department-Related Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, a member raised the issue of evacuation of Indian citizens, including students, from Ukraine amid uncertainties.

India had on Tuesday advised its citizens in Ukraine to temporarily leave the country amid escalating tension between Moscow and the NATO countries over Russia's increasing military build up close to the Ukrainian border. The member said at the meeting that the government should work out a mechanism to pull out Indians, including students who are finding it difficult to return home amid hike in air ticket prices.

The committee, the sources said, expressed "concern" over the issue and is likely to raise the issue with top Civil Aviation Ministry officials. The committee is at present examining the budgetary allocations of various ministries under it. The number of Indians residing in Ukraine at present is not immediately known.

According to an official document in 2020, Ukraine had a small but vibrant Indian community and there were about 18,000 Indian students studying in that country. The data is likely to vary in view of the pandemic.

PTI