Ramping up the Central government's efforts to evacuate Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine, an Indian Air Force (IAF) C-17 transport aircraft left for Romania in the early hours of March 02. Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the Indian Air Force to join the evacuation efforts under Operation Ganga on March 01. The Union government has launched 'Operation Ganga' to bring back stranded students and Indian citizens from the conflict-torn Ukraine. Special flights are being operated by Air India, SpiceJet and Indigo as part of the 'Operation Ganga' mission. The aircraft has taken off from the Hindan airbase at around 4 am.