The Vande Bharat scheme was launched in May 2020 by the Indian government to facilitate the repatriation of people stranded in other countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some important highlights and purposes of the Vande Bharat scheme:

• The scheme aims to bring back Indian citizens stranded in other countries due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• It operates flights and ships to bring back people from different countries including the US, the UK, UAE, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Australia, among others.
• The scheme allows Indian citizens to travel from these countries back to India by paying a nominal fare.
• The scheme also operates outbound flights from India to several countries to evacuate foreigners stranded in India due to the pandemic.
• As of January 2021, the scheme has facilitated more than 43 lakh people to travel across different countries.
• The scheme has been praised for its efficient execution and efforts to bring back stranded people to their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overall, the Vande Bharat scheme is a commendable initiative by the Indian government to repatriate stranded citizens during the COVID-19 global pandemic.