Asserting that the country has made it a priority to rescue all Indians stuck in Ukraine, Modi said, "It is due to India's rising strength that we are are able to bring back stranded Indians from Ukraine. Operation Ganga has been launched and I have sent four ministers to oversee the evacuation."
A teacher and a student have been shot dead in a murder-suicide at an elementary school in San Bernardino, California.
At least nine people have been killed and 77 people trapped across Taiwan after a powerful earthquake struck the island's eastern coast, CNN reported, citing the National Fire Agency (NFA).
A number of schools in Australia were put under lockdown and students evacuated after "numerous threats" made to them as they opened on Friday after the long Christmas holiday period, sparking multiple police operations.
Ukraine is currently in the middle of a strategic offensive into Russia's Kursk region.
The Taliban have been known for using violence to force the people to accept their agenda and views, he added.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said all Indian nationals left Kyiv on Tuesday after the Indian embassy issued an advisory, asking them to get out of the Ukrainian capital urgently.
The ministry of external affairs urged Indian students to avoid taking unnecessary risks.
Allegations also cropped up against the local BJP MP that he did not respond to the SOS calls from the stranded students, a charge denied by the elected representative.
More than 2,000 people were on Wednesday evacuated from buildings in central London as toxic smoke filled the streets after an electrical fault triggered a massive underground fire near the Indian High Commission in London as well as the London School of Economics.
On Monday, the fifth Air India flight landed in Delhi from Bucharest with 249 Indian nationals while the sixth flight arrived from Budapest here with 240 Indian nationals, the officials said.
The relief at finally being home is visible in the eyes of the 70 medical students, who were evacuated from riot affected Kyrgyzstan, and landed at New Delhi on Tuesday morning.
'Our embassy will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to ensure the safe evacuation of Indian students'
'The Ukrainian soldiers were cordial to Nigerians and others but were harsh on Indians'
Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, who welcomed the Indian citizens at the Delhi airport, said that this is the second phase and they are trying to facilitate those who are willing to come back to India.
"Our primary focus is to get Indian students out of conflict zones in eastern Ukraine," the MEA spokesperson said.
Parents rushed to the school after receiving a message on the school WhatsApp group to receive their children as soon as possible.
"As of now, there are no norms and regulations under the National Medical Commission to accommodate medical students, who were studying abroad and had to return to India midway, in Indian medical colleges in between an academic session," a health ministry official told PTI, on the condition of anonymity.
"PM Modi spoke to (Russian president Vladimir) Putin and (Ukraine president Volodymyr) Zelensky. He also spoke to (US president Joe) Biden when needed. The war stopped briefly so that more than 22,000 students stuck in Ukraine could be rescued and they returned home. Parents of these students were demanding that PM Modi rescue them."
India's comments came hours after Russia claimed that some Indian students in Kharkiv were taken hostage by Ukrainian security forces.
Scindia said on Twitter the Romanian prime minister has assured his continued support to Indian students crossing the Romanian borders.
Addressing the Manipur assembly during the commencement of the budget session, she said that 198 companies of central armed police forces and 140 army columns have been deployed along with state forces to maintain law and order.
Modi's high praise of Russia as an ally and Putin's leadership came amid ongoing efforts by the Western world to isolate the Russian leader over the war in Ukraine.
Ahead of his much-anticipated visit to conflict-torn Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India firmly believes that no problem can be solved on the battlefield and it is ready to extend all possible cooperation for the restoration of peace and stability in the region.
Over the years, there has been a significant change in every field -- from society, politics to economy. Security challenges have also witnessed that change, Singh said.
Residents near the border have been asked to switch off lights at night. Farmers whose agriculture land is beyond the fencing wire were ordered not to visit their fields.
Officials said more Indians in small groups are expected to reach Romania through the border crossing.
Scores of Banaras Hindu University students also staged a protest at the Lanka Gate in support of the AMU students.
The India Meteorological Department said rainfall would be accompanied by gale wind speed reaching 140 to 150 kmph and gusting to 165 kmph along and off Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh coasts.
India joins a select list of countries that have made entry for animals less bureaucratic, thereby helping families, including people like Rishabh, escape the warzone with their beloved companion animals.
Three medical students studying at the Wuhan University, all natives of Kerala, who returned to India on their own recently and self-reported at a hospital in the state have tested positive for the respiratory virus.
The monsoon spelt mayhem in several parts of the country on Monday, particularly Mumbai where local train services and flight operations were hit and everyday life disrupted as well as Assam that was grappling with floods yet again.
A video of a group of men, staying at the facility, singing and dancing while wearing masks has been shared widely on social media.
The government is organising evacuation flights for Indians in Ukraine, the sources said, adding that the cost will be completely borne by the government.
Traumatised by a four-day long ordeal in a submerged indoor stadium in Srinagar, over 200 students now rescued by the army cursed state government for false assurances but give credit of their survival to the teachers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday chaired a meeting to review the Ukraine crisis amid the ongoing exercise to evacuate Indian nationals, mostly students, from the country facing attack from Russia.
Glimpses of student evacuees from Ukraine accompanied by their pets.
The Indian embassy has received requests from Indian tourists stranded in the country to facilitate their exit. Most of the tourists are travelling in groups.
Cries of help were forwarded through the night, as Chennaiites, who waded through a similar nightmare in 2015, reconnected online again and formed citizen rescue groups to deal with emergencies.
Charmesh Sharma said he had on March 10 informed the Indian authorities about five students stranded in that country, after which three of them were brought back.
