Australia will resume repatriation flights for citizens in India after a controversial ban on arrivals from the country.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has faced criticism for failing to help citizens trapped in the Covid-ravaged nation.

The ban sparked further anger after the government said Australians seeking to fly home could face jail or fines.

Public outrage forced Mr Morrison to back down this week, and say that jail terms would be "highly unlikely".

On Friday, he announced the government planned to bring back 900 "vulnerable" Australians during the second half of May on three flights.

Evacuate would be taken to the Howard Springs quarantine facility in the Northern Territory, which would be expanded to provide 2,000 beds by next week.

Australia initially justified the ban by arguing the high rate of infections seen in arrivals from India was putting the quarantine system under stress.

But on Friday, Mr Morrison said the ban had worked in the past week to reduce the number of cases in quarantine "back to more manageable levels".

"We will be at a level by 15 May to ensure, that as planned, we will be able to return to having those repatriation flights from India."