An Indian minister said a global repatriation campaign launched in response to the Covid-19 pandemic set out to ensure nobody was "left behind".
It is one year since international flights were grounded to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which had only recently been declared a pandemic.
The UAE temporarily suspended inbound and outbound flights on March 23 last year, a day after India halted international travel.
India launched the Vande Bharat, or Salute India mission, on aircraft and naval ships in one of the largest drives to return citizens affected by the pandemic.
The first repatriation flights to India began on May 6.
Hardeep Singh Puri, India's Minister of Civil Aviation, said the country had brought back staggering numbers from around the world.
No Indian Left Behind.
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) March 23, 2021
Even before we began Vande Bharat Mission we brought back our people from Wuhan, Tehran & Rome. Then we launched VBM on 6 May 2020 & have so far facilitated repatriation & International travel of more than 67.9 lakh people from around the world. pic.twitter.com/GykwyKPUWy
“It is not just a mission that brought back stranded and distressed citizens from around the world, but Vande Bharat has been a mission of hope and happiness, of letting people know that they will not be left behind even in the most testing times,” Mr Puri said.
He said 27 air corridor agreements continued with various countries.
The repatriation flights began with government airlines first used in the operation.
Private carriers were later added to assist in moving the large number of people stranded abroad.
About 1.7 million Indians have travelled home from the UAE since the repatriation flights began.
This is out of 67.9 million Indians taken home globally as part of the Vande Bharat mission.
More than a million Indians have since returned to the UAE to jobs and their family, Indian authorities said earlier.
Since regular commercial passenger flights were suspended in both countries, the Indian government organised flights home giving priority to the elderly, people with medical conditions, pregnant women and residents who had lost jobs.
Pavan Kapoor, India’s ambassador to the UAE, said the exact number of people who returned to the Emirates was not available.
"The figures of people who have taken flights from here since May is 1.7 million," Mr Kapoor told The National.
“We can’t say that all these people have left because that is certainly not the case.
"A very large proportion had gone to India and come back. But that data is not with us. What that figure is we are not sure.”
A senior Indian minister on a visit to Dubai in January said more than 1.15 million Indians had returned to the UAE.
Indian officials estimated that of those who left, about 200,000 have not come back to the Emirates.
During the initial months of the repatriation drive, workers queued outside the embassy and consulate to get on flights home.
An online registration was launched on which people could specify the reasons for their departure and the city to which they wished to travel.
The number of people who registered to return to India was 633,000 when the portal closed in September last year.
Not all of the people who registered took the flights home, with many deciding to remain in the Emirates after the economy picked up when restaurants and stores reopened.
“Just because people registered does not mean all those people travelled and left,” Mr Kapoor said.
“A lot of people stayed back because they were hopeful as economic activity resumed. More people came back to their jobs and their livelihood.”
Residents required clearance from authorities, with Dubai residents applying for entry permits to the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs.
Those returning from other emirates required approval from the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship portal.
The UAE is home to the world’s largest non-resident Indian population, with more than 3.4 million.
