The first special flight with hundreds of stranded Chinese nationals departed from India on Monday morning, Chinese state media reported.
Four more chartered flights taking Chinese nationals back home will depart from India in the coming days, Global Times reported citing a New Delhi-based source familiar with the matter surnamed Hu.
Hu told the Global Times on Monday that "four chartered flights will depart from the Indian cities of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata and arrive in China in the coming days, after the first flight carrying hundreds of overseas Chinese left India on Monday morning".
There were about 3,000 Chinese people doing business or studying in big cities in India and about half returned to China before the national lockdown to curb coronavirus was announced on March 24, Hu said.
Last month, China had said it will evacuate its citizens from India. A notice published by the Chinese embassy here said that students, tourists and businessmen who have been stranded in India will be allowed to fly back to China on special flights.
( With inputs from ANI )