604 Indians evacuated from Israel under Operation Sindhu
Tel Aviv [Israel], June 24 (ANI): Amid the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel, a total of 604 Indian nationals have been safely evacuated from Israel via Jordan and Egypt under Operation Sindhu, the Indian Embassy in Israel said on Monday.
In a post on X, the Embassy stated, 'Under Operation Sindhu, so far, 604 Indian nationals have been safely evacuated from Israel via Jordan and Egypt. '
It added, 'The first batch of 161 Indian nationals will reach New Delhi on 24 June at 0119 hrs IST.'
The evacuation is part of India's ongoing 'Operation Sindhu' to ensure the safe return of its citizens amid rising tensions between Iran and Israel.
Earlier, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari praised the Centre's launch of Operation Sindhu, calling it a testament to the Modi government's commitment to bringing every Indian home safely.
'One policy of the Modi government which is praised in every corner of India is that without any discrimination, if even a single person of India is trapped in any trouble or tension, then we believe in bringing him back safely to India and for this India does whatever it has to do,' Tiwari told ANI.
'Once again, the same has happened, and for this, the country is grateful to the Government of India, Prime Minister Modi,' he added.
Under Operation Sindhu, the Indian government safely evacuated another group of 290 Indian nationals and one Sri Lankan from conflict-hit Mashhad in Iran on Monday, bringing them to Delhi and taking the total number of Indians rescued so far to 2,003.
Speaking to the ANI upon arrival, an Indian student who was part of the group said, 'We received a message from the Indian embassy that we would soon be evacuated. After a little difficulty, we were evacuated. The government evacuated us smoothly and safely...'
Fatima Iman, a Sri Lankan national who was also evacuated, expressed gratitude, saying, 'I feel really good, and I am grateful for everything. I contacted the Sri Lankan Embassy for help when the Indian students from my university were getting evacuated,' Iman told ANI.
She further added,'The condition is getting worse with each passing day... This is a great gesture from India, and I am grateful to be part of this operation.' (ANI)
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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has already frontloaded its rate cuts with a 50 basis points reduction in repo rate at the last monetary policy committee meeting. At the next monetary policy review in August, the central bank will have more information on monsoon showers, food prices and the West Asia situation, she explained. 'Unless there is a full-blown war or heightened global tensions leading to spike in inflation, we expect the rates to remain steady,' Majumdar of Deloitte added. UBS said in a research note on Monday that in its base case scenario, it does not expect the escalation in West Asia conflict will lead to a prolonged disruption to oil supplies in a way which could imperil global growth or cause significant challenges for central banks. India's ₹ 1.68 trillion fertilizer subsidy bill for FY26 also faces the prospect of swelling as natural gas price, which tends to follow crude oil price, and shipping cost tend to go up during periods of geopolitical tension. 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Crude supplies from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, all routed via the Strait of Hormuz, account for around 36% of India's total imports. About 60% of its natural gas imports also cross this critical passage. Union petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday posted on X that India has diversified its supplies in the past few years, and a large volume of its supplies does not come through the Strait of Hormuz. On 13 June, as prices surged after Israel's attacks on Iran, Puri held a review meeting and tweeted that India has adequate energy supplies for the coming months. "Given the geopolitical tensions in the past few years, the Indian government and oil marketing companies have diversified their sources of oil across several countries. And OMCs usually have stocks of more than three months. Such initiatives may help minimize impact on product supplies in the near term," said Gaurav Moda, partner and leader for energy at EY-Parthenon India. An industry executive on condition of anonymity said that prices usually surge significantly in two phases—first, on anticipation of supply disruption and later when disruption is actually witnessed in physical supplies. "For now the surge post anticipation of disruption has by and large taken place and that has been factored in. Now if the strait is actually blocked and supplies get halted, that is when we may see a major rippling effect in prices," the executive said. Oil marketing companies (OMC), would also feel the pinch of high oil prices, while for the exploration and production companies it would bear a positive impact due to higher prices, experts said. Noting that oil prices are up 21-25% since May-end, a report by Kotak Institutional Equities said that the strait of Hormuz is "too critical to be disrupted for long". "Short-term disruptions can lead to further price spikes. Unless the conflict worsens (and impacts the wider ME region), we do not see much impact on demand or supplies. Oil prices would likely trace back if the conflict ends soon. For India, higher oil/gas prices are negative. But for upstream PSUs, these are positive. For OMCs, while higher oil prices are negative, retail price cuts are now on the back-burner," it said. It said that when oil prices were declining and were around $60 per barrel, OMCs were witnessing high margins and there was an expectation of retail price cuts "With geopolitical worries rising, retail price cuts are unlikely soon. If retail prices were cut, a reversal would have been difficult. But if the conflict eases soon, margins may further rise. While OMCs' near-term earnings will remain strong (despite the oil price spike), our key concerns remain on the lack of pricing power and large capex," said the Kotak report. Some of India's exports to Iran are vital for the West Asian nation. India supplies affordable, life-saving medicines to Iran. Because of international restrictions, Iran struggles to get western medicines. This makes them highly dependent on India for common generic drugs, as well as special medicines for serious illnesses like cancer. India also sends raw materials for making drugs, a pharma company executive said, requesting anonymity. India's pharmaceutical exports to Iran crossed $28 million in FY25. Subhash Narayan and Priyanka Sharma contributed to this story.
